Disruptive forces such as 5G, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) are accelerating the change in data infrastructure from edge to core in multiple dimensions. Big data is getting bigger and faster. Fast data is getting faster and bigger. All of these dynamics are pushing IT architectures to the limits, where general-purpose solutions can no longer support the new era of our diverse data-centric world. As the scale of data creation continues to increase, and the diversity of application workloads expands, you’ll see new architectures emerge in 2019. Here are three predictions:
The Demands of IoT Will Require a New Platform Ecosystem
With the emergence of 5G mobile data networks, the proliferation of end-point devices (IoT), and the need for low latency and data privacy, 75% of IoT related workloads will originate and be processed, at least in part, at the “edge.” However, regardless of the number of IoT devices deployed, their success hinges on one critical component – the speed of compute.
In 2019, we should see platform ecosystems evolve as compute demands increase at the edge. General purpose processor architectures will give way to specialized, purpose-built, low-power processor designs. To effectively process the sheer volume of data created by IoT devices, machine learning will need to increasingly occur at the edge. The new approach will result in a complete edge platform supported by open architectures, including RISC-V processors, ensuring compute moves as close to the data as possible. Within 2-3 years, these new ecosystems will become mainstream.
More IoT Devices, Means Many Smaller Clouds
New edge-computing platforms emerging in 2019 will be driven by the adoption of 5G. With that, we will see the emergence of smaller cloud data centers or “micro clouds” – edge computing zones shared across clusters of devices – in 2019. Compute power will get closer to the data produced by the devices, allowing it to be processed more rapidly and efficiently. Enterprises will rely on “micro clouds” – to not only process and consolidate the data being produced, but the applications running the devices as well.
NVMe™-over Fabrics Will Lay the Foundation for Open Composable Infrastructure
Data is not rigid and the infrastructure in which it lives cannot be rigid either. Although “composability” is not a new term, it will take on new relevance in 2019 as businesses look to increase their agility and flexibility to provision IT resources quickly, when and where needed.
System architects who are trying to build flexible infrastructures using inflexible, proprietary building blocks will quickly realize their limitations. Designing for the future, organizations will look to composable infrastructures based on open standards that enable specialized configurations that are specific to each workload residing in the data center, cloud, or micro-clouds. The foundation will be built utilizing NVMe-over-fabrics and open architectures, where compute, memory, network, and storage can be composed “on the fly” with greater agility, performance, and lower TCO to support diverse business needs.
Forward-Looking Statements:
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