Category Archives: Cloud Computing

Connectivity, public policy and cloud skills are among the key challenges facing South African municipalities as they move to become smart cities, says Clive Charlton, Head of Solution Architecture for Sub-Saharan Africa at Amazon Web Services (AWS), who was speaking ahead of an Amazon Web Services (AWS) webinar centred on building citizen-focused smart cities of the future.

While smart city solutions could address many serviced delivery problems currently facing municipalities across Africa, there are certain challenges hampering the adoption of these solutions. Connectivity is the number one challenge, he says. Smart cities rely very heavily on connectivity smart water meters, smart electricity meters and smart public transport all use smart devices to send data to the cloud. This relies on connectivity, so infrastructure and coverage are a challenge in many areas. The cost of data also comes into it.

With more devices in the field sending data into the cloud, it does come at a cost. There are providers now looking at technologies such as LoRa (long range) low-power wide-area networks for lower cost access, but connectivity remains a challenge in many parts of Africa.

Charlton says other factors that could drive or hinder smart city development were public policy and cloud skills. Public policy should play a role in enabling government entities to make use of public cloud. In addition, to really take advantage of the cloud and services available, skills development is important. We need to channel cloud skills, so we have programmes like AWS Educate to help with skills development, as well as free online training through AWS Training.

Amazon is working to help 29 million people across the globe grow their technical skills with free cloud computing skills training through AWS-designed programmes. These programmes have also come to South Africa and Africa in recent years.

This webinar is part of a series hosted by AWS, in collaboration with ITWeb for public sector decision-makers. The webinar will be held on 7 October 2021 and aims to discuss the ways in which AWS is working with the public sector to redesign how public services function in the new normal. It will also delve into how to develop, deploy and promote sustainable practices to address the digital transformation journey, how to meet digital citizens service delivery expectations and needs, and how to employ digital technologies to aid the public sector in building smart urban centres for the future. To register for this event, go to http://ad.itweb.co.za/adclick.php?bannerid=49394&zoneid=0&source=&dest=https://www.itweb.co.za/webinar/cloud-technology-as-a-driver-for-growth-and-innovation-2021-webinar-series/

Read more here:

Better connectivity, cloud skills could fast-track SA smart city development, according to AWS - ITWeb

Cloud computing offers your business many benefits. It allows you to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give you the flexibility of connecting to your business anywhere, any time. With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment (e.g. smartphones, tablets), access to your data is even easier.

There are many benefits to moving your business to the cloud:

Moving to cloud computing may reduce the cost of managing and maintaining your IT systems. Rather than purchasing expensive systems and equipment for your business, you can reduce your costs by using the resources of your cloud computing service provider. You may be able to reduce your operating costs because:

Your business can scale up or scale down your operation and storage needs quickly to suit your situation, allowing flexibility as your needs change. Rather than purchasing and installing expensive upgrades yourself, your cloud computer service provider can handle this for you. Using the cloud frees up your time so you can get on with running your business.

Protecting your data and systems is an important part of business continuity planning. Whether you experience a natural disaster, power failure or other crisis, having your data stored in the cloud ensures it is backed up and protected in a secure and safe location. Being able to access your data again quickly allows you to conduct business as usual, minimising any downtime and loss of productivity.

Collaboration in a cloud environment gives your business the ability to communicate and share more easily outside of the traditional methods. If you are working on a project across different locations, you could use cloud computing to give employees, contractors and third parties access to the same files. You could also choose a cloud computing model that makes it easy for you to share your records with your advisers (e.g. a quick and secure way to share accounting records with your accountant or financial adviser).

Cloud computing allows employees to be more flexible in their work practices. For example, you have the ability to access data from home, on holiday, or via the commute to and from work (providing you have an internet connection). If you need access to your data while you are off-site, you can connect to your virtual office, quickly and easily.

Access to automatic updates for your IT requirements may be included in your service fee. Depending on your cloud computing service provider, your system will regularly be updated with the latest technology. This could include up-to-date versions of software, as well as upgrades to servers and computer processing power.

Continued here:

Benefits of cloud computing | Business Queensland

Hello folks, Cloud Computing is becoming an essential skill for any Software developer or IT professional today as more and more companies are moving towards Cloud for their infrastructure and service needs.

It pays to learn Cloud Computing today as the most likely application will be solely building and deploy in the cloud in the future.

No matter what your role is, if you are working in technology, cloud computing is going to affect you, one way or another.

