HPE’s cloud ecosystem marketplace now the world's largest

In 2014 HPE launched a European specific initiative called Cloud 28+. The idea being an ecosystem that could match businesses wanting to advance their IT systems with the cloud solutions and service providers that could assist them.

In August of 2017 HPE extended the initiative to its global customers including Asia Pacific.

Understanding the initiative:

A central catalogue is the heart of the initiative. Which enables HPE's service provider partners to list their solutions and for CIO's - IT Managers to log in and browse through the offerings.

"The initiative provides a single, federated catalogue of cloud services to ensure ease of use for those seeking cloud services, freeing organisations from the limitations of a fragmented marketplace and fostering agile services, job opportunities, creativity and competitiveness across the region", HPE says.

It's a win-win for all three parties; the service providers have a new sales go-to-market to reach new customers while reducing marketing costs.

The CIO's - IT Managers can find point solutions in their region that would suit their challenge or objective.

Lastly, HPE is seen by both sides as helping with the move to digital transformation.

Also HPE Partner Ready partners have immediate access to Cloud28+ as part of their partner program, HPE says, while Microsoft ISV partners also have immediate access via their partner program.

Beyond searching for cloud and professional searches along a whole host of criteria, customers also gain access to a knowledge-based portal, where they can share and learn more about cloud-related topics. Customers can also partner with Service Providers in the community to resell their own digital offerings and form new go-to-market avenues.

Also, numerous examples have already sprung up of enterprise end users developing their own unique solution and then offering it back to the partner and customer community for sale via Cloud29+.

Partners in Asia

While the initiative started in Europe, since rolling out globally in August, HPE says more than 40 Asia Pacific partners are involved with the initiative. Including service providers, solution providers, ISVs, systems integrators, distributors and public entities.

"Cloud28+ is designed to create a one-stop shop for cloud services, aimed at removing barriers to cloud adoption imposed by the fragmentation of the Asia Pacific and Japan market," says HPE

The creation of a one-stop-shop for cloud services will help customers better address their right mix of hybrid IT requirements by choosing to work with the partners and cloud environments of their choice. Enterprises can easily identify and implement the cloud services they need while complying with local regulations. The site is currently available in English, Korean and Japanese.

Since the worldwide expansion of Cloud28+ earlier this year, 40 HPE partners across APJ quickly became members of the community. Cloud28+ provides partners with innovative ways to grow their visibility and revenue opportunities while facilitating new business alliances and lowering their marketing costs.

"Cloud is a critical component to ensuring a stronger digital economy in Asia Pacific and Japan," says Pradeep Khemani, Director, Service Providers, Asia Pacific and Japan, Hewlett Packard Enterprise. "Hosted and secured in Asia Pacific and Japan, Cloud28+ gives local and regional organizations the opportunity to find the best mix of services by trusted HPE partners, while allowing partners to demonstrate their unique value-add.

Microsoft joins

As part of its dedication to increasing enterprise cloud adoption, HPE and Microsoft have also formed a go-to-market alliance with Microsoft through Cloud28+. As a member, Microsoft will combine forces with HPE to provide partners with new business opportunities and tools, while accelerating customer business outcomes powered by a rich hybrid IT ecosystem.

Through Cloud28+, HPE and Microsoft are creating a joint Azure Stack ISV onboarding program focused on connecting software vendors to HPE and Microsoft solution and service providers, helping them to grow their market visibility and develop new revenue streams. In turn, HPE and Microsoft solution and service providers will benefit from dedicated lead generation campaigns and sales enablement activities to bolster their Azure Stack sales.

"In turn, HPE and Microsoft solution and service providers will benefit from dedicated lead generation campaigns and sales enablement activities to bolster their Azure Stack sales," HPE says.

"Customers will gain access to an even more comprehensive community and cloud service catalogue, allowing them to find their own right mix of partners and hybrid IT solutions to match their specific workload, industry and data sovereignty requirements," HPE says.

IDC executive vice president of worldwide products and chief research officer, Crawford Del Prete, dubbed the partnership an important one for the two vendors.

"Combining the power of the HPE channel community through Cloud28+, with all the possibilities of Microsoft Azure Stack, makes for a strong partner value proposition and a compelling environment for customers to more easily engage," says Del Prete.

"HPE and Microsoft are taking a step together to enable the channel in a new way and its ability to compete effectively in a digital, platform-driven world," says Del Prete. "This is an important partnership for HPE and Microsoft. Combining the power of the HPE channel community through Cloud28+, with all the possibilities of Microsoft Azure Stack, makes for a strong partner value proposition and a compelling environment for customers to more easily engage." says Del Prete.

A runaway success

Cloud28+ has now become the world's largest cloud aggregator. The thriving ecosystem now counts more than 570 partners, contributing to a catalogue of close to 20,000 build and consume services. Focused on providing high levels of data sovereignty and customization, more than 350 data centers across the globe are also listed.

A technical acceleration lab has been added where partners and customers can provision apps and offerings that enable a multi-cloud environment has been added.

A custom service aggregator has also been added where customers can find offerings and partners linked to their industry or particular use cases or submit their own RFP for a community response.

In addition, partners can now benefit from a 'go-to-market accelerator', which allows them to share thought leadership publications and blog articles, create digital marketing campaigns and build new business alliances.

Cloud28+ will perform a key role in HPE's newly announced Project New Stack. A cloud development and operating environment designed to deliver hybrid IT-as-a-service, Project New Stack will accelerate application delivery in traditional and new IT environments. Project New Stack will enable simplified hybrid cloud interoperability and management for developers, line of business managers and IT operations staff.

In June, HPE announces the creation of a new unified IoT ecosystem hosted on Cloud28+. The ecosystem brings together the IoT capabilities and programs from across HPE and many of our strategic partners into a single IoT hub. The IoT area will showcase use cases that deliver on IoT benefits using HPE and partners' technology; IoT software and services that can be purchased as a service; and hardware-as-a-service, driven by HPE or one of our partners. Through Cloud28+, IoT customers and partners can exchange information and collaborate to build qualified, trusted offerings, tailored to each customer's business needs.

Costs and availability

Cloud28+ is open to all customers to join free of charge. There is no cost to search the catalogue or connect with partners. Likewise, customers can submit their request for proposals directly through the Cloud28+ portal for a customer response from the community. Microsoft ISV and HPE Partner Ready partners will now have immediate member access to Cloud28+, as part of their respective Microsoft and HPE partner programs. There is no cost for partners to join Cloud28+, nor are there any brokerage fees if they make sales through the platform.

To learn more about Cloud28+ and join the partner network, visit www.cloud28plus.com