The News: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) introduced HPE Aruba Networking Enterprise Private 5G to help customers accelerate and simplify the deployment and management of private 5G networks, aiming to provide high levels of reliable wireless coverage across large campus and industrial environments and opening up new, untapped use cases for private cellular. Available in Q3 calendar year (CY) 2024. Read the full press release on the HPE website.
HPE Aruba Networking Ready to Turbocharge Private 5G
Analyst Take: HPE expands its wireless portfolio with the launch of HPE Aruba Networking Enterprise Private 5G, targeting key industry verticals such as manufacturing, healthcare, public venues, and education, to address their intricate connectivity challenges across large and remote sites.
The HPE Aruba Networking Private 5G solution prioritizes assisting customers attain productivity and innovation gains. Such gains accord with using cost-effective, high-capacity connectivity that Wi-Fi can provide, augmenting the expansion of AI data capture and delivering capabilities for building AI data lakes and activating inference solutions.
From my view, resource constraints and complexity have hampered enterprise private cellular adoption alongside the availability of 5G equipment that can help streamline adoption of private 5G networks. Additional key issues include that in many cases spectrum needed to be secured from mobile operators with many systems designed for established operator deployment models and skilled resources. Moreover, enterprises prioritize that the adoption of private 5G solutions must not disrupt existing cybersecurity safeguards and operations.
As a result, today’s private 5G implementations often entail multi-vendor complexity with different vendors each supplying individual components consisting of a customized dashboard, mobile core, hardware platform, radios, radio management, spectrum access system, and SIM cards to make a single implementation function.
HPE is building a private cellular solution based on proven technology from its Athonet acquisition to offer private 5G solutions designed specifically to simplify enterprise adoption by using lightly licensed, easily consumable spectrum that supports ease of management for networking teams. On a global basis, general spectrum suitable for private 5G is available in 2024 across key markets such as the US (i.e., CBRS), UK, UAE, France, Brazil, Poland, Sweden, Australia, and South Korea. Moreover, in 2025, key markets such as India, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Finland, and New Zealand are expected to follow.
The new HPE Aruba Networking Enterprise Private 5G solution provides an end-to-end offering that combines cloud management, mobile core on HPE server, indoor and outdoor radios spectrum access system across small cells, and SIM/eSIM cards in a single package.
As a result, enterprises can attain comprehensive visibility including insights into subscribers, applications, performance, and SLAs plus configuration automation that masks the complexity of 3GPP technology through zero-touch provisioning and configuration wizards. Most advantageously, enterprises (as well as MSPs and operators) reap the benefits of integrated radio management by the solution’s unified approach that transitions away from having to use multiple dashboards from multiple vendors.
Aruba Networking Central: HPE’s Competitive Edge
HPE Networking Aruba Central provides customers with a single pane of glass view into the entire network infrastructure, including private cellular, Wi-Fi, wired, and SD-WAN applications, allowing administrators to monitor and manage devices, applications, and users from a unified interface. This centralized approach streamlines network operations and troubleshooting, enhancing overall observability and administration flexibility.
As a result, Aruba Central assures that the HPE GreenLake platform can deliver the unified policy alongside integrated wireless/wired/WAN management key to assure management flexibility across NaaS, MSP, and self-management environments. This includes harmonizing access points, such as the HPE Aruba Networking 730 Series Campus APs, that support indoor/outdoor Wi-Fi, BLE/Zigbee IoT connectivity, and special guest access with Air Pass with small cells that support indoor/outdoor cellular connectivity, public voice services through neutral host (e.g., 911, emergency services), and SLA-based IoT/IIoT connectivity.
Moreover, HPE Aruba integrates advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities into its networking solutions, including providing proactive insights and predictive analytics. By analyzing data patterns and trends, HPE Aruba helps identify potential issues before they impact network performance, enabling administrators to take preemptive action and ensure optimal network operation. LLMs play a significant role in enhancing observability within HPE Aruba’s networking solutions.
By incorporating LLM functionality into their platforms, such as HPE Aruba Networking Central, the network’s ability to analyze and understand vast amounts of data is significantly enhanced. LLMs excel in processing and interpreting natural language, which allows them to ingest, analyze, and interpret network telemetry, logs, and other data sources more effectively.
With the integration of LLMs, HPE Aruba’s networking solutions gain the ability to understand complex queries and commands in natural language, improving the user experience for network administrators. This capability enables administrators to interact with the network more intuitively, facilitating faster troubleshooting, configuration, and optimization tasks.
Key Takeaways: HPE Aruba Networking Unifies Enterprise Wireless Vision and Capabilities
I believe that the end-to-end approach of the HPE Aruba Networking Enterprise Private 5G solution strengthens HPE’s overall wireless value proposition by providing a unified portfolio vision for enterprises plus operators to ease the implementation and management of private cellular, Wi-Fi, wired, and SD-WAN technologies. The solution helps ready enterprises and operators to succeed in the AI era through using private 5G technology. This would support key capabilities such as AI inferencing and real-time video analytics to attain AI insights that fulfill strategic objectives such as improved business outcomes and bolstered security.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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HPE Galvanizes Wi-Fi 7 with Launch of New Breakthrough APs
Author Information
Ron is an experienced, customer-focused research expert and analyst, with over 20 years of experience in the digital and IT transformation markets, working with businesses to drive consistent revenue and sales growth.
Ron holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from University of Nevada — Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Arts in political science/government from William and Mary.