Anyway, if you want to learn cloud computing then you have come to the right place, in this article, I am going to share some of the best courses to learn Cloud computing basics in general and with AWS and GCP in particular.

To be honest, I have had a tough time finding an excellent course to learn Cloud Computing, after trying a handful of courses on Udemy, Pluralsight, Educative, and Coursera, I have finally zeroed down into following five directions to learn the basics of Cloud Computing.

These courses provide a broad introduction to all aspects of cloud computing, but before going to see these courses lets first understand what is cloud and what benefit it provides? What problem cloud solves, and why is there so much buzz about it?

Well, Cloud has a different meaning for different people and also used to refer different things in a different context, but in general, cloud means a host of services that are ready to use for your application. There are many Cloud service provider companies like AWS (Amazon Web Service), GCP (Google Cloud Platform), and Microsoft Azure, which provides these services.

Now, what are those services? Well, these could be servers, networks, storage, computing power, and other infra related services commonly offered and referred to as IaaS (Infrastructure as service).

There are other cloud models as well, like PaaS (Platform as Service) and SaaS (Software as service) which is nothing but Cloud application and very popular for building online products and startups, but lets focus on IaaS first to understand the benefits provided by Cloud.

Not long ago, in order to host a real-world E-commerce application, you need to buy servers, networks, storage and need to set them up to your requirements like installing the required software and operating system. Most of the companies have their own Data Center where these servers are kept, and there was a high cost involved to keep those data center running.

It was just initial time and cost for setting up the server, but also their utilization was poor; for example, secondary servers are often idle just wasting that precious CPU and memory power. The effect was more evident on big companies which own thousands of servers across multiple data center on the world.

Amazon was one such company, which quickly realize that by using virtualization, they can use the computing power of their infrastructure, and that gives birth to the cloud.

In the cloud, you can spin up a server, database, network very quickly with just some clicks and you will only be charged for whatever you use. So this solves the problem of setup, utilization, and scalability.

Now that you know what cloud is and what benefits it offers in terms of cost, ease of setup, efficiency, and scalability, its time to deep dive and goes through these online training courses, which will help you to learn Cloud Computing fundamentals better.

When I started learning about Cloud, it was a very abstract thing for me; I wasnt able to understand what the cloud is and why everyone is talking about the cloud. It was like a person without a face, but when I learned about AWS, I could co-relate various cloud concepts very quickly.

So, AWS is like putting a face on Cloud, and thats why I recommend this course for anyone starting to learn about Cloud.

This course explains key concepts of clouds like Iaas, PaaS, and Saas with examples from AWS, which makes it easy to learn what Cloud is and what benefits it offer.

Knowing AWS is also a plus because its one of the most popular Cloud platforms, and your experience with AWS will also boost your CV for any AWS job or for a developer job where AWS skills are desired.

Here is the link to join this course Introduction to Cloud Computing with Amazon Web Services

See the original post here:

5 Best Cloud Computing Courses to learn in 2021 | by ...

Top uses for consumers and businesses

In simple terms, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services over the Internet. Many of the things you doevery day are made possible through the cloudlike email, online banking, file storage and backup, social media, andeven online shopping. The cloud has become popular because it provides benefits to consumers and businesses alikeincluding lower costs, easier access, and higher reliability.

For consumers, convenience is one of the biggest benefits of using the cloud. The commonality of the scenarios above is that your applications and data are stored in the cloud, not on your computer or mobile device. This gives you the freedom to access your apps and data from different Internet-connected devices. And because maintenance is automatic, theres less to manage on your end. You dont have to worry about installing software updatesit all happens in the cloud.

Youre probably using cloud computing at work, too. Just like your personal email, your business email may also be cloud-based. Other business uses of the cloud include collaboration and communication; productivity; file backup; data analysis; tools for developing software; and more. Many organizations use cloud-based apps through a subscription model. Its cost-effective because the organization only pays for what it uses. And, its convenient and keeps people productive because they can access their apps and data from any Internet-connected device. Cloud computing also makes many business processes more reliable because data can be mirrored at multiple redundant sites on the cloud providers network.

Here are some examples of how businesses use cloud computing:

The cloud gives users easy, web-based access to communication and collaboration tools like email and calendaring. Messaging, and voice and video calling apps like Skype also take advantage of the cloud. Your messages and information are located on the service providers network rather than on your personal device.

