Edge computing is a method of processing data near or right at the source of data ingestion, thereby deriving real-time insights. Edge computing eliminates the need to handle and send huge amounts of data through centralized networks while also promoting the importance of localized computing power. The technology revolves around respective peripheries of data captures.
Today, many organizations are rapidly embracing edge computing, seeing its tremendous benefits and growth potential. By the same token, public sector agencies must adopt edge computing to be more innovative and efficient.
Let’s see how edge computing can really change the future of public sector agencies:
What is Edge Computing?
Edge Computing is all about decentralized deploying of computing resources closer to the IoT-controlled devices.
Nowadays, IoT is truly driving new opportunities for edge computing and is significantly transforming how businesses operate. Streams of data collected from IoT devices are inspiring businesses to process it closer to the device where it was produced.
Benefits of Edge Computing for Public Sector
1. Helps Government in Decision-Making
It's high time for the public sector to reap benefits from edge computing, given its ability to derive real-time insights quickly.
With each passing day, we see excellent edge computing examples and how they’re evolving for every sector. Right from elevators that automatically lockdown when attacked to water valves that instantly shut off when they detect a leak, all of these are practical examples of edge computing.
The private sector and government organizations are also launching innovative autonomous vehicles programs based upon edge computing. These initiatives aim to make cities “smarter.” With the real-time insights from these programs, the government can decide how to navigate the city or even help ease traffic on the streets.
Modern IoT solutions such as 3D imaging of areas in the city, GPS tracking, dashboard cameras, etc., are being deployed in myriads of government functions to improve law enforcement to various infrastructure applications.
Edge computing helps in the decision-making process in any government infrastructure where data is being collected. Because of this “real-time” nature of edge computing, it is extremely beneficial for government agencies to take crucial steps, especially in emergencies, disaster management, and disaster response.
2. Closes the gap between legacy systems and modern IT systems
Edge computing seamlessly bridges the gap between legacy systems and modern government IT systems. It helps legacy systems learn and adopt the language of the latest IoT cloud and devices. This way, the government can use their existing legacy systems yet yield fruitful results of modern IT systems.
3. Secures data
Another exceptional benefit of edge computing is how it helps public sector entities to protect sensitive IT data.
As the data processing takes place at the source itself, edge computing discards the need to transfer data over vulnerable telecommunications networks. It can pull out sensitive information before it is even stored in the cloud, thereby assisting government in data protection.
4. Reduces Costs
One of the core reasons public sector agencies must adopt edge computing is its ability to lower expenses. Implementing edge computing in your IT infrastructure will process data in real-time at the source site, allowing you to save costs related to cloud servers and related cloud computing costs.
As per the Wikibon IoT project, IoT data processing via integrated cloud and edge systems is 36% of data processing cost with only cloud computing. This proves how cost-effective edge computing can really be.
Government can use the cost savings in other crucial objectives, such as in modernizing their legacy systems.
5. Acts as a secure data solution
In counties with strict compliance and data residency, edge computing can be a potential and secure data solution. By keeping your IoT data local, it will be prevented from moving to a data center or a cloud.
Today, IoT data is considered a critical Intellectual Property of corporations, and business owners would undoubtedly prefer to keep it at the edge. Since data won’t travel through long distances, it will be more secure with edge computing, and hackers won’t get time to really disrupt it.
6. Real-time data analysis
Edge computing processes data in real-time, thereby creating no lags as seen in the cloud platforms. The speed of deriving results from edge computing devices and applications is comparatively much faster than traditional machines. Such an approach opens up the doors of revenue-making opportunities for businesses, as they can focus on providing better services to citizens and gain cost efficiencies.
Since data latency reduces here, the time required to pull out actionable insights from the collected data is also less.
7. Increases data accessibility
With edge computing, smart devices are able to operate even with low internet connectivity or when offline. This makes it an ideal solution for businesses willing to analyze data in remote areas with intermittent internet connectivity.
Use Cases of Edge Computing in the Public Sector
Many government organizations have already launched a range of edge computing projects to reap maximum benefits out of it. From military situations, healthcare, urban planning to making smart cities, the public sector is making sure they unlock the potential of edge computing to the best of their ability in every segment.
With the help of edge computing, the military will be able to learn new techniques to collect, store and correlate data in order to secure military actions. Drones are already utilizing edge computing in search/rescue operations, big data collection, 3D site surveying, and mapping.
By the same token, the government can use edge computing for disaster recovery after calamities like hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods hit the area. In these situations, it is exceptionally crucial to collect the real-time stats for reporting and recovery management.
Conclusion:
We all know data is one of the most crucial assets for every sector today, whether private or public. Seeing the data evolution across the globe, it is high time for the government to incorporate modern data processing and storage technologies into their IT frameworks and planning.
Government needs to find more innovative ways to adopt edge computing into their various sub-sectors to empower their operational efficiency.