In a recent appearance on Datacamp's DataFramed podcast, Synadia's Derek Collison (Founder & CEO) and Justyna Bak (VP of Marketing) shared their takes on the:
- rapid shift from cloud to edge computing
- implications of the shift for businesses and software engineers
- impact of AI on edge computing architectures.
Takeaways from their conversation:
Cloud is the new mainframe
Edge computing is the next major technological shift after cloud computing, driven by the need to reduce latency and process data closer to where it's generated. Unlike cloud apps, edge apps must be "nomadic" - able to operate offline, be self-healing, and run with minimal dependencies.
Getting edge computing right requires rethinking architecture from the ground up, starting with connectivity rather than applications, and ensuring everything is location-independent rather than tied to specific infrastructure.
Rethinking app architectures
While traditional applications rely on cloud infrastructure like load balancers and DNS, edge applications need to be fully self-contained and resilient. Synadia's approach starts with connectivity and data layers before considering workloads, allowing applications to be deployed anywhere from cloud to vehicle without reconfiguration - reducing typical 6-month deployment cycles to days.
Using Synadia's edge-native tech stack that makes connectivity the foundational layer, data and services can be securely and transparently accessible to each other, from private cloud out to any arbitrary edge a business defines, without additional infrastructure or integrations.
AI will be embedded in digital experiences at the edge
AI at the edge represents another major opportunity, particularly in scenarios requiring real-time processing like self-driving cars or manufacturing.
Two key patterns are emerging: using real-time data to augment AI prompts, and creating multi-model "agent" workflows that can operate across distributed environments. The challenge is maintaining low latency while coordinating multiple AI models and data sources, requiring new approaches to how data is pushed and pulled across the system.
Ready to explore the edge-native tech stack? Start for free with Synadia Cloud today, and only pay when you scale up.