Office tools (like Microsoft Office 365) can be cloud-based, allowing you to connect to your most-used apps over the Internet. You can work in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet software from nearly anywhere. With your information stored in the cloud, you dont have to worry about losing your data if your device fails. Many apps can be run directly from your web browser without needing to download or install special software.

Many sophisticated business applications such as customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, and document management can also be rented from a cloud service provider. This ensures the availability and security of your organizations business-critical resourcesand lets you access these tools conveniently, through the web browser.

The cloud can be used for file storage. The advantage for you is easy backupmany cloud services automatically sync your files from your desktop. Also, if you switch to a different computer or mobile device, you can still retrieve your files. Organizations pay only for the storage used, and dont have to maintain the infrastructurethe cloud service provider does this.

When your organization relies on cloud services for backup and recovery, it can avoid capital outlay for infrastructure and management. Instead, the cloud services provider is responsible for managing data and meeting legal and compliance requirements. The cloud also provides higher flexibility in that it can accommodate unpredictable storage and backup demands. Your cloud services provider can also make recovery faster because your organizations assets are located over a network of physical locations rather than at one on-site data center.

If youre developing web, mobile, or gaming apps, the cloud can help you quickly create cross-platform experiences that scale as your user base grows. Many cloud services include pre-coded toolssuch as directory services, search, and securitythat can speed and simplify your development.

The cloud can provide an environment to help save costs and bring your apps to market faster. Rather than securing budgets and spending valuable project time and resources setting up physical environments, your teams can quickly set up and dismantle test and development environments in the cloud. You can scale these dev-test environments up or down depending on need.

With cloud computing, you can tap into your organizations data to analyze it for patterns and insights, make predictions, improve forecasting, and make other business decisions. Cloud services can provide your organization with higher processing power and sophisticated tools for mining massive amounts of data, as well as the ability to quickly scale your environment as your data grows.

Bring your next great idea to life with the Azure Free Account

Subscribers get up to $1800 per year of additional Azure services

Join the BizSpark program and get free Azure services

Read the original post:

Examples of Cloud Computing | Microsoft Azure

Automated compliance environment

AWS allows for rules-based, automated compliance. At the corporate level, you can create rules regarding how your AWS infrastructure can be provisioned and configured throughout your agency. When you are creating infrastructure for a particular project, you can create reusable templates that allow you to have a consistent environment for development, testing, production, and validation activities. Once deployed, AWS has tools to continually test, monitor, and log events that occur. You can use these tools to rapidly detect deviations from corporate policy and sound alarms when they occur.

Cloud security at AWS is the highest priority. As an AWS customer, you will benefit from a data center and network architecture built to meet the requirements of the most security-sensitive organizations.

Learn more

As with everything at Amazon, the success of our security and compliance program is primarily measured by one thing: our customers success. Our customers requirements drive our portfolio of compliance reports, attestations, and certifications that enable our customers to run a secure and compliant cloud environment.

Learn more

As evidenced by the full range of our Authorizations-To-Operate, third-party attestations, and certifications, the AWS Cloud provides government customers with the only one-stop shop to handle Public, For Official Use Only (FOUO), Sensitive, Secret, and Top Secret workloads.

Learn more

A cloud Region designed to host sensitive data, regulated workloads, and address the most stringent U.S. government security and compliance requirements.

Learn more

Follow this link:

Cloud Computing for the U.S. Intelligence Community ...

Angela Lang/CNET

Amazon, Google and Microsoft on Friday unveiled a new industry initiative that aims to establish basic commitments and protections for companies that store and process data in the cloud. The tech giants, along with several other enterprise companies, have agreed to a series of principles related to customer data and government regulations.

"Through this initiative, we commit to working with governments to ensure the free flow of data, to promote public safety, and to protect privacy and data security in the cloud," Microsoft wrote in a LinkedIn post about the new initiative, called the Trusted Cloud Principles.

Get smarter with the latest Microsoft news, reviews and advice on Windows PCs. Delivered Wednesdays.

The group outlined a handful of key principles, including that governments should engage customers first, with only narrow exceptions; customers should have a right to notice; cloud providers should have a right to protect customers' interests; governments should address conflict of law; and governments should support cross-border data flow.

The initiative comes as companies and government regulators consider how to address a range of cloud computing issues, everything from where data is stored to when information can be handed over to law enforcement. Microsoft Azure is the second most widely used cloud computing service afterAmazon Web Servicesand ahead ofGoogle Cloud.

