The edge appears to be everywhere these days. Industry pundits and vendors talk about edge computing and edge networking, edge devices, and edge security.

But what are we all talking about? Definitions of “the edge” bring to mind the fable about the blind men describing an elephant. Each description reflects the provider’s limited perspective. All are correct; none is complete.

The problem with the conflicting definitions and vantage points is that enterprises are left without guideposts to assess the new technology. Do they need an edge strategy? If so, how should they go about buying, building, or implementing one?

In this report, we explore the edge landscape. We parse the myriad definitions, and show how each component is relevant to a total solution. We also step back and show how the principles behind “edge compute” are consistent with best practices for any workload deployment in a hybrid cloud environment.