In a phase in which the link between connectivity and digital transformation is increasingly strong, also due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, HPE Aruba – HPE’s dedicated networking company – is increasingly strengthening the link with the parent company. With important consequences also for the entire ecosystem of channel operators. These are the most important indications for Italy that come from the recent edition of Atmosphere, the global event that took place at the end of April in Las Vegas. Edoardo Accenti, Country manager of HPE Aruba networking, was inspired by a research that collected the answers of 2,100 IT managers from 21 countries including Italy. According to 44% of the sample, the network is seen by their company and its leadership mainly as a tool for digital transformation, while 33% say that their organization believes that it plays a wider role in business transformation. Conversely, only 23% say their organization only considers the network for its functional connectivity.
The acquisitions
Another important fact is that cybersecurity attacks in 2022 (source Clusit) grew by 167% more. So security closely concerns Italy, also because the attacks have often been successful. Our vision of security fits into this context, which is the basis of the recent acquisition of Axis Security, which deals with cloud protection. With this acquisition, which follows that of Silver Peak, it completes a framework that allows us to cover corporate security at 360 degrees, in the logic of zero trust”. Another important operation in the field of connectivity that concerns Italy is also in sight: the acquisition of Athonet, an Italian software company based in Vicenza which boasts 15 years of experience in the sector and which will allow the group to make a historic technological transition , the one towards private 5G. With the completion of the investment – expected by the end of 2023 – HPE Aruba will therefore be able to go beyond Wi-Fi, using 5G to serve some particular use cases, such as stadiums, construction sites, etc.
The ultimate goal obviously remains the transport of digital data: “We take care of everything related to the transport of data, which constitutes a fundamental asset for the business of companies. For this reason we are increasingly implementing AI-based solutions, which allow for the implementation of that predictivity and those actions in the infrastructure before it can get into problems” highlights the country manager.
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Atmosphere news
Atmosphere’s technological detail was highlighted by Alessandro Ercoli, pre-sales manager, who underlined how the most important announcements concerned intelligence, or the software side of HPE Aruba’s offer. Furthermore, Aruba Central – the software that allows the management of network infrastructures – has become a module within the vast archipelago of HPE GreenLake, HPE’s IT delivery model based on hybrid cloud and as a service. In addition, a whole other series of improvements and optimizations have been introduced: “Aruba Central has been enhanced even more to allow management of infrastructures in an even simpler way, thanks to Ai and analytics. We have introduced a different graphic layout and will soon introduce the “time travel” function: this means that not only will it be possible to know the real-time health status of each device, but it will be possible to go back up to 7 days in advance. More generally we try to facilitate the orchestration of any type of network infrastructure (including data centers). Considering that – in the vast majority of companies – networking is fundamentally an enabler of other types of business and that perhaps companies do not have enough competent resources to dedicate to it”.
A new channel program
From a strictly commercial point of view, HPE Aruba confirms the decision to increasingly focus on an as a service model, which also involves and will increasingly involve channel partners, including smaller ones that serve the SMB sector . As pointed out by Daniela Quagliarella, channel sales manager, The role of partners is changing. At present, it is no longer just a pure resale that is required, but that you act as an advisor. This is why our partners also have to shed their skin, focusing on value-added services, integrating third-party solutions and looking at recurring revenues”. Precisely in this context, the Italian channel ecosystem can choose whether to switch immediately to Partner ready advantage, the overall HPE channel program, which fully embraces the concepts of as a service and flexibility, or remain for the moment linked to the old networking program. In any case, once this phase-in phase is over – Partner Ready will remain the only working tool.
The bond with HPE is getting closer and closer
Both the major technological link with Green Lake that the new Partner Program are important signs of a growing integration with the parent company, as Accenti himself confirmed to Tech Company 360: “In general, it is an integration driven by the client companies themselves, who often and willingly ask for a transformation that embraces more areas than the IT. So we find ourselves involved not only in technological renewals of wi-fi and switches, but in projects that lead to the redesign of business processes. In these cases, our proposition on HPE GreenLake comes into play”. As regards the situation on the Italian market, the country manager claimed – without going into detail – the good results achieved in the public sector, but also in areas such as finance and manufacturing, as well as in healthcare, thanks also to the growing IoT trend which favors investments in networking.