Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022. Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Edge Cloud Computing and 5G in the Enterprise
By Nelson Nahum, CEO and Noam Shendar, VP WW Solution Architecture,
Zadara
The rapid move to remote work and the continued need to
do business globally have combined to underscore the importance of resilience
and flexibility. Moving workloads to the edge - closer to where data is
generated and consumed - is necessary to achieve this needed strength and
agility. And using an "as-a-service" model also provides an additional layer of
flexibility. As we head into 2022, here are a few predictions around the future
of edge cloud and 5G in the enterprise.
1.
The sleeper hit
of 2022 will be private 5G/enterprise 5G. While most people think of
cell phones when it comes to 5G, the real innovation is what 5G can do for the
enterprise. 5G allows enterprises to provide ubiquitous coverage that solves
all of the weakness of Wi-Fi - including faster speed, more reliability, fewer
dead spots, and much lower latency. Additionally, because 5G was built to be a
public network, it's inherently much more secure than Wi-Fi. Look for 5G in the
enterprise to take off in 2022.
2.
For 5G use cases to succeed, hardware-based
platforms will move to software. For 5G applications to perform at their best, speed is
critical. Providing edge cloud infrastructure to every major city will enable a
whole new set of applications. However, unless infrastructure is in place
to support the real-time needs of applications, the results will be less than
optimal. For example, when a human talks to a machine, a few seconds delay is
okay. But when a machine talks to a machine, any delay can have enormous consequences.
For 5G use cases to succeed, hardware-based platforms will move to software to
realize the speed requirements that are necessary. This will enable the next
frontier of 5G services.
3. MSPs will play an increasing role in
accelerating enterprises' transition from on-prem to edge cloud, driving the
emergence of a cloud provider in every city. Due to issues such as latency and a shortage of equipment, many
enterprises don't want to be dependent on their own data centers and their own
people to manage their data. In addition, compliance often dictates where data
can be stored. Enterprises are in need of solutions to help them get to a cloud
model, and MSPs who are close by can provide those services.
4. We will see more VARs expanding their services offerings like MSPs, with
a focus on providing complete solutions or an as-a-service model. With technology becoming more
fragmented, many enterprises don't want the hassle of dealing with many vendors
and instead easy solutions. That, along
with the increased pressure for on-demand, agile services, will lead more and
more enterprises to go with MSPs and other channel partners to put together
complete solution packages, thereby providing tremendous value and enabling
growth in the long run.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
As
CEO of Zadara, Nelson Nahum has over 30 years of experience in the enterprise
software infrastructure industry. He is known for creating innovative products
and successfully bringing them to the market. Prior to co-founding Zadara, he
was a Fellow and Vice President of Software Engineering at LSI Corporation,
where he was responsible for an engineering team of over 250 people. Previously
he was CTO and co-founder of StoreAge Networking Technologies, which was
acquired by LSI in 2006. At StoreAge, he invented the out of band storage
virtualization system, building and leading engineering to a successful product
that was adopted by HP and led to the acquisition of StoreAge by LSI. Nelson
holds 10 patents related to storage technologies. He is a graduate of the
Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology.
Noam Shendar brings over 20 years of experience in the technology industry in a variety of senior management positions. Prior to joining Zadara, Noam was Sr. Director of Business Planning and Product Management in the Engenio Storage Group of LSI Corporation, where he founded and led an internal startup, took it to revenue, and successfully handed it off to NetApp when the latter acquired Engenio. Prior to that, Noam was LSI’s Director of Corporate Strategy. Before LSI, Noam was Director of Strategic Marketing at MIPS Technologies, Inc., where he was responsible for the company’s efforts to penetrate new markets and expand its presence in existing ones. Earlier positions include VP of Applications and Director of Engineering at iBlast, Inc., an entertainment technology startup, as well as research and engineering positions at Intel Corporation’s Microprocessor Products Group. Noam has a B.Sc. (with Honors) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an Executive MBA from Santa Clara University.