In 2019, Hewlett Packard Enterprise committed to offering all of its solutions in a service model by 2022. Currently, the vast majority of HPE solutions are available as-a-service, and the company is continually innovating with HPE GreenLake. In an interview with BrandsIT, Maciej Kalisiak and Marek Hojda responded about HPE’s new directions, the challenges of the IT industry and the opportunities offered by the partner channel.
As Hewlett Packard Enterprises, you are one of the largest technology players in the world. Your portfolio is extremely rich – from storage platforms to solutions for the intelligent network edge and the cloud. Tell us what underpins your business and what you are currently focusing on.
Maciej Kalisiak: Our company has always been perceived as a technology company offering hardware solutions for the widely understood Data Centre. However, for a good few years now, the basis of our business has been services. We are a company that offers customers more than a hardware platform, namely comprehensive IT solutions to facilitate the digital transformation of our customers, including technology consulting. This year is a breakthrough year for us as we focus on cloud solutions. HPE’s popular GreenLake slogan, The Cloud That Comes To You, is now in practice an offering of cloud solutions that are available in the same way as from public cloud providers. This is exemplified by the recently announced HPE GreenLake for Block Storage service, which is tangible proof that we want to offer the flexibility and benefits of the cloud regardless of where computing takes place. And that’s what we’re focusing on now, delivering a true ‘Cloud like Experience’ in our customers’ data centre.
We live in a time when trends, including technology trends, change very quickly. You as HPE are one step ahead – and not only adapt to trends, but often create them yourselves. What direction do you think is currently key in the development of new technologies and how are you as HPE responding to this, both globally and locally?
Marek Hojda: Yes, it’s true, technology trends are changing very rapidly, but perhaps most importantly, many companies are now focused primarily on ensuring that their customers’ business goals are achieved, and technology is not so much important as a superior, innovative product, but as a means to achieve those goals. HPE’s long-standing strategy is a case in point. We have been saying for years that the IT world is hybrid. The figures showing public cloud adoption support this thesis. Not everything can be in the public cloud and has to be in the customer’s data centre. Moreover, processing at the edge of the network, where more and more data is generated, is becoming more and more significant. And this is what we have been focusing on for many years, creating an IT ecosystem for customers, based on the best technology, which, regardless of the processing location, will allow all the benefits of the public cloud, such as flexibility, simplicity or financing, but at the same time will not tie the customer to a single processing location. HPE GreenLake is a solution that offers all these benefits, while being based on innovative solutions and products designed precisely for this new way of managing IT.
“(…)The bottom line is that many companies today are focused primarily on ensuring that their customers’ business objectives are met, and technology is not so much important as a superior, innovative product, but as a means to achieve those objectives.” – Marek Hojda
We are fresh from HPE Discover, which took place in Las Vegas as standard. This is HPE’s biggest event, which attracts your customers, partners, but also all people interested in new technologies, from all over the world. During the sessions, you not only share your knowledge, but also announce new products. What was the biggest news this year?
Maciej Kalisiak: The biggest news of HPE Discover 2022 was the lack of new product announcements. It will sound strange, but as I mentioned before, we are of course an IT manufacturer, we do not run away from our DNA, the DNA created by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, instead, based on excellent technology, we offer our customers the services they need. And that has been the biggest news. We are a services company and at Discover we announced a number of new services available to our customers, including innovations related to the HPE GreenLake Cloud Portal, which is becoming a single point for customers to order and manage services. All of this year’s announcements are aimed at creating a true cloud experience in the data centre for our customers. We have long moved away from offering a server, array or switch, and want to be advisors to the customer to offer a comprehensive service that addresses the challenges and goals of the business.
Marek Hojda: Of course, we do not forget about our partners. An important part of HPE Discover was the HPE Partner Growth Summit, during which Partners were introduced to the new HPE Partner Ready Vantage Program. The HPE Partner Ready Vantage Programme responds to ongoing market changes and provides Partners with a range of opportunities. Among other things, it provides the flexibility to identify and exploit new business opportunities, strengthen customer relationships, expand their market reach and deliver comprehensive solutions that translate into measurable business results on the customer side.
Is HPE GreenLake a solution aimed at companies of a particular size or business profile? What industries are companies most likely to use it?
Maciej Kalisiak: And that is the most beautiful thing about HPE GreenLake, that there are no restrictions in the form of a specific business profile or minimum size. HPE GreenLake is a broad portfolio of services that are available to companies small and large. We can imagine the simplest VM as a Service, for customers simply looking for an environment for virtualisation, but at the same time there are services dedicated to large environments such as SAP HANA, or even services where the customer practically does not manage the complex environment and we do it, so they have the full experience of cloud flexibility. It all depends on what a company is looking for, but we are certainly able to tailor HPE GreenLake to virtually any company. In Poland, we pride ourselves on our presence in various market segments such as the banking sector, industrial manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, retail and the rapidly growing IT services sector.
