Data Centres at the Edge

The edge isn’t new. However, what’s happening at the edge is new; it’s becoming a ‘primary source of data from an explosion of internet-connected things’, according to industry research firm Gartner Group. Also, interactions with data by people can be ‘transactional (which can take place at a distance) to immersive (which requires data and compute to be physically closer to the person, due to latency requirements),’ Gartner adds.

The edge will be increasingly difficult to service as more connected devices are brought online; 50-billion devices will be Internet connected globally by 2020, according to Cisco.

To meet the expected uptick in mobile edge computing smaller, distributed data centres closer to large groups of users and content generators as demands on data centres and networks increase and delays are deemed unacceptable and the bulk of the data is being produced at the edge.

As such, edge data centres are an important building block for companies looking to deliver low-latency services and minimise resiliency issues when companies attempt to connect these things to each other and with people. That’s because a data centre on an edge network – a computing enclosure, space or facility that’s placed closer to the source of the data or user base according to the Infrastructure Masons industry group – is crucial to effective service delivery as they’re closer to customers which means latency can be minimised.

Colt Data Centre Services facilities can handle the need by enterprises to deal with latency-sensitive applications at the i.t. edge. As a colocation data centre provider, Colt offers space in smaller facilities that help companies serve secondary locations. Colt’s regional data centres, which are typically less than six miles to end users and have connectivity to internet exchanges, serve as aggregation points and bridges between the Cloud and edge service users with high-volume needs and latency-sensitive applications.

Colt provides space, power and connectivity for service providers and other customers meaning full data centre capabilities are provided within a facility. Otherwise, a modularised site located close to the i.t. edge of an organisation’s main network is offered.

Information technology decision makers recognise the complementary role that colocation providers play. Nearly two-thirds of decision makers responsible for selecting colocation services respondents told 451 Research recently that colocation providers will likely play an important role in the next two-to-three years for data processing close to the source.