See also:Best cloud storage for 2021

Visit link:

Amazon, Google and Microsoft team up on cloud computing principles - CNET

Thiago Martins, managing director, Industry X & manufacturing execution systems lead at Accenture, explores how cloud computing has become indispensable to the manufacturing sector

Many cloud use cases have emerged within the manufacturing space.

Most manufacturers are familiar with terms like smart plant, plant of the future, or digital factory. But regardless of the term used, it implies a manufacturing environment where digital technology enables more productivity, efficiency, safety, and compliance. Unfortunately, it also implies an environment that seems far away from the current state of most manufacturers. Why? Because historically, manufacturing IT projects have proven to be long, costly, and in many cases risky especially if they required remote hosting of manufacturing applications.

However, digital adoption has accelerated in the past few years, mainly driven by three factors:

As network and cloud services evolve, manufacturers have access to a whole new set of infrastructure options that they can use to improve the way they support shopfloor operations. These options include edge computing to address near real-time use-cases; private cloud, typically necessary for compliance reasons; and public cloud, which gives them access to scale, innovation capabilities, and flexibility. This is what we call the Cloud Continuum a new model, in which centralised and distributed computing resources are combined to ensure new IT and business efficiencies.

The IT efficiencies associated with cloud are well known. For example, when properly designed, flexible pay-by-the-use computing capacity can lead to 20%-40% cost reduction when compared to traditional on-site underutilised on-premise infrastructure. Cloud also gives access to capabilities of leading service providers such as AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle, and others to keep the infrastructure up and running, as opposed to relying on outdated software or vulnerable legacy infrastructures. By properly utilising the cloud, organisations can reduce IT labour and operating costs.

Darren Van Booven, lead principal consultant at Trustwave and former CISO of the United States House of Representatives, provides six steps for manufacturers towards effectively protecting themselves against ransomware. Read here

From the business efficiencies perspective, manufacturers can unlock value by using components such as:

The question remains: If the cloud brings so many benefits, why are there manufacturers still hesitant to using cloud-based solutions on the shopfloor?

From an infrastructure perspective, the risks associated with remote hosting manufacturing applications, such as performance, availability and security, are well known by most manufacturers, but ways of mitigating them, are not. New solutions like 5G and multi-access edge computing which add a layer of security were not available, known, or affordable at many manufacturing locations until recently.

From a software perspective, until a few years ago, the value of cloud for manufacturers was very limited. Cloud used to be seen as a virtual data centre to which moving manufacturing applications did not represent a compelling business case, as the costs did not outweigh the risks. However, as software vendors introduce new cloud-based products, weve witnessed a dramatic change in embrace. The adoption of cloud-based solutions has become more attractive, especially to those seeking innovative ways to solve problems that otherwise would have been considered too expensive or too complex to solve based on traditional on-premise models.

This article will explore how organisations can avoid cloud vendor lock-in and take advantage of multi-vendor sourcing options. Read here

Advancements in infrastructure, combined with the exponential growth of software offerings in the cloud, has accelerated the digitisation of the supply chains, allowing companies to operate and interact with each other in a more transparent and automated way. Companies are quickly expanding their operational intelligence, moving from single assets descriptive analytics where manufacturers are informed of what has happened; to prescriptive analytics where manufacturers are informed of options to respond to whats about to happen; across multiple lines, factories, all the way to critical elements of their supply chain.

The exponential value creation cycle enabled by the Cloud Continuum does not depend on IT only. It requires organisations to have a well-defined vision, an adequate operating model, and a properly designed set of technology adoption principles. The adoption of cloud solutions without these three components usually leads to difficulty scaling and sustaining the intended benefits.

In summary, cloud adoption in manufacturing went from a concept deemed impossible, or at least not economically viable, to an indispensable way to enable companies to compete in a digital world. Understandably, too many things are new in this space, and the race to increase companies productivity, efficiency, safety, and compliance does not give manufacturers much time to learn from their own experiences.

Written by Thiago Martins, managing director, Industry X & manufacturing execution systems lead at Accenture

Visit link:

Cloud computing in manufacturing: from impossible to indispensable - Information Age

At first glance, a content delivery network, or CDN, and a traditional cloud infrastructure may look similar. Yet, the purpose and goals of these technologies are quite different. Let's look at what a CDN is and why it's often compared to cloud technology, as well as pit a CDN vs. cloud computing.

