Originally posted on The Independent Data Center Alliance

As the world struggled for two years of disruption and inevitable change, the data center industry evolved and continues to rise to the occasion, able to support the high demand for greater cloud migration, cloud technology, data-producing platforms, hybrid IT strategies and edge computing. As a result of the increased demand, the data center world is undergoing a great expansion. As the industry continues to find a normalcy post-global pandemic, data center decision-makers anticipate the many adoptions that need to be made – including sustainable infrastructure and digital transformation initiatives. As a result, it is expected that new data center construction will adhere to the new normal of the post-pandemic world, such as supporting the rollout of 5G, remote work, increased dependence on telehealth, e-commerce, and video streaming – and of course the metaverse and web3. Data center providers are shifting their focus to the edge in order to support all of these requirements. Along with the edge, the focus on low latency is crucial in order to support the transition to 5G, sustainable data centers, smart cities and the increase of remote work. 

The bandwidth demands of remote work, video streaming, e-commerce, telehealth, web3 and more have motivated data center providers to focus on edge capabilities to provide higher distribution of access to data anywhere, at any time. The need for capacity is directly correlated to the global pandemic. Leveraging edge data centers enhances the speed and lowers the latency of data processing for end-users that is critical for the average person’s day-to-day operations. Today’’s world will see actionable data with faster response times and improved performance for enterprise applications and services. When it comes to data processing, low latency and high bandwidth solutions are required, along with a maximum amount of flexibility, which makes data center facilities with edge computing capabilities in such demand. The greater performance and efficiency benefits offices, teams, medical facilities and retail locations with the available flexibility and computing capabilities of edge deployments. 

Today, there is a growing number of applications that require low latency to support end-user experience and other digital needs. From mission critical computing to online meetings via Zoom, low latency is critical for applications to run smoothly at a fast speed. Edge computing, which ultimately shortens the distance that data must travel, is a great strategy to reduce latency and improve the network. Optimizing edge technologies and focusing on low latency, data center providers are able to support today’s “smart cities,” sustainable buildings and 5G technology. 5G is driving the transformation in IoT and utilizing edge computing to make IoT more effective and efficient. The current 5G rollout assures the ability of transferring mass amounts of data at extraordinary speeds. The infrastructure investments being made by wireless carriers enable the computing power that supports 5G ecosystems that promise to transform the digital world. The 5G rollout will not only benefit the data center industry but will enable new technologies including remote monitoring, virtual operations and management and even autonomous cars. 5G and edge computing are the beginning of the post-pandemic era that will permanently reshape the digital world. 

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