The Future’s at the Edge: Fueling Innovation with AI on Campus

A CENTER FOR DIGITAL EDUCATION THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PAPER

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Higher education needs a robust foundation that powers collaboration, scalable storage and powerful compute.

As AI-driven research and data-intensive use cases grow, many institutions are adding edge computing. By processing data closer to where it’s generated (in labs, within classrooms and across campus networks), edge compute delivers the speed, reliability, agility and cost savings needed for modern learning and discovery.

Unlock Speed, Reliability and Campus Agility

“People still think the best data science and AI development tools are all cloud-based,” says Jerome Gabryszewski, AI and data science business development manager with HP.1

But innovations in silicon, data processing and hardware have led to tremendous advances in edge computing, including:

• Faster insights: Reduce latency and enable real-time decision-making.

• Reliability at scale: Support advanced research and AI without cloud lag.

• Upfront efficiency: Lower ongoing compute costs compared to cloud-only models.

• Data protection: Keep sensitive information local to strengthen security.

What IT Leaders Need to Enable Edge Success

Prepare your infrastructure: Think about where you can introduce edge computing in your existing environment to optimize cost and efficiency. Consider what infrastructure is in place, what is needed and where data will be stored.

Go hybrid: The future of data processing involves the edge workstation, the server environment and the cloud. Large-scale research projects may require cloud computing, but smaller ones don’t. To minimize cost and maximize efficiency, security and performance, universities should look to hybrid computing.

“A close relationship between vendor and institution can help avoid expensive configuration mistakes,” Gabryszewski says.

Engage diverse stakeholders: To prevent bottlenecks and catalyze adoption, bring together general counsel, IT, cybersecurity and finance teams to discuss policy and deployment.

Drive Breakthroughs in Research and Learning

By combining cloud scalability and edge performance, higher education leaders can accelerate research, empower faculty and improve learning experiences.

Produced by the Center for Digital Education The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends, policy and funding. The Center provides education and industry leaders with decision support and actionable insight to help effectively incorporate new technologies in the 21st century.

www.centerdigitaled.com

Sponsored by HP Z. For decades, HP has been a trusted technology partner around the world. The HP Z Workstations & Solutions portfolio offers high performance laptops, desktops and solutions designed to accelerate demanding workflows.

discover.hp.com/hiedworkstations

1. webinars.govtech.com/Unlocking-the-Value-of-Edge-Computing-in-Higher-Education-143802

This piece was written and produced by the Center for Digital Education Content Studio, with information and input from HP Z.

1 / AI model training in research labs: Get faster insights and results from experiments and models.

2 / Classroom-based data analysis tools: Students can run interactive analyses in real time without internet slowdown.

3 / Media and game development projects: Rendering and simulation tasks can be executed on local edge servers, enabling smoother collaboration.

4 / Real-time assistive technology: Powerful solutions make transcriptions and translations immediately accessible.

5 / Cyber-physical systems or smart buildings: Improve energy efficiency and safety by autonomously adjusting HVAC, lighting or security systems based on sensor data.

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Common Edge Use Cases on Campus

https://www.govtech.com/education http://discover.hp.com/hiedworkstations https://webinars.govtech.com/Unlocking-the-Value-of-Edge-Computing-in-Higher-Education-143802