Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 48 | Page 46

CIO OPINION connectivity and real-time decision making from different devices , locations and applications .
This not only accelerates the analysis of your data close to the source , but also speeds up customer interactions and provides further opportunities for growth and innovation . devices and applications by rerouting traffic to the correct destinations and ensuring that your network is not overloaded .
Then there ’ s the cost savings . By deploying devices on the edge and thereby offloading the processing and storage requirements to the edge , businesses can reduce the costs they would typically incur to purchase from cloud providers .
That said , not all edge networks are created equal and a poorly configured edge can turn all these benefits into disadvantages .
First and foremost are the security risks . Businesses need to make sure their edge is ultra-secure and can respond to threat incidents emerging from different devices or locations .
Secondly , without the correct knowledge and training , your IT team may quickly be overwhelmed by having to manage the multitude of devices , locations and applications that make up the edge .
A third challenge is the upfront cost . Implementing edge networking into your business can be expensive as it requires the purchase and deployment of suitable devices and systems that achieve the desired aims without sacrificing security .
Unsurprisingly , the technology behind edge networking is evolving all the time and a recent advancement is the automated edge – intelligence that is embedded into edge devices which takes care of networking tasks like configuration , responsiveness , provisioning and even monitoring all by itself .
As your daily operations shift and change , it will automatically optimise network performance by intelligently steering traffic through different pathways to reduce lag time and interruptions while providing greater reliability and security .
Best of all , the automated edge can work hand-inglove with your generative AI models to improve
Additionally , if your business relies heavily on low latency – which most do – then your IT team will no longer have to constantly manage any blockages in your network and then figure out the best solution . The automated edge does it for you .
The sheer complexity of the automated edge has led many companies to seek out partnerships with network-as-a-service providers to give them a fast , flexible and competitive advantage .
Network as a service , or NaaS for short , provides companies with an efficient end-to-end solution in the operational management and performance of their networks on a subscription basis .
The beauty of this business model is that removes all the complexity .
A NaaS provider helps you to build your own private network on your own terms .
It also takes care of security issues and protects your network from attacks through constant monitoring and early detection .
A tried and tested NaaS provider will have already embedded their platform with the latest automated edge capabilities to interact and interface with all manner of edge devices and applications .
This not only allows you to deploy new technology tools safely and efficiently but also frees up your IT team to concentrate on other mission-critical tasks .
As for network management , your business will have total visibility of your network infrastructure from a single user-friendly dashboard , allowing you switch-up performance and agility on demand .
Meanwhile , all your network maintenance concerns are taken care of 24 / 7 by an expert team of engineers .
If businesses truly want to harness the potential of IoT they must first consider moving to the edge .
By laying the foundational groundwork today for what is surely to come tomorrow , they can take full advantage of future advancements in network edge innovation . p
46 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com