We discuss the following topics in this blog:
- 5G Infrastructure Built Cloud Ecosystem
- A Cloud Revolution: 5G, Edge Computing and Network Cloudification
- Impact of 5G and Cloud on Innovations
- Impact of 5G and Cloud on Industries
In addition to these topics, we shall also be answering the following FAQs:
- What is WiFi?
- What is a Data Centre?
Contents
Data and High-Speed Connectivity
‘Data is the new oil’, goes the present-day maxim – one that is set to hold even more merit thanks to the accelerated rate of 5G deployment across the world.
With 5G’s 100X speed, 10X lower latency, and 1000X capacity, we have already entered a far more connected era with more staggering numbers to come: By 2025, 152,200 IoT devices from various industries will connect to the internet every minute, cumulatively generating 75 ZB of data! For those who can’t wrap their head around that number, 1 ZB (zettabyte) equals 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.
This is where cloud ecosystems globally will be compelled to revamp themselves in order to capture, transport and process this humongous and critical data. And 5G infrastructure and services will be key to it by taking cloud computing resources to the edge of the network and integrating cloud infrastructure with hyper-fast, unfathomable connectivity.
Is 5G Infrastructure Built for Cloud Ecosystem?
What makes 5G so exciting for cloud ecosystems, including service providers, innovators and applications? It is the flexible nature of this next-gen communications network.
5G infrastructure, at its core, is being built on digital and virtualized architecture with features that have an affinity for the cloud. These include Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and cloud virtualization offering improved and more flexible bandwidth, latency and cloud-based management. Unlike 4G, 5G has cloud-native design principles and virtualization as its base. This makes it easy to integrate with an array of cloud services while opening the playground for the introduction of techniques such as network slicing.
A Cloud Revolution: 5G, Edge Computing and Network Cloudification
Robust cloud ecosystems are the reason the world has been able to work from home during the pandemic. In a time where 5G connectivity is still not ubiquitous and slow network speeds are still the norm, the scalability, security and flexibility of cloud technology has enabled us to store, access and share huge amounts of data between devices.
But now, as 5G infrastructure and services begin to take over our homes, industries and businesses, transferring large data volumes will be much easier. Additionally, more IoT devices will also come into the picture, driving not only the upgradation of cloud storage capacity at the enterprise level but also mass adoption of various cloud services and architectures such as hybrid cloud and edge cloud.
While the hybrid cloud offers public, private and on-premise computing and storage environment, it is 5G edge cloud, based on the principles of edge computing, that will bring to life some ground-breaking applications of Industry 4.0.
Since IoT devices require real-time data processing, cutting down latency issues is imperative for their performance. A combination of 5G and edge computing can help achieve this, which brings data processing and storage closer to the point where it is being generated, collected and consumed. Thus, a 5G edge cloud service localizes the entire process and sends only the most relevant data to a central cloud. By doing so, applications like cloud gaming, smart X, AR/VR, wireless broadband, connected automobiles, Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) as-a-service, etc., will be realized.
5G infrastructure will also pave the way for network cloudification – an application that enables network providers to extend cloud services, platforms and virtualization capabilities throughout a network. Doing so makes the network more agile, scalable and flexible – thus enabling consumers and enterprises to meet their growing bandwidth, application and operational demands.
All in all, cloud ecosystems will proliferate at a breakneck pace as cloud providers, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) and datacenters partner to create 5G edge cloud infrastructure.
What is the Impact of 5G and Cloud on Innovations?
From data analytics to Artificial Intelligence, there’s no doubt that cloud technologies merged with 5G connectivity will take many innovations to the next level by enriching their functionality, flexibility and capacity:
- Reduction of costs and enhancement of efficiency associated with big data analysis in industrial IoT
- Minimized latency and real-time streaming challenges in the big data processing
- Reduced latency, superfast speeds, increased responsiveness and hyper-realistic visual quality in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications
- Augmented processing and management of huge amounts of real-time data generated by enterprises that have apps based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and NLP (Natural Language Processing)
- Faster data transfer via edge computing in mobile and remote devices such as home automation, voice assistants, location tracking, etc.
