The upcoming HPE Unplugged event comes amidst a time of great change.
In regards to what is happening in the tech industry at the moment, Cedric Edwards, HPE director of Channels and SMB, affirms there are four main trends.
“Firstly, all businesses - but in particular small businesses - are deciding on how they best leverage the various cloud solutions and what the real benefits and ROI they will get and what applications and solutions should actually remain on-site,” Edwards says. “Secondly, the explosion of data being created is having impact on businesses' internal systems as well as challenging them on how to best leverage the competitive advantage that might reside in that data. Thirdly, we have transitioned to a world of mobility first networking. Finally, all of this is underpinned by the need to be secure and minimise risk.
It is these trends that are offering both challenges and opportunities to businesses both large and small – it all comes down to how you approach them, and the HPE Unplugged event is about providing clarity.
“Our discussions with our partners indicate there is an opportunity for HPE to have even greater reach, involvement and coverage so this HPE Unplugged event is about enabling our entire partner community,” Edwards says. “Unplugged provides a platform for us at HPE to share our story post-separation, put on a showcase to our partners around our small and medium business solutions, introduce our partners to the solution and technical experts available to them and to the delight of their customers, recommend great solutions and close business.
At the event, HPE will be showcasing their new strategies and solutions, including some exciting new offerings they've just launched. One example is Easy Connect, an onsite infrastructure to assist SMBs in managing their cloud deployment and bridging the gap between cloud and on-site requirements.
“When we talk to smaller partners, many feel that they are unable to engage with a large global corporate like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and they are unsure or unaware of how they best utilise the resources we have that can assist them to win in the market. We feel there is an opportunity to change this perception and show them the HPE NZ story and share with them the local resources, local faces and local solutions that we can align to our partners' businesses to make them even more successful.
There will be more than 100 HPE partners attending, all looking to gain an understanding of HPE and their new strategy and solutions. Edwards says they want to ensure their partners know what HPE offers and can bring to the table to assist them both with success in the market.
“They will be able to put local faces to names and understand that whilst we are the largest and most comprehensive IT vendor in NZ and part of a big global corporate, we are still here locally and available to help them in any way we can,” Edwards says. “Ultimately we are successful when our partners are successful so we are committed to aligning our resources to any and all opportunities that will benefit and drive our partners' businesses forward.
The HPE Unplugged event will be taking place on the 23rd June from 9:15am until 12:30pm at the Auckland HPE Offices, 22 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Maritime Square.