UPDATED 15:52 EST / NOVEMBER 08 2023

INFRA

Bridging the gap: Red Hat’s role in the rise of edge computing

The landscape of computing is undergoing a transformative shift, and its epicenter is none other than the burgeoning realm of edge computing.

As we stand at the beginning of a new era in IT, the boundaries between cloud, on-premises and the edge have become increasingly blurred. Edge computing is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping our digital future. Red Hat Inc., a leader in open-source solutions, is spearheading this revolution.

“Edge computing is growing really fast,” said Shobhan Lakkapragada (pictured, right), senior director of product, edge computing, at Red Hat. “Some people say 20 times faster than core and various industries are going through transformation, whether they’re manufacturing control systems, healthcare [or] retail. We wanted to have a platform that gives them the flexibility regardless of whether they are traditional workloads, containers on Linux or Kubernetes all the way at the far edge.”

Lakkapragada was joined by Sally O’Malley (left), principal software engineer of emerging technologies at Red Hat, as they spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier and Savannah Peterson at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the world of edge computing, exploring its rise, significance and the innovative solutions that promise to redefine the very fabric of IT as we know it. (* Disclosure below.)

The rise of edge computing and its importance

Edge computing is a concept that has been gaining immense traction in recent years. It represents the future of computing, where the lines between cloud, on-prem and edge are blurred, according to Lakkapragada. The dynamism of edge computing, coupled with the impending artificial intelligence wave, makes it an area poised for massive innovation.

Edge computing is not just about processing data closer to its source; it’s about enabling real-time analytics and actions at the edge, where data is most valuable. The proliferation of sensors and data points worldwide presents an enormous opportunity, but harnessing this data effectively requires efficient edge computing solutions.

“The other thing about edge is that it’s heterogeneous,” Lakkapragada said. “Because there’s so many different industry specific hardware vendors … because these edge locations don’t have enough power space cooling, you need that really efficient compute. Red Hat’s open-source based innovation is really resonating well with customers.”

Red Hat’s role in pioneering edge computing

Red Hat, a leader in open-source solutions, has been actively involved in pioneering edge computing. Its Red Hat Device Edge solution recently achieved general availability. This platform optimizes Red Hat Enterprise Linux for edge computing, enabling organizations to extend their workloads beyond traditional data centers.

One of the key takeaways from the conversation was Red Hat’s unwavering commitment to open-source principles. The company collaborates with open-source communities, integrates open-source solutions and contributes to the development of open-source projects, according to O’Malley. This approach ensures that its edge computing solutions are not only innovative, but also supportable and enterprise-ready.

“An open-source project that is one of my favorites is OpenTelemetry. We have found throughout Red Hat that OpenTelemetry can fill gaps in so many places,” O’Malley said. “That’s how Red Hat does things. We integrate in open-source communities. Sometimes we start open-source communities ourselves. And then we bring those solutions in a supportable enterprise-ready way.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA. Neither Red Hat Inc. and CNCF, the main sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE

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