IIoT, SCADA & Edge Connectivity worked example

Edge Compute Payback with edge compute project cost of 22,500 $: a worked example

This worked example runs the edge compute payback numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: edge compute project cost of 22,500 $ instead of the typical 45,000 $. Estimate the payback period in years on an edge compute investment (industrial PC, edge gateway with analytics, on-machine AI box) from project cost, annual savings (cloud egress avoided, latency-sensitive uptime, local control wins), and annual operating cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Edge compute project cost: 22,500 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 45,000)
  • Annual savings from edge architecture: 22,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual edge operating cost: 3,500 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual edge savings = annual savings - annual edge operating cost.
  • Edge compute payback period works out to 1.22 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual edge savings works out to 18,500 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Edge compute project cost works out to 22,500 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net edge value works out to 70,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where edge compute project cost sits at 45,000 $ and the headline result is 2.43 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.22 yr.
  • Use it when deciding whether to deploy edge gateways or controllers for SCADA, IIoT, or machine analytics instead of routing everything to the cloud or a central server. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Edge compute payback period: 1.22 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual edge savings: 18,500 $ / yr
  • Edge compute project cost: 22,500 $
  • Five-year net edge value: 70,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Edge Compute Payback calculator, set edge compute project cost to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.