The world is a big place. While the internet delivers digital content and services globally, the time it takes for a user to access those resources can vary widely. It all depends on where the servers storing the needed information are located -- and how far away they might be from the user making the request.

One solution to this problem is to move content closer to the user. This strategy helps reduce network latency since data doesn't have to travel as far over what could be vast geographic distances.

CDNs were developed to deliver web data in a reasonable amount of time for all users, regardless of geographic location. This occurs by duplicating digital content and placing that content on delivery servers housed at strategic physical locations across a large area. These distribution locations, dubbed points of presence (POPs), are interconnected and managed across a network so that content can be rapidly updated on the fly.

When users attempt to access content within a CDN, the platform directs them to the nearest POP containing the requested information. This framework enables users to access content quickly and reduces network congestion during times of high demand.

Examples of content distributed via CDNs include advertisements and associated imagery, streaming video, e-commerce, financial trading and data from other interactive- and video-intensive websites that cater to users around the world.

Cloud computing and CDNs are similar because they each serve content from geographically distributed servers. But this is where they vary: A CDN delivers content as quickly as possible, while cloud computing is based on flexibility, scalability and on-demand delivery of applications and data. Data access is a concern for cloud computing, but it's a much lower priority for these providers. And it often relies on different techniques to ensure remote users get the information they need.

In many regards, a CDN more closely resembles today's edge computing architecture rather than a traditional cloud computing framework. Like CDNs, edge computing is built on offering users, wherever they may be, low-latency access to resources.

Visit link:

CDN vs. cloud computing: What's the difference? - TechTarget

Thehealthcare cloud computingmarket is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentationwill accelerateduring the forecast period. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market is segmented as below:

To learn more about the global trends, drivers, challenges impacting the future of market research, Download A Free Sample

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis and Scope

To help businesses improve their market position, Technavio's report provides a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the market. Some of the major vendors of the healthcare cloud computing market include Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., Amazon.com Inc., athenahealth Inc., Carestream Health Inc., General Electric Co., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., and Siemens AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research report on the healthcare cloud computing market is designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

The report also covers the following areas:

The increasing cloud-assisted medical collaborations are likely to emerge as one of the primary drivers of the market. However, factors such as shortage of cloud professionals in the healthcare industrymay threaten the growth of the market.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe now to our most popular "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000. View 3 reports monthly and Download 3 Reports Annually!

Related Reports:

Cloud Backup and Recovery Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Private and Public Cloud Market in the Financial Services Industry by Service Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Scope of Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Report:

Report coverage

Details

Base Year

2020

Forecast Period

2021-2025

Incremental Growth

$ 33.49 billion

CAGR

Accelerating at 23.18%

No. of Pages

120

Segmentation

By geography:-- North America - Europe - APAC - South America - MEA

By product:-- SaaS - IaaS - PaaS

Drivers

- Increasing cloud assisted medical collaborations - Integrated service offerings for healthcare - Increased number of cloud vendors

Challenges

- Shortage of cloud professionals in healthcare industry - Bandwidth issue with legacy systems - Security concern with cloud systems

Technavio's research reports are aiding leading marketing organizations to take their personas to next levels.Receive Latest Free Sample Report in Minutes

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

Table of Contents:

For more valuable insights, Click Here!

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio ResearchJesse MaidaMedia & Marketing ExecutiveUS: +1 844 364 1100UK: +44 203 893 3200Email: [emailprotected]Website: http://www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

http://www.technavio.com/

Visit link:

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Grows at 23.18% CAGR | Increasing Cloud Assisted Medical Collaborations to Boost the Market Growth | Technavio -...

Edge computing vs fog computing is becoming a frequent discussion as cloud computing gains popularity and people rely on more Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Both technologies have significantly changed IoT data processing possibilities for cloud computing clients.

Heres an explanation of how edge and fog computing differ, and how they complement each other.

Read more: Top Edge Computing Companies for 2021

Edge computing and fog computing allow processing data within a local network rather than sending it to the cloud. That benefit decreases latency and increases security. The main difference between the two is processing location.

With edge computing, data processing typically occurs directly on a sensor-equipped product that collects the information or a gateway device physically close to those sensors.

Fog computing moves edge computing activities to LAN hardware or processors connected to it.

Fog computing moves edge computing activities to local area network (LAN) hardware or processors connected to it. These may be physically farther from the data-capturing sensors compared to edge computing.

