If your organization has a poor-performing network and your network connectivity is unreliable, it will negatively impact the productivity and efficiency of your employees.
Understanding the differences between edge computing and cloud computing will help you determine which one is the best solution for your organization to improve network performance and employee productivity.
Coeo knows how important a reliable network is to an organization and has delivered network solutions to thousands of customers to improve their network performance and network security.
We want you to understand the difference between edge computing and cloud computing so you can determine which one is the best fit for your organization.
By the end of this article, you will know what edge computing is, what cloud computing is, the differences between edge computing and cloud computing, and which one is the best solution for your organization.
What is edge computing?
Edge computing is an IT architecture that allows data to be processed at the edge of the network as close to the source of the data as possible.
Data is so important to businesses today because it provides highly valuable insight and real-time control over critical business processes and operations.
However, with every business relying on more and more data, this large quantity of data causes increased bandwidth issues, high latency, and network interruptions.
To combat these challenges, edge computing takes a portion of data out of the data center and stores it on the edge of the network closer to the source of the data.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services and data such as servers, storage, databases, networking, analytics, and software over the internet via the cloud.
Since cloud computing uses the internet to access resources and data, cloud computing offers more flexibility, faster loading speeds, and is typically less expensive.
Since cloud computing requires less hardware and allows users to only pay for what they use, it can result in cost savings.
The differences between edge computing and cloud computing
Edge computing and cloud computing have similar objectives and are both used to process data while improving network performance. However, there are a few differences between the two including:
Computing strategy
Cloud computing uses the internet to process and store data in the cloud. Cloud computing enables this to be performed in remote data centers or servers located far away from the user's devices.
Alternatively, edge computing brings the data center closer to the user's devices. This eliminates the need to connect to a data center over the internet.
Moving the data center closer to the end users pushes the data storage and computation to the edge of the network enabling them to use less bandwidth and cloud storage.
Latency
Because cloud computing sends data to and from a data center, there may be some latency that occurs when data is transmitted.
Latency in network communications and telecommunications is the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another. Typically, customers want low latency, as close to zero as possible.
High latency happens when data packets do not arrive in a timely fashion or take longer than they should.
Cloud computing can cause higher latency which results in increased web page load times, unloadable pages, or interrupted audio and video streams.
Bandwidth usage
Since cloud computing uses the internet to send and receive data through the cloud, your organization will be using a significant amount of bandwidth.
This can create challenges when there are bandwidth limitations or an unstable internet connection.
Additionally, bandwidth can be expensive if large quantities of it are being used. The less bandwidth you need the less costly it will be a month.
However, if your organization uses a lot of bandwidth you will need to pay for a significant amount of bandwidth each month which can be expensive.
On the other hand, edge computing processes and stores data locally which minimizes the need for as much bandwidth.
Is edge computing or cloud computing a better solution for your organization?
Now you know the differences between edge computing and cloud computing. However, it is also important to understand which one is the best fit for your organization.
If your organization is currently dealing with high latency issues, edge computing may be a better fit for your organization.
If your organization has bandwidth limitations your employees may have a difficult time connecting to the network and will experience slow internet speeds.
Edge computing allows you to process data locally without relying on a connection to the server.
However, if your organization does not experience high latency, cloud computing may be a better fit for your organization.
It may not be practical for every organization to use edge computing if they do not have an available data center near their locations so in those situations, cloud computing may be a better solution for their organization.
Next steps to using cloud computing or edge computing
Now you know what edge computing is, what cloud computing is, the differences between the two, and which is best for your organization.
This will help you determine if edge computing or cloud computing is right for your organization.
If your organization is dealing with a poor-performing network, it can be difficult for your employees to maximize their productivity if they rely on a network connection to perform daily tasks.
Understanding the differences between cloud computing and edge computing will help you determine which one is the best solution for your organization.
Coeo knows how important a reliable network is to an organization and has delivered thousands of network solutions to customers to improve their network.
We want you to know the differences between cloud computing and edge computing so you can determine which one will benefit your organization’s network the most.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about edge computing or cloud computing or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now you know the differences between edge computing and cloud computing and which one is the best fit for your organization.
Read this article to learn how 5G is and how it can help improve your network reliability and security.
