In December 2016, Peter Levine gave a seminal presentation titled “The End of Cloud Computing”. He foretold the rise of “edge computing” as IoTInternet of Things - Physical objects with the ability to connect and exchange data with each other over the Internet. A network of objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, to connect to and exchange data with other such objects or networks. More devices and machine learning applications would start to produce more data and require more compute power. Peter recognized that the decentralization of computing is a recurring theme as computers become more powerful. We have been here before with both personal and mobile computing.
But what does computing decentralization have to do with you or your business? At Alef, we believe that the way that you interact with the internet is changing. And the internet is changing in the following ways:
There is a decentralization that is taking place within the inherent architecture of the internet. There are two primary forces at work here: scale and standards. Scale is driving prices of compute down. Practically all components of a computer are getting faster, smaller, and more cost effective: hard drives, microprocessors, memory, motherboards, and accessories. Sensors such as cameras are not only cheaper, but also increasing in resolution and decreasing in size. The net of this is that storage and compute is being moved closer to the user / application with efforts being made in the micro and metro edge data center worlds.
On the standards side of the equation, the US has approved the CBRSCitizens Broadband Radio Service Radio frequency band between 3.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz that can be used for 5G, 4G or LTE communication. The FCC has recently opened these band to general use. Learn more about CBRS More standard for public use, which enables individuals and businesses to deploy LTELong Term Evolution - 4G mobile telecommunication standard. More connectivity solutions. We are going from hundreds of mobile networks to potentially millions of private networks, which can all be connected with each other.
Data is being produced at an ever increasing rate thanks to advances in connectivity, software, and hardware. This data is being produced at a rate that is quickly overwhelming transport capabilities and at the same time producing more noise than signal. Running machine learning at the edge is enabling businesses to find the signal within the noise much quicker.
Businesses are looking to securely run applications closer to the user with high availability and resiliency. The pandemic forced an immediate shift to work from home and corporations are looking for solutions that deliver their corporate applications in a secure and highly available way. Edge plays a crucial role in this transition as businesses and individuals need an easy button for both application and network deployment.
Alef wants to enable businesses to take advantage of the next major internet shift to 5GThe “G” in 5G stands for generation. 5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. 5G is characterized by bigger channels (which improves throughput), lower latencies allowing for real time applications, and the ability to connect more devices (which is increasingly important as the number of devices has grown exponentially). More Edge infrastructure. We believe that developers will build amazing things with edge technologies. Alef abstracts away the complexity of cellular networks such as spectrum, reporting, roaming, and compliance. Our APIs give creators superpowers to launch 5G edge applications at the push of a button.
Alef APIs can enable new experiences, from interactive intelligent devices to real time interactive advertisements. Our product offerings aid in the rapid creation of new private networks and the capabilities of devices connected to such a network are limited only by your imagination. These new experiences will drive new economies through interactions and apps we have yet to even imagine. Let’s build the future together!
To infinity and beyond. 🚀