5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Edge Computing | Risks & Benefits of Edge Computing

What is Edge Computing ?

Today the world of technology changes very often. To cope up with this revolution, organizations too has to migrate services. The best example for this is the Edge computing.
Edge computing is the operation (data processing) that is taking place in the edge of the network. It creates a new kind of approach to the network architecture.

What is the use of Edge Computing ?

Companies too migrate from cloud to edge based solution. The reason for this is the underlying cost, storage and bandwidth requirements present in cloud computing. Similarly there are certain reasons why edge computing can be disadvantageous too. Many companies can be confused on how edge computing is differentiated from other data processing solutions and how this can be beneficial for their business. By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages in edge computing, you can come to a better conclusion whether it will be best for your business.


In this article, I will be exploring the 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Edge Computing | Risks & Benefits of Edge Computing. At the end of this article, you will know the pros and cons of using edge computing.

Let's get started,

Advantages of Edge Computing

1. Speed

Every millisecond in a company is vital for their business. As of result of downtime or latency can cost them with thousands of dollars. 

 

Edge computing has the capability to increase network speed by reducing latency. It greatly reduces the distance it should travel by processing data closer to the source of information. 

 

Through this way the end result is the latency measured in microseconds from milliseconds. Thus, the speed, quality and the responsiveness of the overall service has been increased.


2. Security

The informations present on the cloud has the tendency to get hacked easily. Since the edge computing only sends the relevant informations to the cloud this can be prevented. Sometimes the edge computing does not require a network connection at all. 

 

Even if the hackers manage to infiltrate the cloud, not all the informtions of the user are at risk. However this cannot assure that edge computing is completely free of risks. Comparing this to cloud this has potentially lower number of risks.


3. Reliability

Edge computing handles reliability part very well. Since most at times the edge computing does not depend on internet connection and servers it offers an uninterruptible service. 

 

Users do not need to worry about network failures or slow internet connections. Moreover it can store and possess data locally by using microdata centers. 

 

Due to this a reliable connection can be assured for the IoT devices. Therefore, edge computing is recommended to be used in remote locations where there is no reliable network connection.


4. Cost

Adopting an IoT service can be costly due to their need of more network bandwidth, data storage and computational power. Using edge computing for IoT allows users to reduce the bandwidth and data storage requirement and replace datacenters with device solutions. 

 

Thus, there is significant cost reduction in implementing IoT device and applications. In addition to that, not all the information are sent to the cloud. 

 

The datas will be filtered and only the most relevant ones will be sent to the cloud reducing the network bandwidth. This can overall reduce the infrastructural costs.


5. Scalability

In cloud computing architecture, the data needs to be forwarded to a centralized datacenter. Most at times modifying or expanding this datacenter can be costly. 

 

However the edge can be used to scale your own IoT network without needing to worry about the storage requirements. Moreover in just a single implantation IoT devices can be deployed here.

 

 

Disadvantages of Edge Computing

1. Security

Ensuring adequate security can be often challenging in a edge distributed environment. Due to the fact that data processing takes place at the outside edge of the network there are often risks of identity theft and cyber security breaches. 

 

Additionally whenever a new IoT device is added here, it will increase the opportunity for the attackers to infiltrate the device.


2. Incomplete Data

Edge computing only process and analyze partial sets of information. The rest of the datas are just discarded. Due to this the companies may end up loosing lots of valuable informations. 

 

Therefore, before using edge computing, the organizations must decide what type of informations they are willing to loose.


3. More Storage Space

Edge computing does take a considerably higher storage space on your device. Since the storage devices are becoming more compact this will not actually be a problem. However it is a point to remember in when developing an IoT device.


4. Investment Cost

Implementing an edge infrastructure can be costly and complex. This is due to their complexity which needs additional equipment and resources. 

 

In addition to that the IoT device with the edge computing comes with the need of more local hardware for them to function. This can overall lead to more efficiency but a significant investment is required.


5. Maintenance

Unlike a centralized cloud architecture, edge computing is a distributed system. Which means that there are more various network combinations with several computing nodes. This requires higher maintenance cost than a centralized infrastructure.