By David Warren-Angelucci, OSS Channel Sales Manager
“Edge Computing” is a term which has been widely adopted by the tech sector. Dominant leaders in accelerated computing have designated “Edge” as one of their fastest-growing segments, with FY24 revenue projected to be nearly $100 billion. The boom in the market for Edge Computing has become so significant that it is increasingly common to see companies create their own edge-related spinoff terms such as ‘Rugged Edge’, ‘Edge AI’, ‘Extreme Edge’, and a whole slew of other new buzzwords. In fact, One Stop Systems, a formidable player in designing and manufacturing Edge Computing hardware, markets our own brand of eye-catching phrases like “AI on the Fly” (a creative nod to our long-standing ability to design and supply hardware systems which enable artificial intelligence applications on aircraft) and “AI Transportables” (which refers to an entire product line of high-performance computing hardware that is designed to be used onboard moving vehicles). Whether in commercial or defense industries, the word “Edge Computing” can no longer be ignored.
But what exactly is Edge Computing?
It’s a common question, which is ironic when considering how prolific the term “Edge Computing” has become in the tech industry.
In its most basic definition, Edge Computing refers to computing in any environment which is not a traditional data center. The purpose of Edge Computing is to process data near a particular data source, minimizing the need for data to be transferred to a centralized data center – a process which is often inefficient, time consuming, and insecure. However, there are so many different companies trying to carve their own path in the Edge Computing market that the definition of Edge Computing has become muddled.
The term “Edge” is used to mean many different things across many different industries, so – to minimize confusion and therefore maximize market efficiency – influential accelerated computing market leaders have found it necessary compartmentalize the various types of Edge Computing applications into four overarching categories. Each of the four specific segments of “Edge” has its own set of unique challenges and associated needs for creative hardware infrastructure solutions.
The four pillars of Edge Computing are defined as follows:
One Stop Systems operates within all four of the domains above. Unlike many companies which only have products that are designed to fit in one of the four pillars, OSS designs platforms which bridge the technology gaps between the four Edge Computing segments.
One Stop Systems is a leader in PCIe switch fabrics and designing flexible, robust, scalable HPC systems to support and manage significant amounts of HPC resources efficiently, which is a core value for Provider Edge architecture. OSS also excels in designing ruggedized HPC devices that reliably enhance the performance of Industrial and Embedded Edge applications. The ability to consolidate HPC technical competency with our expertise in designing products to meet the challenges of rugged environments is what gives OSS the unique ability to serve clients in every one of the four pillars of Edge Computing.
Traditionally, moving from environmentally controlled environments of the Provider Edge to increasingly harsher environments of the Industrial Edge and Embedded Edge would have required infrastructure architects to sacrifice compute-performance for ruggedness. Until recently, Edge Computing applications in extremely harsh environments were limited by lower-performance computing hardware which could withstand the rigors of a challenging environment; One Stop Systems has solved this by providing the Edge Computing market with reliable high-performance computing hardware systems, with all of the computational power and performance of machines which can be found in Provider Edge data centers, but packaged in extremely rugged chassis which are designed to overcome the environmental challenges of applications in Edge Computing verticals like Industrial Edge and Embedded Edge.
Clients that have Industrial Edge and Embedded Edge applications which need the accelerated computing capabilities found in Provider Edge and Enterprise Edge come to OSS to solve their needs. Examples of this include One Stop System’s proven ability to design and manufacture reliable, rugged HPC systems for anything from multi-GPU computing in an airplane, to dense removable storage platforms that are mounted to the side of moving trucks, to disaggregated GPU and PCIe networked architecture on military vehicles, and providing all-in-one, liquid-cooled GPU and storage hyperconverged servers inside the cabin of an unmanned watercraft. As such, One Stop Systems has claimed leadership in the Edge Computing industry by defining our own niche brand of Edge Computing (remember “AI on the Fly”, and “AI Transportables”).
One Stop Systems brand of Edge Computing is synchronous with industry messaging. OSS serves to enhance applications in each of the four individual segments of Edge Computing, but more importantly, OSS serves to bridge the gap between each of the four segments of Edge Computing.
So, let’s ask the question again: What exactly is Edge Computing?
Answer: Edge Computing is what One Stop Systems is a leader in!
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