HPE Aruba Networking Central Announces Expanded Cloud Features for MSPs

HPE Aruba Networking Central now offers new virtual private cloud and on-premises deployment options, along with expanded full-stack network observability—enhancing the platform's capabilities to help MSPs deliver more flexible, efficient services to their customers.

The new HPE Aruba Networking Central On-Premises for Government deployment option includes FIPS 140-2 certified server hardware to meet related government security requirements, while a new virtual private cloud (VPC) environment is available for customers that need cloud agility, data security, data control, and regulatory compliance, according to the company.

The two new deployment options mean that customers can now choose from four deployment options for HPE Aruba Networking Central, including cloud-delivered SaaS, VPC, on-premises, or via NaaS to meet the needs of customers from enterprises to government entities.

The public cloud and VPC deployment options leverage the global presence of the HPE GreenLake cloud, which delivers local cloud presence in many areas.

Alan Ni, senior director of edge marketing for HPE Aruba Networking told ChannelE2E that many of the new features were requested by MSPs that work with customers in specific industries such as retail, financial services and governments.

“These new deployment capabilities will allow our MSPs to support more customer types,” said Ni. “HPE Aruba Networking products and solutions will particularly fill a gap in the market for larger organizations that have specific regional, local, regulatory or sovereign driven network management requirements.”

Ni said that HPE’s product and engineering teams “heavily prioritize new feature investment through customer and partner feedback. Most recently, three key areas of product investment align with emerging customer requirements around deployment flexibility, increased AI-powered functionality, and improved visibility of third-party network environments.” Most of the new capabilities in HPE Aruba Networking Central are available now.

Also introduced is a new, always-on, AI-powered automated network assistant that expands Networking Central’s AIOps capabilities by including optimization alerts when performance issues crop up. More global points of presence (PoP) locations have also been added to provide fast and efficient data routing for cloud-delivered HPE Aruba Networking Central. These improvements include dedicated instances in the U.S., Canada, the E.U., Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and China.

First launched in 2014, HPE Aruba Networking Central helps businesses configure, manage, monitor, and troubleshoot networks across wired, wireless LAN, WAN, and IoT environments.

HPE Aruba Networking Changes Will Bring MSP Revenue Opportunities: Analysts

Anurag Agrawal, founder and chief global analyst at Techaisle told ChannelE2E that the new features represent a strategic step for HPE Aruba to sharpen its competitive edge in the market.

“By offering deployment flexibility … while bolstering AI capabilities … and enhancing observability … HPE is directly targeting key market demands and competitive differentiators,” said Agrawal. “While MSPs will need to invest time in understanding and potentially integrating these new capabilities into their service offerings and operational workflows, the strategic advantages presented by this expansion seem significant. I believe it equips them with better tools and greater flexibility to meet diverse and evolving customer demands in areas such as security, compliance, and performance optimization.”

However, at the same time, there will be some ramping up required by MSPs, he said.

“While the announcement brings significant benefits, MSPs might face some challenges or considerations, such as increased complexity, as managing four distinct deployment models (SaaS, VPC, On-Prem, NaaS) requires broader expertise within the MSP,” he said. “Sales teams will need to understand the nuances of each, and technical teams will require proficiency in deploying and managing potentially different infrastructures, especially on-premises or VPCs.”

That will likely mean that MSPs will need to invest time and resources, which are already running short, to train their staffs on the new features, he said.

Another analyst, Shelly Kramer, founder and principal analyst at Kramer&Co., noted that the expanded HPE Aruba Networking Central features reflect the company’s commitment to meeting diverse customer needs.

“With this expansion of HPE Aruba Networking Central, HPE is clearly focused on serving the diverse needs of its customer base with both private cloud and on-prem options,” she told ChannelE2E. “The always-on, AI-powered network assistant is something that I believe is quickly becoming table stakes today, so HPE is checking that box as well, and I am a big fan of the observability play here, which permits monitoring of third-party devices from other vendors.”

With these additions, “the goal here is obvious: HPE Aruba Networking Central is covering all the bases for customers as it relates to configuration, management, monitoring, and troubleshooting, all by way of an annual subscription,” added Kramer. “Insofar as this relates to MSPs and channel partners, I see this as positioning them for greater success with an offering literally designed to serve just about every customer, regardless of their individual needs.”