What the Aruba and Silver Peak Acquisition Means for SD-WAN
What happens when two giants in networking merge? When the leading SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is paired up with an equally robust Edge Service Platform? For starters, it opens a door for better infrastructure and harnessing innovation.
For 15 years, Silver Peak has been at the forefront assisting companies globally with rapid migration onto secure business-grade SD-WAN connectivity at the same significantly boosting application performance.
Over in San Jose, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) worked hard on a suite of cloud technology while keeping close tabs on Silver Peak. Finally, HPE made its move and announced the decision to proceed with the acquisition of Silver Peak on July 13, 2020. The strategic acquisition would see the merging of Silver Peak’s SD-WAN and HPE Aruba’s Edge Service Platform (ESP).
The Silver Peak acquisition was finalized in September 2020 and couldn’t have come at a better time as enterprises across the world would grapple to accommodate their mobile workforce in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
How the Silver Peak and Aruba Acquisition Affects HPE
HPE has long been a propagator of the opportunities presented by cloud services and the edge. The Silver Peak acquisition positions HPE as an edge-to-cloud leader. Hopes are high for the success of the merged technologies. Silver Peak’s SD-WAN will fortify Aruba ESP (Edge Service Platform) and modernize legacy WANs. Businesses can now utilize the cloud-enabled technology to allow branch office WAN from a single centralized console. Cloud-connected enterprises have been empowered and can now anticipate streamlined business operations with no compromise on quality.
Speaking at the recently held virtual Aruba Digital Conference, Regional Sales Director of Silver Peak Canada, Shawn Sanderson had this to say about the transformative power of these technologies, “When done correctly digital transformation can enable businesses to improve processes, deliver products faster, increase efficiencies in the market, provide customer value by improving the end-user experience, and managing risks to the business through ever-evolving change.”
Why the Silver Peak Acquisition is Important
In light of a global pandemic that has paralyzed business systems and disrupted industries, this Silver Peak acquisition is a lifeline for companies seeking a modern edge-to-cloud architecture that offers secure, remote connectivity.
Cloud technology is now the “transformative way of doing business”, cites Sanderson, with enterprises gearing to spend “$260B in 2020 on public cloud services.” In fact, “almost 40% of companies now have cloud-first strategies and 83% of enterprise workloads en route to the cloud.” Cloud technology is already here and is being aggressively integrated by businesses that have a cloud-first attitude.
What Silver Peak Brings to the Table
In one word: transformation. Legacy WAN can be expensive and not always reliable. Modern SD-WAN, on the other hand, provides enterprises with the opportunity to scale in a secure and efficient manner.
Silver Peak’s SD-WAN transforms legacy WAN architectures into a robust, hard-driving SD-WAN that complements Aruba’s artificial intelligence driven, cloud-native Edge Service Platform.
What Makes Silver Peak and Aruba HPE Strong Allies?
The Silver Peak acquisition is in line with HPE’s Intelligent Edge strategy. In 2018, the company unveiled its four-year plan for Intelligent Edge. Merging with Silver Peak was a step in realizing the vision.
Silver Peak was a strong contender as it had been touted as a giant in the SD-WAN space for years and was one of only two businesses named in the 2019 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure Report. HPE’s Aruba EPS held its own in the cloud technology space and together Silver Peak SD-WAN and Aruba Edge Service Platform are pioneering next generation edge-to-cloud transformation.
The Future of SD-WAN
The SD-WAN market has been bolstered by the surge in connected devices. In 2020, 50.1 million devices connected to the internet up from 42.1 million from the previous year. This growth in connected IoT devices has put pressure on the need for secure cloud infrastructure. Predictions are that the SD-WAN market will grow by at least 20.5% to reach 4.9B in 2024.
Invest in Next-Generation SD-WAN Solutions
Are you looking for cutting edge modern SD-WAN solution for your enterprise? Comport is a certified Aruba partner and can assist you with the right IT infrastructure to meet the needs of your office and remote workers. Contact us for more information.
