JustUpdateOnline.com – As the digital landscape shifts toward decentralized processing and immediate data services, the expansion of edge-native data centers is moving at an unprecedented speed. While the market is surging toward a projected valuation of $317 billion by 2026, experts warn that the underlying technical frameworks are not yet fully developed.
Current industry forecasts suggest that roughly three-quarters of all data will be processed outside of centralized cloud environments this year. Despite this massive momentum, the infrastructure and regional standards required to support a sophisticated edge ecosystem remain inconsistent.
Lalit S. Chowdhary, the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Lightstorm, recently highlighted the various hurdles—technical, operational, and legal—that are slowing down the rollout of scalable edge solutions. These challenges are particularly evident in the diverse and complex Asia-Pacific (APAC) market.
Regional Roadblocks in the Asia-Pacific
While the APAC region is expected to represent nearly 40% of the world’s total data center capacity, it faces unique obstacles. Chowdhary points out that the local network infrastructure is struggling to keep up. Beyond the obvious needs for land and electricity, the region is grappling with cooling difficulties, a lack of specialized talent, and significant gaps in "last-mile" connectivity. Even with the addition of new undersea cables, issues such as cross-border latency and a lack of dense interconnections continue to hinder performance.
The Current State of Network as a Service (NaaS)
Network as a Service (NaaS) has gained popularity for its flexibility and quick setup, but it is not yet a perfect solution for large-scale enterprise needs. Chowdhary noted that many current NaaS models rely on shared systems that limit a company’s visibility into its own operations. This makes it difficult to guarantee strict performance standards or manage diverse data paths.
Furthermore, moving data across multiple countries creates significant headaches for legal compliance and data residency. Because different vendors use different systems and APIs, integrating NaaS with older, existing infrastructure remains a complex task. However, as regional connectivity improves and service agreements become more reliable, NaaS is expected to eventually become a primary choice for corporate networking.
Defining Edge-Native Infrastructure
Building more data centers is only part of the solution. Chowdhary argues that a truly mature "edge-native" architecture is still a few years away. The industry often focuses on physical assets like fiber optic cables and power supplies, but the real bottlenecks are often administrative.
Effective scaling requires "ecosystem readiness," which involves aligning security protocols, software interfaces (APIs), and management platforms across various service providers. Without this alignment, even the most powerful hardware cannot function at its full potential.
The edge market is currently moving in two directions. On one hand, the arrival of telecom companies and cloud giants has made the market more fragmented. On the other hand, there is a push for universal standards and open APIs to help these different systems work together.
The Shift Toward Neutrality and Automation
In the past, being "carrier-neutral" was seen as a regulatory requirement. Today, it is a vital business strategy. In the APAC region’s multi-cloud environment, using neutral architectures helps companies maintain consistent performance and avoid being locked into a single vendor. Chowdhary warns that as the industry consolidates, there is a risk of losing this flexibility, making it essential for businesses to demand programmable, vendor-neutral infrastructure.
Looking toward the future, the next major shift in edge computing will likely be driven by Artificial Intelligence and advanced automation. Future networks are expected to be API-centric, allowing for self-adjusting performance, predictive maintenance, and automated problem-solving.
While the physical growth of the edge is undeniable, the final goal of a seamless, low-latency, and fully automated architecture will depend on how quickly the industry can standardize its foundational systems and regulatory approaches.