RF Code has announced the release of a new white paper discussing the advantages and risks of edge data center deployments. The white paper, Standing at the Edge? Look Before You Leap, defines the edge — what it is, where it is, and its benefits, and reveals the obstacles and hazards IT professionals need to address to ensure their edge deployments deliver the rewards their businesses demand.

The paper explores critical information for those developing an edge data center deployment strategy. According to Gartner, within the next four years 75% of data generated by enterprises will be processed at the edge (up from just 10% today). Clearly, the edge is the next frontier and promises vast improvements in network speed, scalability, security and resiliency over traditional network architectures.

Yet, most IT professionals are still grasping for a consistent definition of what the edge really is. Without that definition it's impossible for IT professionals to understand the unique management and monitoring challenges the edge presents.

“Despite the value and benefit edge deployments promise to deliver, there is no agreed on or standardized definitions or architectures for the edge yet,” said David Williams, executive vice president of products and marketing at RF Code. “That leaves data center owners and operators to define the edge for themselves. We wrote this white paper to define the edge and its benefits and risks and explain the critical operational importance of visibility into assets deployed at the edge.”