HPE and Microsoft Advance Their Collaboration Around Microsoft Azure to Accelerate Hybrid Cloud Adoption
NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • KEN WON, DIRECTOR, CLOUD SOLUTIONS MARKETING, HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE • BLOG POST
New joint innovation center opens in Seattle to connect customers with HPE and Microsoft experts
HPE and Microsoft have a longstanding relationship to help accelerate innovation for our mutual customers. At Discover London 2016 we took the opportunity to provide an update on our collaboration. Among the main focal point of our efforts: making hybrid IT simple for organizations.
Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Cloud and Enterprise at Microsoft, and Antonio Neri, executive vice president and general manager, Enterprise Group at HPE, took to the stage together to provide Discover attendees with an update on our work together. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, allow me to fill you in on what was discussed…
A year ago, our two companies announced that we’d collaborate in hybrid cloud computing through Microsoft Azure, HPE infrastructure and services and new program offerings. The partnership appointed Azure as a preferred public cloud partner for HPE customers and designated HPE as a preferred partner in providing infrastructure and services for Microsoft's hybrid cloud offerings. We also shared plans to collaborate across engineering and services to integrate innovative compute platforms aimed at helping customers optimize their IT environment, leverage new consumption models and accelerate their business.
Our two companies have a shared, common vision for hybrid cloud computing, and in the past year have made progress towards blending the power of Azure with HPE's leading infrastructure, support and services to make the cloud more accessible to enterprises around the globe. For example, we introduced the first hyper-converged system with true hybrid cloud capabilities, the HPE Hyper Converged 250 for Microsoft Cloud Platform System Standard. And in September, HPE unveiled details of our upcoming HPE | Azure Stack solution, an integrated system that will enable organizations to increase agility and flexibility by delivering Azure compatible infrastructure as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) services from their on-premises data center.
We also introduced new HPE Consulting for Azure Hybrid Cloud services to help enterprises and service providers implement Azure Stack, as well as enhancements to HPE Flexible Capacity and support for Azure. This is ideal for customers who want to deliver Azure consistent services from their data center. Plus, HPE delivered reference architectures that combine Microsoft products and HPE infrastructure to make it simpler for our customers to deploy hybrid clouds.
In addition, to address the complexity of managing hybrid cloud environments, Microsoft and HPE worked together to integrate Microsoft Operations Management Suite with HPE OneView to help customers gain visibility and control across their hybrid cloud. With this integration, customers can now manage infrastructure as well as applications.
As they wrapped up, Scott and Antonio shared plans to offer a proof-of-concept workshop to help companies set up an Azure Stack solution. They revealed our two companies have created a joint innovation center where organizations can meet with HPE and Microsoft experts and learn about the HPE | Azure Stack solution. The first innovation center is located in Seattle and options are being explored for opening a second innovation center in Europe.
It’s been a busy year on the hybrid cloud front. HPE and Microsoft have delivered numerous solutions that organizations can buy today and utilize with existing applications and infrastructure. Through our collaboration, we are providing a roadmap that will enable customers to extend the benefits of hybrid cloud computing with Azure Stack and HPE solutions, now and in the future. Stay tuned for future updates.