ABI Research Breaks Down the Barrier of Fog Networks and the Telecom Cloud

image
New Study Points to the Benefits of Fog Networking Techniques in the Rise of Telecom Cloud Services
18 Nov 2015

With the growth of mobile broadband data traffic and the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting devices through the cloud is now commonplace. Though the cloud computing architecture works well today, it is uncertain whether or not the current infrastructure will be capable of adding billions of latency-sensitive devices in the future. This expected surge in connected devices has innovative mobile operators on the hunt, searching for ways to complement the cloud. In its latest report, ABI Research, a leader in technology market research, explores the benefits of fog networking techniques in the rise of telecom cloud services.

Read ABI Research’s Fog Networks and the Telecom Cloud report.

“The increase in connected devices presents two main challenges: the potential for unreliable communication due to network congestion and poor network connections for short-range wireless devices,” says Sabir Rafiq, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “Fog networking is a means to combat these challenges, with various telecom vendors developing their own architectures to ultimately bring the cloud closer to the end user.”

A distributed architecture, fog networking consists of multiple end-user clients or near-user edge devices that manage and operate on vast amounts of storage instead of using cloud data centers and wide area networks (WANs). It does this by enabling computing services to reside at the edge of the network as opposed to on servers in a data center.

The idea is not to replace the cloud, but rather to rely on fog networking to enhance the cloud experience by managing user data at the edge of the network. Administrators are then able to tie in analytics, security or other services directly into their cloud model.

“Fog networking leads the way for mobile operators to support a distributed telecom cloud computing market,” continues Rafiq. “At the ground level, fog networking is an excellent choice for applications in which there is a high amount of real-time data, fast turnaround results are crucial and sending large amounts of data to the cloud is seen as unnecessary and expensive.”

Fog networking affords mobile operators the opportunity to bring rich content to the end-user faster and more efficiently. Key benefits include:

  • Better Data Access: Removes the need to shuffle large quantities of data to the data center
  • Enhanced End User Experience: Creates an edge network that sits at numerous points around the end user, positioning services and applications closer to the end user
  • Geographically Dispersed Infrastructure: Enables real-time processing of big data and analytics and offers administrators the ability to support location-based mobility demands without traversing the entire WAN 

Additionally, vendors are pushing computing to the edge of the network as they step up to meet mobile operators’ performance needs. Nokia is an early adopter in this market, offering distributed edge computing via its Radio Application Cloud Server (RACS) and Liquid Applications. The company also launched its AirFrame data center solution, with the vision of providing a more flexible and distributed cloud architecture.

While some may worry that fog networking opens up its own set of security worries, research shows that this is not the case.

“Some mobile operators assume that moving services closer to the end user presents additional security concerns,” concludes Rafiq. “The reality is that more security layers are employed. This is because, instead of the data moving between the network nodes, the data moves from the Internet into the servers and onto the nodes. This means that extra firewalls and checkpoints are in place to search for malicious activity, typically making it harder for anything to sneak into the network and cause a problem.”

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Fronthaul and Backhaul for Next Generation Networks Service, which includes research reports, market data, insights and competitive assessments.

About ABI Research

For more than 25 years, ABI Research has stood at the forefront of technology market intelligence, partnering with innovative business leaders to implement informed, transformative technology decisions. The company employs a global team of senior analysts to provide comprehensive research and consulting services through deep quantitative forecasts, qualitative analyses and teardown services. An industry pioneer, ABI Research is proactive in its approach, frequently uncovering ground-breaking business cycles ahead of the curve and publishing research 18 to 36 months in advance of other organizations. In all, the company covers more than 60 services, spanning 11 technology sectors. For more information, visit www.abiresearch.com.

About ABI Research

ABI Research is a global technology intelligence firm uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology solution providers and end-market companies. We serve as the bridge that seamlessly connects these two segments by providing exclusive research and expert guidance to drive successful technology implementations and deliver strategies proven to attract and retain customers.

ABI Research 是一家全球性的技术情报公司,拥有得天独厚的优势,充当终端市场公司和技术解决方案提供商之间的桥梁,通过提供独家研究和专业性指导,推动成功的技术实施和提供经证明可吸引和留住客户的战略,无缝连接这两大主体。

For more information about ABI Research’s services, contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific, or visit www.abiresearch.com.

Contact ABI Research

Media Contacts

Americas: +1.516.624.2542
Europe: +44.(0).203.326.0142
Asia: +65 6950.5670

Related Service