IDC, Lumen, Intel: Edge Computing Key to Curbing Latency

The majority of enterprises want technology partners to help them deploy edge computing, according to a new IDC study.

IDC this week released its “Edge Computing Solutions Powering the 4th Industrial Revolution” report, which found that two-thirds of IT leaders are establishing edge computing solutions.

IDC queried 800 technology decision-makers from seven different industries and various countries. Each respondent came from a company of more than 1,000 employees, while 30% worked for an employer of more than 10,000. Lumen Technologies and Intel Corporation sponsored the study.

The study concluded that enterprises value latency over speed. Although data speeds are increasing across the world, increasing globalization and growing geographical gaps between users mean that “distance neutralizes speed.” Thus, IDC observes that controlling latency must be a priority. The vast majority (nine out of 10) of respondents said they require a latency of under 10 milliseconds in order for applications to work properly. For edge-related projects, 75% of business leaders needed less than 5 milliseconds.

And IDC, Lumen and Intel argue that edge solutions can help cut down on latency.

Edge Computing Adoption

Edge computing is a strategic investment for about 75% of the respondents. Two in five (40%) said they will invest in new edge solutions within a year. Moreover, 54% of respondents expressed comfort with relying on a service provider for an edge solution. Of those looking for a new edge solution, 73% want to consume it as a flexible, subscription-based managed service.

IDC’s Ghassan Abdo

“C-suite leaders across verticals are looking to edge computing solutions to achieve significant operational efficiencies and improved security and compliance by limiting movement of data,” said Ghassan Abdo, IDC’s research vice president of worldwide telecom, virtualization and content delivery network. “They also want to deliver better customer experiences. All of these priorities can be addressed through edge computing solutions.”