Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is set to take part in the 2021 edition of the much-awaited GITEX Technology Week.
Exhibiting under the theme ‘Your Journey. Your Edge’, the networking solutions company will demonstrate how organisations in the Middle East can leverage Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) to prepare for a post-pandemic world of hybrid working, digital-first experiences, and hyper-aware facilities.
We caught up with Jacob Chacko, Regional Director – Middle East, Saudi & South Africa at Aruba, to find out what’s in store for the visitors at its stand during GITEX.
What are the key highlights of your participation at this year’s GITEX Technology Week?
We will showcase the Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), an industry’s first platform with an AI-powered ‘sixth sense’. The solution is designed to unify, automate, and secure the Intelligent Edge and help organisations harness its immense potential.
An area of focus for the company at GITEX will be on its EdgeConnect platform – an SD-WAN edge solution. The technology is built for today’s edge-to-cloud enterprise and delivers the highest quality of experience for users and IT, no matter where applications reside. Aruba enables enterprises to build a modern WAN that drives maximum value from cloud and digital transformation initiatives with a self-driving network that learns and adapts to the needs of the business.
Aruba will also showcase the company’s 630 Series Access Points (APs) – the industry’s first enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E solution. The benefits of Wi-Fi 6E are clear and, alongside other important networking advancements, it is set to enable businesses to become more connected than ever before. Aruba’s WiFi 6E technology will enable businesses to dispense with sluggish connections and poor user experiences, and replace them with powerful, high-speed networks.
With organisations looking to lower their risk during uncertain times, Aruba executives are keen to discuss Aruba as-a-service and Aruba network as a service (NaaS) options that offer business and IT leaders greater visibility, control, and flexibility across hardware, software, and management operations. The pay-as-you-go budgeting model respects today’s organisational imperative of guarding the bottom line.
Why are tech shows such as GITEX important despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?
Building relationships through face-to-face interactions is the secret to business success in the Middle East. Ever since the pandemic started in early 2020, we haven’t really been able to have those kinds of quality, personalised interactions. So, we are excited at the prospect of getting back to an in-person event like GITEX where we can have one-to-one meetings with customers and partners and infuse them with excitement about our innovative technologies, as well as discuss our company roadmap and direction that is shaping the future of the networking industry.
What does GITEX mean for your company?
GITEX, with its position as the Middle East’s largest tech exhibition and networking platform, is the perfect venue for us to showcase our technology in simple, yet innovative ways. Our solutions address the specific needs and imperatives of different industries and create value through transformed customer experiences and accelerated financial outcomes. We constantly strive to build loyalty among our customers as well as channel partners (including distributors), and events like GITEX go a long way in helping us do that.
How is your company enabling regional organisations to embrace a bold digital future?
Aruba has repeatedly been recognised by third party analysts as a leader in Wi-Fi 6, switching, SD-Branch, and a visionary in Data Centre networking. The world’s largest companies rely on us to provide a secure, AI-powered edge services platform that spans across campus, branch, data centre, and remote working environments.
We have been at the forefront of innovation since its start, and has continued to make significant investments to deliver Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), the first platform that goes well beyond conventional network management to provide AI-powered operations, provisioning, orchestration, security, and location services from the cloud. Combining over 18 years of proven wired and wireless network expertise with modeling telemetry data from over one million wired, wireless and SD-WAN devices, Aruba AI can identify anomalies and provide prescriptive recommendations that network administrators can trust. No other networking vendor has this level of AI expertise. Aruba as-a-service provides options for financial and consumption flexibility across hardware, software, and management operations. Flexible financing options include leasing, deferred payment, and buy-back programs for unlocking sunk costs. Consumption options include SaaS and NaaS solutions offered in simple pay-as-you-go subscriptions.
