Edge computing: innovation at your doorstep

“With edge computing, not only is infrastructure brought close to the end user, but cloud services, too,” says Thierry Van Nuffelen, Product Manager cloud at Proximus. “With Microsoft, for example, these cloud services can be activated in a box selected in advance. After all, they have data services and AI possibilities with machine learning. Those who build their own hardware still have to run this software themselves.”

Edge is the perfect complement to public cloud for AI, videos and 5G private networks

Thierry: “This means that by deploying edge components, customers are able to run very complex services right where they really need them. For innovations that need fast data processing, such as AI, 5G and video analytics, it is better to combine cloud with edge infrastructure. It is all about balancing the services at the right place.”

Thierry Van Nuffelen, Product Manager cloud at Proximus NXT

Five advantages:

1. The latency of edge applications is reduced with edge computing. Processing close to the place where the data are generated shortens the response time. “And this time factor plays an important role with self-driving cars. After all, you don’t want to brake a millisecond too late if the car has to stop in front of an obstacle,” adds Patrick Faut, Partner Development Manager at Microsoft.
2. Storing and processing data locally makes it possible to bring down connectivity costs. For example, processing video streams locally will greatly reduce the broadband usage.
3. The data is stored and processed locally. This can be important with applications where legal constraints apply.
4. The combination of Edge and Cloud services bring more stability and resilience to your applications, making them more resilient to connection cuts.
5. Edge solutions have a smaller footprint than owned data centers because they only use the computer capacity actually required.

Thierry Van Nuffelen, Product Manager cloud at Proximus NXT

Anonymizing sensitive data via edge computing

Edge is very useful in companies where data are processed without shared infrastructure. “Think of hospitals or smart areas where they want to keep video images for later research. Here we can use edge computing to anonymize the images before storing them on the cloud. That way we guarantee privacy, even when analyzing them further,” explains Mathieu Van den Mooter, Government Business Lead at Microsoft.

Privacy

“Security and privacy are a priority, both for the public cloud and for edge computing. Not only do we always work in accordance with the GDPR and the regulations of the industry, but we even urge companies to create standards that anticipate the new technologies,” Mathieu concludes. Thierry notes that Proximus, as a Connectivity and IT services provider, has the great advantage of being able to guarantee device and data security by their management of end-to-end connectivity, which is not the case for all companies.

Drawing up a business case for the right application

Thierry: “Because edge solutions require extra infrastructure and therefore come with a price tag, you should first think carefully about which application is suitable. Our experienced partner and Proximus partner Codit is perfectly positioned to help you define a right and coherent business case.”

Near/Network Edge technology

Proximus will propose a unique service in Belgium. The Public Edge Zones within its own data centers. With this model, the applications will run on Azure, within Proximus data centers. This allows more companies access to the edge solutions.