Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
2023 Tech Predictions: Edge Computing, Networking and Serverless Drive Innovation
By Wayne Carter, VP, Engineering, Couchbase
Despite economic challenges, organizations will continue relying on emerging technologies to improve customer experiences, increase business agility and reduce administrative spend. Leveraging edge computing, networking and serverless technology, businesses can position themselves for success in an increasingly competitive market. Below, I’ve outlined three predictions that we can anticipate in 2023 and beyond.
Edge computing will finally be as fast and personalized as the in-person interactions humans expect
Just three years ago, companies were physically building edge computing environments by purchasing and installing hardware. Previously a large operational complexity, edge computing is now accelerating due to easier access and broader availability of pay-as-you-go edge solutions from cloud service providers. Enterprises are getting great value out of edge computing with the options to choose regions and locations for compute and storage from cloud, to edge, to on-prem.
The power to select edge locations is enabling enterprises with new levels of availability and guaranteed speed through a reduced distance between points of interaction. Just as a light bulb is expected to work immediately when the switch is turned on, edge computing enables building digital systems that are just as reliable and fast. In 2023, we will see more companies adopt edge computing for operational reasons to ensure businesses stay up, running and fast in all locations.
Next-gen network infrastructure will provide increasingly ubiquitous connectivity
In 2023, we will increasingly see new levels of access to networking infrastructure-connecting a whole new world. Locations that have never been covered by networking will soon have high speed networking all the time, from sea to shore. With edge computing, networks don’t need to be tied to a physical machine or constant location. The triad of a database, compute and networking will bring guaranteed internet availability and speed across vast oceans and in flight.
New “celestial” networks will bring consumers constant access to experiences and information with no interruptions that were historically unthinkable. We will see massive amounts of new data usage in new environments in the next few years-on cruise ships, airlines and in any location that historically was disconnected. That could very well include places like Antarctica and Everest.
As serverless gains momentum, developers gain back their time…and businesses gain back budget
Serverless will reduce the need for developers to handle complex server operations, allowing teams to focus on core duties and improve application functionality, putting innovation on the fast track. Without being burdened with backend maintenance, developers will have the freedom to optimize designs and experiment across mobile, desktop and IoT applications from their local dev machine and push them to their serverless backend once it’s ready for production.
Additionally, many serverless packages offer free capacity for developers, allowing them to work in a “try before you buy” fashion and affording them the opportunity to show executive teams new ways to innovate. In recent years, experimenting with and developing applications would have required massive budgets, but looking ahead in 2023 and beyond, companies will see a reduction in administrative costs as there will be no need to wait for servers to be commissioned. Serverless benefits will start with the developer and extend out to the business.
Moving Forward
As business leaders prepare for the coming year, it’ll be beneficial for them to deploy a tech stack that not only facilitates innovation, but also helps organizations guarantee speed and availability of services without breaking the bank.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wayne Carter is VP, Engineering at Couchbase (NASDAQ: BASE), provider of a leading cloud database platform that 30% of the Fortune 100 depend on. Prior to Couchbase, Wayne held engineering roles at Oracle and Siebel Systems.
