Data Centre Magazine February 2022 | Page 115

CLOUD & EDGE

“ Latency is significantly reduced by bringing digital services to the edge , where data and information is consumed ”

RUSSELL POOLE UK MD , EQUINIX
Smart Cities and the Edge Data consumption growth is being driven by numerous factors , from vast networks of IoT sensors to automated vehicles . While these technologies are already being deployed heavily throughout industrial enterprise settings , it ’ s the smart city which will serve as the greatest catalyst for edge demand over the coming decade .
“ Smart cities have driven the adoption of edge computing with many practical applications for real-time decisionmaking technology ,” says Stobart . “ Never before have we had so many sensors able to generate prolific amounts of data within traffic management , next-generation advertising , and innovations like smart parking .” However , legacy ( and even current-generation ) networks make it impossible to take full advantage of the potential of smart city technologies . The need to migrate vast amounts of data close enough to the point where it intersects with the physical world is driving intense edge data centre construction as a result .
“ Smart cities are powered by real-time analytics engines sorting through mountains of sensor data and then taking action on said data ,” Stobart continues . “ Network
datacentremagazine . com 115