Supporting Network Edge Deployments

Everyone uses it. Most take it for granted. We all stress out if it doesn’t work. If you use a mobile phone, update your social status, shop for groceries or withdraw money from a local bank, you are a network edge user. And if you have an IT client in education, retail, banking or manufacturing, chances are that they are working hard to support compute at the network edge.

Increased use of streaming and social platforms, and the demand for faster and improved data delivery across many industries, has resulted in a growing need for reliable compute and infrastructure in remote and non-traditional spaces. While this influx of edge deployments improves user connectivity and productivity, supporting the infrastructure can be a true strain on resources and budget for businesses investing in remote IT.

To be competitive, edge sites require robust IT and infrastructure for availability, remote visibility and control to limit support time spent at the edge site, and a service and maintenance program that sustains the infrastructure for the entire equipment lifecycle. Following are some solutions to common edge challenges to help your customers with IT at the edge become more productive and efficient:

No time to research, order and deploy disparate parts of an IT infrastructure: A turn-key micro-datacenter–complete with power, cooling, distribution, monitoring and control–can save a business the time and frustration of configuring, specifying and deploying disparate technologies to support IT at the edge. Integrated solutions are easily repeated for businesses with multiple edge sites, and can range from half-rack or single cabinet solutions for small sites to multi-cabinet systems complete with cooling and fire suppression for small to midsize sites.

Lack of visibility into infrastructure operation requires frequent visits to edge IT locations: Solutions that provide remote visibility and control of compute and infrastructure will enable data center personnel to be aware of equipment status and perform functions such as shutdown, reset and request for service without leaving the central office. Consider technologies such as a serial console device that provides serial access, environmental monitoring, IoT integration and remote networking capability.

Lack of time or trained staff for initial and ongoing infrastructure support: IT departments are running at full speed to keep up with strategy, governance, user support and daily operations. It’s no surprise that many organizations lack the bandwidth to provide support for all of their edge locations. Service packages, such as the Vertiv Power Assurance Package, provide lifecycle support for infrastructure equipment–covering the disposal of old equipment, installation, deployment, service and scheduled maintenance. This allows IT staff to focus on strategic initiatives and other projects that keep the business running.

For information on edge infrastructure solutions, check with your local Vertiv representative or visit www.VertivCo.com.

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Jessica Kaiser is director of global partner programs at Vertiv.

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