The importance of proximity for cloud services at the center of Assoprovider's challenges in the months and years to come.

Edge Computing is among the most important opportunities in the coming years for Proximity Operators.

This is a sector that could be worth 23 billion dollars worldwide by 2028, with an expected annual growth rate of around 42%.

A field we cannot shy away from:

“With Edge Computing, the basic philosophy should be to move data increasingly closer to users, thus in a Proximity perspective”, engineer Paolo Di Francesco reminded us during APBG22 (review his speech here).

The entire game is played here: transferring infrastructure and data (and thus a part of our sovereignty) abroad, into the "vaults" of the major operators, or fighting to ensure that the cloud becomes a tool of proximity.

Let's discover the advantages and different facets of the concept of proximity related to the cloud, in view of our new event in Palermo, which will focus precisely on these aspects. (For information, click here).

Edge Computing as a proximity technology

By its nature, Edge Computing is the technology that helps us process data locally and therefore in a decentralized manner. It is inherently a proximity tool, processing information on the same device where it was created, such as Marco Martorana and Roberta Savella remind us.

With the ongoing increase of smart devices within the Internet of Things, it becomes an essential tool, reducing the need to rely on centralized servers, increasing service speed, reducing network consumption, and improving essential aspects such as security and privacy.

On their part, clients, especially business ones, they can take advantage of greater flexibility in their systems, by distributing, for example, a series of common resources across different remote locations.

Edge Computing is already being successfully employed in various sectors, from telecommunications to manufacturing, from transportation to public services.

Thanks to technology, a production plant can indeed meet its need to minimize latency levels in data processing and transmission. Consider an assembly line equipped with IoT sensors for fault detection.

According to some estimates, in one month, such an infrastructure produces more than 2,000 Terabytes of data: Edge Computing helps to cut costs and time for the transfer and processing of this impressive amount of information.

In summary, technology offers a series of advantages for both providers and end users:

• Greater speed and stability
• Faster and more stable user experience
• Real-time monitoring of complex systems
• Reduction of network costs, especially with reference to the bandwidth required to transmit data
• Better control the transfer of sensitive data, reducing the potential for accidental dissemination
• Limitation of service errors
• Implementation of augmented and virtual reality applications
• Analysis of Big Data near production sites to expedite any necessary decisions in case of malfunctions
• Independence from central servers, which could have issues and service disruptions
• Guarantee of interoperability between varied hardware and software environments

Cloud and geographical proximity in light of European regulations

The alleged "illegality" of Google Analytics in Italy is recent news. News that has alarmed practically all Italian companies, which with their websites are almost certainly connected to Big G's traffic analysis service.

Everything began when the Privacy Guarantor has intimated to the company Caffeina Media Srl to comply with the regulations GDPR for violating data protection regulations. The issue? Google Analytics transfers user traffic information to the United States, to servers owned by the Californian multinational. According to the Garante, this transfer does not protect privacy as established by European regulations.

For some years now, the European Union has clearly defined what is referred to as "data sovereignty" through regulations such as the GDPR. According to European legislators, companies and users must have the ability to control their own data under certain conditions. Conditions that the United States would not fully guarantee.

In this direction also go the efforts for the creation of Gaia-X, European data space infrastructure, which allows data to be kept within the community space.

In this scenario, it has become essential to resort to cloud proximity: data centers must be located, if not within Italian borders, at least within European ones, to ensure compliance with European regulations.

Cloud and Cultural Proximity

There is one last aspect that makes cloud proximity appealing, and it concerns the so-called cultural proximity.

In an interesting interview, Michele Zunino, president of a company that has been providing cloud services for several years, spoke of "cultural proximity" in the relationship with clients.

He recounted that Italian companies often turn to the "big names" when they want to start a cloud project. Only to then retrace their steps and choose a local operator, capable of adapting the infrastructure to the specific needs of that client.

Cultural proximity is also felt at the contractual level. As Zunino explains, "multinationals offer standard contracts," which are practically unmodifiable, while Italian companies "need specific guarantees for various reasons."

A proximity that also extends to technical documentation and support services: English is still a barrier for many Italian companies; therefore, having the opportunity to "speak in your language with someone who knows your environment," concludes Zunino, really makes a difference.

Therefore, personalization remains one of the most important strategies for a Proximity Operator in defining an attractive proximity cloud offering capable of outperforming large multinationals.

The provider must be able to offer specific proposals based on the reference sector, the size of potential clients, and their geographical location.

To offer a cloud that has the benefits of proximity, providers must develop specialized skills and think in terms of targeted service design.

Come and discover the Proximity Cloud

“The Cloud is an opportunity, and we Proximity Operators have all the technical skills to seize it: better not leave it to others”, explained Paolo Di Francesco during APBG22.

After the event on April 1, 2022, in Bergamo, Assoprovider is organizing the second national event of 2022 in Palermo.

Among the topics at APPA22 will be the role of Proximity Operators in the provision of TLC services and Proximity Cloud services. For information and registration, visit the dedicated page: https://assoprovider.it/appa22/