What is the Impact of 5G and Cloud on Industries?
As investment in bolstering 5G infrastructure and services and adoption of cloud ecosystems at the edge continues unabated, many industries will stand to feel its impact.
In order to maximize the multi-fold benefits of 5G deployment, global CSPs (communication service providers) will be spending $32 billion on network cloud in 2025, up from just $4.3 billion in 2019. This will enable them to upgrade the existing network architecture for 5G that will employ increasingly open and horizontal network platforms with vRAN cloud, mobile core cloud and enterprise edge cloud capabilities.
At STL, our Elitecore Cloud and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) services cater to CSPs and the telecom industry as they look to reduce their costs, sustain profitability and ensure quick time to market for new offers in lieu of 5G deployment. These pre-tested and pre-configured virtualization solutions that also include Cloud Billing and WiFi SMP on the cloud can be deployed over the cloud or on-premise bring down the cost, time and effort for IoT and POC.
In manufacturing, digitization and automation will be the direct result of 5G and cloud adoption, bolstering profitability and productivity. In retail, healthcare, banking, entertainment, and other consumer-facing industries, the obvious benefit is a much more authentic, advanced, reliable and real-time experience.
As for the technology and network industry, the edge infrastructure ecosystem will see massive growth, including the development of virtualized infrastructure for supporting new services and applications and upgrading mobile base stations, cloud points of presence and central offices. Other areas that will benefit include content delivery networks, micro data centers, smart network interface cards (NICs), public cloud providers, edge orchestration, automation software, Internet exchanges, etc.
To conclude, 5G is the impetus that the cloud ecosystem was waiting for. Together, they have a seemingly limitless potential to work better than the sum of their parts and make our increasingly data-hungry technology, innovations, industries and experiences more efficient than ever!
FAQs
What is WiFi?
Put simply, WiFi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices like mobile phones, computers, printers, etc., connect to the internet. A wireless router is needed to establish a WiFi hotspot that people in its vicinity may use to access internet services. You’re sure to have encountered such a WiFi hotspot in houses, offices, restaurants, etc.
To get a little more technical, WiFi works by enabling a Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN that allows devices connected to it to exchange signals with the internet via a router. The frequencies of these signals are either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bandwidths. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted to or by radios, mobile phones, and televisions since WiFi signals need to carry significantly higher amounts of data. The networking standards are variants of 802.11, of which there are several (802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11g, etc.).
What is a Data Centre?
A datacentre, sometimes referred to as a server farm, is a centralized physical location housing compute resources (high-end servers), storage (SSD, HDD, Flash, Optical), and networking equipment (routers, switches, firewalls, etc.) for collecting, storing, processing, distributing and allowing access to large amounts of data.
Apart from the IT equipment data center also houses environment controls (airflow, humidity & temperature sensors), server racks, power supplies (backup systems, generators), and cabling systems (ethernet, copper, optical fiber). Initially, data centers were introduced to manage the large influx of service requests and store user-generated data. In contrast, it has now evolved to adopt technologies such as virtualization, cloud computing, mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data analytics.
There are four main types of data centers:
a) Enterprise data centers – Built, owned, and managed by a company for particular use-cases for their target user set. They are usually built on-site but can also be built away from the company premise.
b) Managed services data centers – Deployed, managed, and monitored by a third-party datacentre service provider for a company. The features and functionality can be accessed by the company using a managed service platform (MSP)
c) Colocation data centers – Consist of one data center owner selling space, power, and cooling to multiple enterprises and hyperscale customers in a specific location. The company focuses entirely on running the compute, storage, and networking equipment while the data centre service provider takes care of the space, power, cooling, security, and IT racks.
d) Cloud data centers- An off-site data centre provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud that stores the data of various enterprises. The data is fragmented and stored at various locations across the internet (i.e. datacentres across the world). This offers enhanced security, scalability, management, reliability, customization, and cost-effectiveness.
