According to a new report, organizations are increasingly adopting edge technologies to stay competitive, and nearly 70% of them are using them to solve critical business problems

SAN JOSE, Calif. & LONDON

NTT Ltd., a leading international provider of IT infrastructure and services, today published its Edge Advantage Report. It shows that two-thirds of companies investing in edge solutions are addressing specific business problems, and more than eight in ten companies expect their reliance on external edge services to increase over the next two years.

Businesses around the world are realizing the value of gaining a competitive advantage through the use of digital technologies that accelerate data-driven decision-making, secure physical and digital assets, and manage robust and sustainable operations. Although more than 80% of technology decision makers report that their expectations for edge investments have been met or exceeded, many are concerned that rapid technological advances could cost them dearly in the long run.

infrastructure capabilities

Current edge adopters see fragmented management of computing power, connectivity, and IoT devices as a barrier to realizing the full potential of edge computing. As a result, companies that combine private 5G and edge technology see the greatest advantages over companies that use a traditional, separate approach or none at all.

According to the report, nearly 40% of organizations planning edge deployments admit they will need to upgrade their networks to handle the expected increase in connected devices and applications, although most organizations believe their network infrastructure will support the current edge -Can meet requirements. In fact, more than two-thirds of companies that have already deployed an edge plan to upgrade their wide area network.

For this reason, many companies want to enlist the support of partners when they bring themselves up to date with the latest technology. So much so that 90% of respondents said they would prefer to source edge services from a single partner that provides a single point of accountability. 88% of respondents believe their organization’s reliance on third-party edge services will increase over the next 24 months.

Shahid Ahmed, EVP New Ventures & Innovation at NTT Ltd, explained that the demand for faster processing and a distributed digital architecture is putting more strain on infrastructure and network capacities, accelerating the adoption of private 5G and edge. “Reaching the edge advantage requires comprehensive solutions with integrated management and strong accountability. Only by deploying these technologies can organizations access data instantly and with near-zero latency, regardless of where it is generated or collected, and this Leverage data to drive effective business outcomes.

A look at the industry

Depending on the industry, many factors can influence the adoption of edge solutions. Operational efficiency ranks first among the investment drivers for manufacturing companies, followed by data security. By using data to gain a competitive advantage, manufacturing companies strive to be just-in-time companies that can meet and even anticipate market needs. The main reasons for using edge solutions can be broken down as follows:

• Increase employee safety, experience and efficiency (79%)

• Streamlining/digitizing business processes (76%)

• Improving customer experience/anticipating customer needs (74%)

• Increased use of data for decision making (72%)

Every healthcare, transportation and manufacturing company has met or exceeded their expectations for improving supply chain efficiency and resilience. In the energy sector, the same could be true for improving employee efficiency, safety and experience.

Edge-optimized applications benefit from real-time data collection with low latency, predictability, and high bandwidth to meet industry-specific requirements. Given the benefits of Edge, it should come as no surprise that more than 90% (93%) of respondents see it as a competitive advantage in their industry.

Complex Environments

Companies that have already implemented Edge report that automating and integrating AI into business operations and accessing data in real time are key investment drivers. However, since they require the following, meeting these goals is a difficult challenge:

• Tight orchestration of hardware, platforms, systems and devices

• Consistent operational performance without compromising security

• Overcome legacy infrastructure and technical debt

In a complex and change-resistant environment, companies need support in the complex implementation of cutting-edge and next-generation technologies. To prevent production from being impacted during migration, existing protocols and systems must be properly controlled.

The challenges an organization can face is a key motivation for 94% of organizations to work with edge experts, and 90% of them need a single edge partner who can meet all of their needs. However, those who are able to leverage the benefits of Edge effectively can aim to grow their business, increase agility, improve sustainable business practices, and improve quality control.

Camille Mendler, Principal Analyst at Omdia, explained that companies looking to evolve into real-time enterprises need support beyond developing and deploying edge solutions. The ability to stay ahead of complexity is enabled by managed services.

The Journey to the Edge

NTT launched its Edge as a Service product late last year to protect, enhance and streamline companies’ digital transformation processes. The Managed Edge Compute Platform offers organizations the ability to quickly deploy and securely manage and monitor applications by leveraging network infrastructure capabilities and NTT’s global footprint.

At the end of the report, NTT has compiled a guide with suggested starting points and paths that companies should consider before embarking on their edge journey. To read the full 2023 Edge Advantage Report, clickhere.

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About NTT Ltd

NTT Ltd. is a leading provider of IT infrastructure and services, serving 65% of the Fortune Global 500 and more than 75% of the Fortune Global 100 as part of NTT DATA, a $30 billion IT services company. By innovating at the edge of enterprise IT environments, where networks, clouds and applications meet, we power the enterprise edge-to-cloud networking ecosystem, reducing the complexity of their workloads in multi-cloud environments and simplify them. All of our secure, scalable and adaptable data centers offer a bespoke infrastructure and we guarantee best practices in design and operations for all. With our platform-based infrastructure services, we support companies on their way to a software-defined future. We make a connected future possible. Visit us at services.global.ntt

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View original version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230601005603/de/

Media contact:

Lori Bosio

External Communications, NTT Ltd.

[email protected]

Andrea MacLean

Wireside Communications for NTT Ltd.

[email protected]

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