Skip to main content

What Is Driving Edge Computing and Edge Performance Monitoring?

Keith Bromley

There is a fundamental shift currently happening in operational technology today — it's the shift from core computing to edge computing. This shift is being driven by a completely massive growth in data that has already started to take place. According to Cisco Systems, network traffic will reach 4.8 zettabytes (i.e. 4.8 billion terabytes) by 2022.

Businesses cannot continue as usual and still keep up with network performance, security threats, and business decisions. So, in response, network architects are starting to move as much of the core compute resources as they can to the edge of the network. This helps IT reduce costs, improve network performance and maintain a secure network.

However, is the shifting of resources to the edge the right approach?

It could have a negative impact to the network in terms of new security holes, performance issues due to remote equipment, and reduced network visibility.

At the same time, if the network changes are done right, the pendulum could swing to the other side and great there could be great improvements to network security, performance, visibility that take place.

The answer comes down to the deployment of the new architecture. The pivotal tactic is to deploy a visibility architecture that can support the application services and monitoring functions needed. You need network visibility more than ever to: access the data you need, filter it properly, inspect for security threats, and manage SLAs to keep the latency low from the core to the edge.

Two key components are necessary to a successful visibility in this situation — a network packet broker (NPB) and SD-WAN. The NPB provides data aggregation and filtering, application filtering, and performance monitoring all the way to edge devices. SD-WAN services can (and probably should) then be layered on top of the IP-based links to guarantee link performance, as Internet-based services can introduce unacceptable levels of latency and packet loss into the network.

Edge computing deployments have already started to begin. According to a report from Gartner Research, by year-end of 2021, more than 50% of large enterprises will deploy at least one edge computing use case to support IoT or immersive experiences, versus the less than 5% that are currently performing this in 2019.

When it comes down to it, while the promise of edge computing is real, the actual deployment scenario (and whether or not you build network visibility into your network) is what is going to make or break the performance of your new architecture.

Hot Topics

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...

What Is Driving Edge Computing and Edge Performance Monitoring?

Keith Bromley

There is a fundamental shift currently happening in operational technology today — it's the shift from core computing to edge computing. This shift is being driven by a completely massive growth in data that has already started to take place. According to Cisco Systems, network traffic will reach 4.8 zettabytes (i.e. 4.8 billion terabytes) by 2022.

Businesses cannot continue as usual and still keep up with network performance, security threats, and business decisions. So, in response, network architects are starting to move as much of the core compute resources as they can to the edge of the network. This helps IT reduce costs, improve network performance and maintain a secure network.

However, is the shifting of resources to the edge the right approach?

It could have a negative impact to the network in terms of new security holes, performance issues due to remote equipment, and reduced network visibility.

At the same time, if the network changes are done right, the pendulum could swing to the other side and great there could be great improvements to network security, performance, visibility that take place.

The answer comes down to the deployment of the new architecture. The pivotal tactic is to deploy a visibility architecture that can support the application services and monitoring functions needed. You need network visibility more than ever to: access the data you need, filter it properly, inspect for security threats, and manage SLAs to keep the latency low from the core to the edge.

Two key components are necessary to a successful visibility in this situation — a network packet broker (NPB) and SD-WAN. The NPB provides data aggregation and filtering, application filtering, and performance monitoring all the way to edge devices. SD-WAN services can (and probably should) then be layered on top of the IP-based links to guarantee link performance, as Internet-based services can introduce unacceptable levels of latency and packet loss into the network.

Edge computing deployments have already started to begin. According to a report from Gartner Research, by year-end of 2021, more than 50% of large enterprises will deploy at least one edge computing use case to support IoT or immersive experiences, versus the less than 5% that are currently performing this in 2019.

When it comes down to it, while the promise of edge computing is real, the actual deployment scenario (and whether or not you build network visibility into your network) is what is going to make or break the performance of your new architecture.

Hot Topics

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...