“With comprehensive and data center solutions including compute, storage, and networking. HPE brings years of experience in high-performance computing, including interconnect technologies like Slingshot, liquid cooling solutions and GPU servers that all apply to the current AI data center revolution,” Rahim wrote. “By combining with our intent-based automation solution Apstra that has already been simplifying customers’ DC operations around the world, and our QFX switches and PTX series routers, we will be positioned to be a pioneer in the development of a comprehensive solution for customers building AI data centers.”
The deal will also impact larger competitor Cisco and others such as Extreme, Arista, Fortinet and others.
“Beyond giving HPE more depth in AI, Juniper also brings strengths in communication service provider infrastructure. Juniper’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform and mobile network operator install base could be a boon to HPE’s telecommunications business unit, complementing HPE’s recent acquisition of Athonet to also provide private cellular networking services for enterprises,” wrote Will Townsend, vice president and principal analyst Patrick Moorhead, Founder, CEO and chief analyst of Moor Insights and Technology in a blog about the potential for a HPE/Juniper buy. “It’s also worth noting that one of HPE’s competitors, Dell Technologies, has matured its telecom offerings. Acquiring Juniper could serve as a defensive strategy to allow HPE to take more telecom share and thwart Dell’s efforts—which, until recently, was only selling common off the shelf (COTS) servers to mobile network operators. Dell’s offering has matured,” Townsend and Moor stated.
The deal isn’t all about AI however, as Juniper has other interesting technology HPE doesn’t such as its Apstra data center automation software. Apstra works by keeping a real-time repository of configuration, telemetry and validation information to ensure a network is doing what the organization wants it to do. Companies can use Apstra’s automation capabilities to deliver consistent network and security policies for workloads across physical and virtual infrastructures.
Since it bought Apstra in 2021, Juniper has been bolstering the platform with features such as automation, intelligent configuration capabilities, multivendor hardware and software support, and improved environmental analytics, with the goal of making the system more attractive to a wider range of enterprise data-center organizations. Bringing HPE into that mix could make the technology even more attractive.
With all that said, there is a significant overlap between the HPE Aruba Networking and Juniper networking portfolios, Townsend and Moor stated. “Serious roadmap rationalization will need to occur, and without a doubt, some solutions will be sunsetted. There will also likely be a reduction in force as enterprise and service provider networking product teams and internal channel sales and marketing personnel are blended,” Townsend and Moor stated.
