5 benefits of virtualization at the edge
The concept of virtualization was a major breakthrough in
computing technology when it was developed 40 years ago to share computing
resources and improve efficiency. Virtualization was first adopted by IT as part
of select technology applications. But today, with the advent of edge computing
and because of the many real benefits, it has moved to complex manufacturing
control systems and other automation scenarios to enable digital
transformation. Let's find out why virtualization should be the main strategy
for edge computing right now.
Virtualization allows physical machine resources to be
distributed across multiple environments and takes many forms, including
desktop, server, or operating system virtualization.
Virtualization can be used with desktop computers to create
an environment that is simulated and shared by multiple physical machines at
the same time.
Server virtualization allows you to partition the server so
that multiple functions can run concurrently.
Virtualization can also be used with operating systems so
that multiple operating systems can run concurrently on a single physical
machine.
Whichever type of virtualization you choose, the benefits of
perimeter virtualization are the same:
1. Reduced working time for engineers and significantly
increased productivity.
Instead of running the same task multiple times on multiple
physical machines, the task is only executed once. Depending on the task,
engineering hours can be reduced by up to 75%.
2. Faster time to market
Virtualization provides a single dashboard view, allowing
enterprises to quickly access information and make changes to meet customer
needs.
3. Multiple streams of revenue for your organization -
especially system integrators.
Virtualization allows you to fully optimize your servers. By
splitting a server, multiple clients running different programs can use the
same server, resulting in multiple streams of revenue.
4. Stronger competitive advantage.
Moving from physical machines to virtual machines gives you
a competitive edge. Virtualization protects data and system analytics in a
simple, secure, and easy-to-deploy environment and helps reduce the number of
PCs and software licenses required, while protecting data with high availability
and resilience to software failures.
5. Reducing the constant load on the support.
Just as reducing repetitive tasks saves time, fewer physical
machines reduce the time IT personnel spend troubleshooting hardware problems,
managing updates and patches, and performing backups.
In a recent trend report, industry analyst firm Gartner
stated that “edge computing will dominate virtually every industry and use
case,” citing it as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2020,
while another company, IDC, identified the advantage of computing in as one of
the top 10 IT drivers over the next five years. Virtualization is an important
component of edge computing, allowing administrators to quickly and easily
manage workloads by switching between servers. Virtualization plays a critical
role in many scenarios at the edge, including gateways or micro data centers
that process data from sensors at the edge or applications running in
containers hosted in virtual machines.