By Nick Watson, Vice President, HP Networking EMEA
When I read the Gartner comments, encouraging customers to consider introducing a second vendor, it really seems to me that customers already understand this in principle. The challenge is that for 10 years there simply has only been one vendor that had the appropriate technologies, coupled with the company size and stability, for people to select. That has all now changed.
Customers know – HP Networking has the breadth and depth of products
As I talk with customers across Europe, it is clear that they are delighted to learn that HP Networking has the breadth and depth of products—from the mission-critical datacenter switching to economic-edge switches and routers. When they review the technology in the context of the FlexNetwork architecture—including Flex Fabric and the datacenter, Flex Campus and Flex Branch, all managed by a single management platform—their question is usually: “Why didn’t someone tell me about this before?!”
From Saudi Arabia to Germany, from Russia to Norway—people “get it” and they want to know more. I am proud to represent HP, a company that thrives on engineering and innovation not rhetoric, a company that has forgotten more about the datacenter than most in IT will ever know. Our challenge is to get the word out!
Proof of concepts reinforce today’s HP Networking value proposition
Our proof of concepts (POCs) are particularly well regarded. Those customers who have carried out a POC are shocked when they see the performance and ease of operation and management. As people look to take on the benefits of the cloud and to understand the architectural shift they need to make with their existing network infrastructure (even if their engineers initially want to stay with their current vendor), they start to appreciate how compelling the HP Networking proposition really is.
Although it occurs less and less, some people I meet do not even know that HP has a networking division. Many think of ProCurve, or 3Com H3C. ProCurve had been the HP networking brand for 25 years, with many loyal customers for the low-cost edge switches. 3Com/H3C had an excellent reputation for innovative technology solutions, but the company had not managed to market itself broadly and so has a customer base that, whilst extremely passionate about the technology, is relatively small.
The HP acquisition of 3Com/H3C 18 months ago brought together outstanding technology (including all the intellectual property of both 3Com and H3C) with the world’s largest IT Company. Can we make this work? Absolutely! (Actually, the industry already has. Be sure to read the Roundup of: Don’t miss reading the top 10 HP Networking media stories of 2011.)
HP Networking offers real differentiation in technology and will are now leveraging the advantages of working with HP Labs through our Advanced Technology Group (ATG), to further develop our solutions. As part of the Enterprise Server, Storage and Networking business, which we integrated into when I joined in May last year, we are one of the building blocks for our customers, as you look to provide your business with a cloud-ready Converged Infrastructure on which to run today’s demanding applications.
At HP, we are transforming the networking industry. Do you have any networking transformation stories to share?
>> Starting January 30th: Play #HPFunFacts Twitter contest and score a $100 Amazon.com gift card
>> Learn more about HP Networking products and solutions.
>> Follow HP Networking on Twitter and Google+ | Join HPN LinkedIn Community | Like us HPN Facebook
