Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings data processing, storage, and application logic closer to the source of data generation—at the network edge—rather than relying on centralized cloud data centers. This architectural shift emerged to address the latency, bandwidth, and reliability challenges of cloud-first models, particularly as IoT devices, real-time AI inference, and 5G networks proliferate. By processing data locally, edge computing reduces round-trip time to distant servers, conserves bandwidth by filtering data at the source, and enables applications to function even when connectivity to the cloud is intermittent. The key insight: not all data needs to travel to the cloud—edge computing runs compute where the data lives, delivering millisecond-level responsiveness for applications where every millisecond counts.