PartnerConnect ANZ

In the spotlight

Why Edge Still Matters in 2026

Welcome to 2026. As we begin a new year full of promise and change, it is clear that the journey of digital transformation continues at pace across Australia, New Zealand and around the world. Cloud, AI, automation and data driven decision making remain central to enterprise strategy, yet one foundational truth stands out. Edge computing still matters.

For years the tech industry talked about an “all cloud” future. In reality, organisations have adopted a more balanced and practical approach through hybrid IT. The latest research shows that a significant proportion of enterprise workloads still reside outside the public cloud, with many organisations preferring a blend of onpremises and hosted environments rather than migrating everything to public cloud platforms. In fact, studies show that a majority of enterprise infrastructure workloads remain in onpremises data centres or colocated facilities, underlining that cloud is only one piece of the infrastructure puzzle. (Intelligent Data Centre) premises and hosted environments rather than migrating everything to public cloud platforms. In fact, studies show that premises data centres or market forecasts reinforce this trend. The edge data centre market is projected to grow substantially over the next several years, with industry research estimating growth from around $10.4 billion in 2023 to nearly $29.6 billion by 2028 as organisations invest in distributed compute capacity closer to data sources. And analysts emphasise that hybrid IT is the dominant model for modern infrastructure, with around three quarters of enterprises expected to adopt hybrid or multicloud strategies by 2026, combining public cloud, private cloud and onpremises resources in ways that match performance and regulatory needs. (globenewswire.com) cloud strategies by 2026, combining public cloud, private cloud and onpremises resources in ways that match performance and regulatory needs.

What does this mean for 2026? Simply put, Edge is no longer an emerging concept. It has become a strategic part of how organisations deliver performance, resilience and control. The rising volume of data generated by IoT devices, real time analytics and latency sensitive workloads continues to push compute closer to where it is needed. Organisations today are balancing cloud agility with the reliability and responsiveness that only locally distributed infrastructure can provide, especially for mission critical services.

Across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, retail and communications, Edge computing plays a vital role in helping businesses manage latency, reduce bandwidth costs and maintain compliance with regional data regulations. It also supports operational continuity in environments that may have limited or no onsite IT staff, making remote monitoring and serviceability essential.

As we look ahead in 2026, Edge remains a core element of resilient, hybrid IT strategies, enabling organisations to optimise workload placement and deliver stronger outcomes for their customers and stakeholders. Vertiv provides ideal solutions to support Edge computing deployments, including prefabricated, fully manageable micro data centres that can grow with business needs and be deployed anywhere. Discover Vertiv Smart Solutions, in a single rack or in a row.

Here is to a strong, resilient and high performing 2026.

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Meet the team

Meet Vertiv's Stan Xu

Meet Stan Xu, Product Engineer at Vertiv and expert in single-phase UPS and edge thermal solutions. He works closely with channel partners to tackle complex technical challenges, and here he shares insights from his role and what drives him outside of work.

1. What brought you to Vertiv, and what were you doing before you joined?

   I was attracted to Vertiv due to the technological innovation that they were bringing to IT infrastructure and data centres. I was a project engineer involved in designing and managing structured cabling solutions but also held experience in designing radio frequency identification solutions in the past.

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2. Can you walk us through your role as Product Engineer for Single Phase UPS and Edge Thermal?

   My role as a Product Engineer is involved with answering technical presale enquiries, determining pricing strategy, product positioning, promotional plans, assimilating product NPDI processes and enabling partners with our product portfolio and product roadmaps.

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3. What problem do channel partners most often come to you with, and how do you help solve it?

   Most times than not channel partners come to me largely with runtime enquiries for 1ph UPS solutions, in-row cooling enquiries, or what the benefits of lithium technology has over lead acid. When partners reach out, I first listen carefully to understand the specific challenge or environment they are dealing with. Then, I provide practical, tailored advice.

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4. What’s been the most rewarding part of the role so far, and what’s been the biggest challenge?

   The most rewarding part of the job is assisting my partners with projects and equipping them with the right knowledge to help them with integrating our products on their client projects.

   The biggest challenge so far was having to learn UPS and Thermal solutions with little prior experience in this field in a relatively short amount of time.

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5. Looking ahead, what excites you most about 2026 for Vertiv and the channel?

   I look forward to growing the portfolio more and assisting my partners alongside my team for 2026!

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6. Outside of work, how do you like to switch off?

   I like to play video games and dance.