Jessica Califano, head of marketing and communications at Temboo, clarified, Fog computing and edge computing are effectively the same thing. Both are concerned with leveraging the computing capabilities within a local network to carry out computation tasks that would ordinarily have been carried out in the cloud.

Itll also soon become clear that the most important determination in the edge computing vs fog computing debate is usually not which one is better. Ideally, decision-makers should understand what works best for their applications and business structures.

As people become more reliant on IoT data and cloud computing, theyre often increasingly aware of the need to keep information as secure as possible due to what hackers could achieve by exploiting it.

For example, if a manufacturers IoT data is stolen, cybercriminals could learn proprietary details about that organizations production methods.

Read more: Top Cyber Security Threats to Organizations

Sending data over long distances to the cloud increases the chances of hackers intercepting the data before it arrives at that destination. Cybersecurity expert John Arquilla recently said, I have a very simple mantra worth remembering: Data at rest are data at risk. He also confirmed that the location makes a significant difference when people want to keep critical information safe.

Where should information go to be safe? The best places are in the cloud and the fog. Cloud computing is about putting data on someone elses system, and it is a practice on the rise. Growing comfort with the cloud should encourage a willingness to put even the most sensitive information out on it, he noted.

Data at rest are data at risk.

Arquilla continued, The fog is a form of edge computing and consists of those structures between systems that produce data and the cloud. Because it is outside the servers in ones own data center, the fog offers yet another hiding and storage space that hackers will find hard to access. Both are far better than simply keeping key information close. Fog computing does not eliminate IoT security risks, but it minimizes them.

Shortening the overall travel time with edge and fog computing makes IoT workload handling safer. However, as Arquilla discussed, edge and fog computing support data decentralization, keeping the information safer.

Fog computing operates within the cloud rather than outside of it. Thus, people may use it to monitor smaller IoT devices that do not have built-in security measures.

Its also possible to rely on fog computing to simultaneously update IoT devices without requiring they first connect to the cloud. Doing that could keep the respective devices more secure. Another way to protect fog computing is to install virtual firewalls around it.

The rise of the IoT and cloud computing has spurred a related interest in serverless computing. Its a highly scalable process that tasks cloud providers with all servers and associated management tasks, freeing companies from having on-premise equipment.

Just as there are security risks with sending all data to the cloud, the same is true with processing everything at the edge.

That approach makes sense for many organizations. However, it takes substantial time and effort to design a serverless architecture that performs well and is easily maintained. In most cases, the ideal approach is to decide what data to process in the cloud and whats better suited for edge and fog computing.

Just as there are security risks with sending all data to the cloud, the same is true with processing everything at the edge. Cloud providers have stringent security protocols that collectively reduce cyberattack risks. Its not always possible to apply similar measures to edge devices.

Fog and edge computing let service providers filter out sensitive data to be processed locally while handling nonsensitive information in the cloud. Thats useful for industries like health care and retail, which often deal with personal data.

Some applications also demand local data processing to function correctly. For example, the information handling associated with smart assistants often happens directly on the devices. Thats the optimal choice, since people expect prompt answers to their queries.

Read more: Edge Computing Trends in 2021

Most edge and fog computing use cases relate to the Internet of Things. Thats probably because most research on the matter has so far centered on IoT possibilities. However, that could change as people get more curious about exploring past perceived limits. For example, research from Wayne State University suggests it could improve firefighting.

When crews have accurate, current details before and while fighting a blaze, theyre more likely to succeed in getting it under control, saving lives and preserving property. The research indicated that processing relevant data on a firetruck or within a localized data center could provide the faster speeds necessary when dealing with critical details.

Edge and fog computing could also prove useful for handling the massive amounts of data captured by video cameras at live sporting events. One high-definition camera can generate about 1.8 GB of data each hour, depending on its settings. Processing this information locally rather than transferring it to the cloud could improve the experiences of people watching high-profile events, such as the Olympics and the Super Bowl.

As people learn more about edge and fog computing, theyll achieve a more balanced perspective by not trying to figure out which technology brings superior offerings.

In most cases, these technologies complement each other. Fog and edge computing will push technology and its applications forward for the foreseeable future, particularly when the people using them take the time to understand the advantages they bring.

Read next: Edge Computing: Tips for Hiring and Getting Hired

See the rest here:

Edge Computing vs Fog Computing: What's the Difference? - CIO Insight