Edge data centers are positioned on the network's edges. Edge data centers are smaller than massive cloud data centers and must be positioned near points of congregation and movement. They are smaller facilities that are located near the people they serve. Edge data centers provide end-users with cached data and cloud computing services. This allows for "edge computing," which is the processing of data and services as close to the end user as is feasible. This also enables a corporation, such as a telecommunications service provider, to improve its client experience. In addition, increasing e-commerce activities across the globe will assist in the market’s growth further. According to the data from the International Trade Administration, globally, the estimated sales through e-commerce of various businesses were $5,424 billion, which is further expected to reach $6,388 billion in 2024. This shows that in the forecast period, the demand for edge data centers will grow.
Segments of the Market
The global edge data center market is divided on the basis of solutions, services, and verticals. Based on solutions, the market is subdivided into DCIM & analytics, cooling, power, networking equipment, and others (IT racks and enclosures). Based on services, the market is subdivided into integration and implementation, consulting, and managed. Further, based on verticals, the market is subdivided into IT and telecom, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, BFSI, government, automotive, gaming and entertainment, retail and e-commerce, and others (mining and agriculture).
In the mining industry, as technology such as autonomous cars, drones, remote monitoring, and the Internet of Things (IoT) gain popularity, the amount of data necessary to manage this new way of doing business grows. Cloud-based storage and access technologies can offer miners and their equipment access to this data, but this can become costly as the volume of data grows. Keeping a dedicated data center on-site has its own set of issues, since they require regular cooling, can be difficult to establish, and consume a lot of power that could be better spent elsewhere. For this reason, edge data centers or micro data center solutions are useful. For instance, Zella DC is a company that offers microdata centers. Zella DC's mini data centers can be commissioned and deployed in an hour and are pre-configured with everything needed to get up and running as soon as feasible.
Recent Developments
The market players such as 365 Data Centers Services, LLC, Cisco Systems, Inc., Compass Datacenters, LLC, Dell International Services India Pvt. Ltd., Eaton Corporation plc., and others are contributing to the market’s growth via various activities such as mergers, acquisitions, new data center launches, and investments in technological advancements. Some of the recent developments in the market include-
• In December 2022, Edge Centres, an Australian Edge data center provider, opened a facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The company offers modular "off-grid" data centers that are fueled by on-site wind and/or solar energy and linked to the main grid as a backup. Each site has just under 1MW of solar technology, as well as a 48-hour battery and UPS backup equipment that can handle 64 1kW quarter racks. According to the corporation, the facilities can generate more power than they consume.
• In December 2022, T-Mobile and Cisco announced a collaboration to build a highly scalable and distributed countrywide cloud-native converged 5G core gateway in the US. With this, T-Mobile can significantly reduce operational life cycle management by using a fully automated convergent core gateway to simplify network tasks across the cloud, edge, and data centers. Customers benefit immediately from the enhanced efficiency, as they now have access to even quicker speeds. The new core is also more spread out than before, resulting in decreased latency and the advancement of features such as edge computing.
Conclusion
As more sectors adopt emerging technologies such as the internet of things, big data, streaming services, artificial intelligence, the cloud, and 5G, global demand for edge data centers is likely to rise. The majority of the big corporations have shifted to public and private clouds, the edge cloud, co-location facilities, and emerging data centers that use virtualization and software-defined networks. The advantages of edge data centers are smart agility, reduced network traffic, convenience, real-time data analysis, improved business performance, and cost-effectiveness. All such factors, along with growing telecommunications and IoT sectors, are assisting in the global edge data center market’s growth. In addition, according to OMR Research, the market is expected to witness growth at a CAGR of 21.7% during the forecast period of 2023–2029.