Data is one of the most important assets of any business and its leakage is a huge threat, which is particularly evident in the face of crises such as a pandemic or war. There are also businesses where data security is particularly important, such as medical entities. How do you as HPE take care of data security?
Maciej Kalisiak: The topic is obviously very complicated, because data security can be ensured on many levels. Starting with the basics and taking into account our DNA, we offer products for data storage, backup and security. Examples of this include HPE Alletra 9000 arrays, which offer 100% data availability, or Zerto software, which ensures data security in the event of unforeseen failures. Data protection mechanisms, such as encryption, are of course embedded in this part of the product. Then, of course, there is the consultancy relating to the appropriate design of the IT environment and services, ensuring that data is always secure on multiple levels and that procedures are in place to handle emergency situations. Going one step further, we also offer data security audits and services available through HPE GreenLake to ensure secure storage or, for example, data security. This multi-component approach allows us to take a holistic view of our customers’ entire environments and identify the best way to keep data safe.
“At HPE GreenLake, that there is no limitation in terms of a specific business profile or minimum size.” – Maciej Kalisiak
As HPE, you also run partner programmes. What do they consist of, who are they for and – above all – what are the benefits of participating in them?
Marek Hojda: HPE is not only technology, which, as we have already mentioned, is part of our DNA. Another, which has also already been mentioned, very important part of this DNA, are the Partners. Without Partners, we would not be able to run the business so effectively. We are aware that Partners are currently facing major changes in the market. Customers expect holistic solutions that address specific business challenges and achieve measurable goals. What’s more, instead of a traditional approach, customers are now demanding flexible solutions that allow the most effective use of hybrid IT solutions, including cloud solutions.
For Partners, this means that they need to make changes to their business model and adapt their organisation to the requirements of selling in a service model. To meet these challenges, HPE has announced a new partner programme: the HPE Partner Ready Vantage. It is built on the existing HPE Partner Ready programme, one of the best partner programmes on the market. HPE Partner Ready Vantage was developed to best help Partners adapt to these market changes. The programme focuses on Partners offering as-a-service sales, allowing them to fully leverage their knowledge and expertise while not forgetting Partners closer to the traditional sales model.
In summary, HPE Partner Ready Vantage is designed as a Programme that will help Partners to deliver services to customers regardless of which buying model customers prefer and what their business priorities are.
The HPE Partner Ready Vantage Programme, HPE GreenLake… the last year has been full of news from HPE. And what can we expect in the coming months?
Maciej Kalisiak: I think that from a technology and innovation point of view, first and foremost we should expect to expand the portfolio of services available through HPE GreenLake to address as many business needs as possible. At the same time, we will certainly be adapting existing services to changing market needs. In parallel, we are working intensively on the development of the HPE GreenLake Cloud portal, where more and more services will be configurable and purchasable. In addition, we are constantly working to improve the portal so that users have a true ‘Cloud like experience’ from the purchase of a service to the management of its entire lifecycle. Of course, referring once again to the DNA of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, behind all this will be the cutting-edge and innovative technology that makes it all possible.
Marek Hojda: I would venture to say that we can expect an increase in demand for services from the broader IT industry. I think that together with our partners we are ready for the challenges posed by the market. I am convinced that the work we have already done, I mean the way HPE prepares Partners for the upcoming changes by, for example, sharing its own experiences, plus the new partner programme, will translate into measurable business results.
Marek Hojda
Channel and Ecosystem Sales Leader, HPE Polska
He has been employed at HPE Polska since May 1998. In Poland he is responsible for sales in the HPE Partner Channel. He is in charge of identifying sales potential in different market areas and building a partner ecosystem to support sales of HPE services and products. The partner ecosystem is not only sales partners, but also the Serivce Provider segment, OEM partners and Alliance partners. It is also the search for new areas of growth and cooperation with partner companies operating in other areas of the IT market than sales and implementation of IT infrastructure and having products and services complementary to the Hewlett Packard Enterprise portfolio.
Maciej Kalisiak
HPE Presales Leader, HPE Polska
A micro and optoelectronics engineer by education. He graduated from the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology at the Warsaw University of Technology. Since 2008 he has been involved in the IT industry. He started as a sales support engineer for x86 servers in the SMB and Enterprise market, continuing his career as an architect of storage and backup solutions. Currently, he combines the role of IHG Presales team leader and Enterprise solutions architect.
