At HPE, it takes an ecosystem
- Simon Ewington, SVP of HPE Channel & Partner Ecosystem Sales, reflects on industry trends and market dynamics helping shape HPE’s partner strategy, and on the progress made in Q3 FY24.
- Simon also comments on a recent success story, that emphasizes how partnerships enable businesses of all sizes – and their communities – to advance the way they live and work.
Now that the results from the third quarter of HPE’s FY24 are out and we are getting ready for FY25, I can’t help but think about the fact that this is my 31st fiscal year in the IT industry. Thirty-one years mostly spent working with technology experts and advocates in our vast “partner ecosystem.” According to analysts and experts, we are in the middle of a fourth Industrial Revolution, which extends far beyond the limits of the Industrial Internet of Things. It focuses on the entire ecosystem of partners, suppliers, customers, the workforce, and operational considerations.
Most partners are expanding and redefining their business models spanning sales, services, and build roles for the customer
This revolution is marked by the emergence of capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, analytics, and cognitive technologies. The bar has been raised high enough to make it clear that, today more than ever, success cannot be reached in isolation. At the same time, the lines between partner types are blurring. Most partners are expanding and redefining their business models spanning sales, services, and build roles for the customer. This is also behind the rise of Managed Services. According to independent analyst Canalys, in 2023 the total global managed services revenue delivered by channel partners was $475 billion, and increase of 13.4% year-over-year. All regions grew by double digits; partners saw their revenue from managed services increase as customers recognized the need for dedicated expertise.*
Partners have always been part of HPE’s DNA. We have been building and nurturing our broad and mature partner ecosystem since our inception. And we anticipated these trends. Last year we launched our HPE Partner Ready Vantage program to help partners develop their unique capabilities and value-added services across Hybrid Cloud and Edge, unlocking superior customer outcomes and experiences regardless of the partner’s business model.
Our partner ecosystem is at the heart of our strategy and is a key to our success. As reported on September 4, 2024, HPE’s net revenue for Q3 FY24 was $7.7 billion, up 10% year-over-year. Revenue driven by partners in Q3 FY24 remains very strong, and we continue to see solid engagement with our ecosystem across our entire portfolio. We are committed to helping partners seize high-growth and high-margin opportunities, and our partner ecosystem drives our joint business evolution and differentiation. Concurrently, we continue to expand the capabilities that HPE brings to the market through both organic and inorganic innovation.
Revenue driven by partners in Q3 FY24 remains very strong, and we continue to see solid engagement with our ecosystem across our entire portfolio.
In August, we closed our acquisition of Morpheus Data. As expressed by HPE President and CEO, Antonio Neri, we believe this acquisition solidifies HPE’s leadership position as the first vendor to provide a full suite of enterprise-grade capabilities and services across the hybrid cloud stack, complementing the AI-driven multi-cloud and multi-vendor observability from HPE’s OpsRamp acquisition. Now is the time to be part of the partner ecosystem at HPE. We are excited for what comes next, with the Juniper Networks acquisition expected to close in late calendar year 2024 or early calendar year 2025.
Behind the overall growth of our indirect business is our continuous investment in deepening relationships and expanding collaboration with all members of our ecosystem. On the HPE Discover 2024 mainstage, our CEO and President, Antonio Neri, and NVIDIA’s CEO, Jensen Huang, clearly articulated the importance of partnership to develop joint go-to-market strategies and offerings - key to stay ahead of the “AI revolution.” We partner with system integrators (SIs) and professional services companies to bring together their deep industry knowledge, as well as AI and technology capabilities, with the NVIDIA AI Computing by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) solution portfolio; this offers customers access to the best AI talent in the market with vertical and data expertise, and platform integrations that unlock better experiences and faster time to value. We are also leveraging our global community of over 500 HPE GreenLake-powered service providers (driving double or triple-digit HPE GreenLake growth in most geographies) to offer hybrid cloud solutions that help “democratize” AI. In Q3 FY24, our distribution-led business with service providers delivered growth across all dimensions, a testament to the positive impact the expertise of our distribution and service provider partners has on driving growth for businesses of all sizes.
At HPE we believe in being a force for good, and the collaboration with our global partner ecosystem also enables us to bring infrastructure, cloud services, and applications to unserved and underserved markets.
At HPE, we believe in being a force for good, and the collaboration with our global partner ecosystem also enables us to bring infrastructure, cloud services, and applications to unserved and underserved markets. This is perfectly exemplified by a recent story about how innovation and partnership can help bridge the digital divide sustainably. In collaboration with our service provider partner Greensparc, we deployed a first-of-its-kind data center in Cordova, Alaska. In just 30 days, we implemented an HPE GreenLake-powered solution optimized for sustainability, rapid deployment, and resilience in the toughest conditions. As Greensparc’s CEO Sam Enoka highlighted, “We saw all the challenges of going to a village that's not on the road system to develop a data center. (…) But, when we shared that vision with HPE, their team didn't flinch.” As explained by Cordova Electric Cooperative’s CEO, Clay Koplin - who’s also the former mayor of the city of Cordova, “Greensparc and HPE, with their very flexible platform, enabled us to increase our revenues across the very expensive electrical grid and reduce energy costs for all of our customers.” What matters the most, though, is what it means for their community: “We're really excited about the opportunity to have local cloud services right in our community, not only to support our electric cooperative - Cordova Electric - but also to provide opportunities to our schools for education, and to our businesses to host their applications locally,” Koplin added.
The Greensparc and Cordova story is a great example of the unique, transformative outcomes partnership can unlock. One of the most important learnings of my 31 years in the industry is that you should never stop discovering new possibilities and making bold moves. I believe that the role - and responsibility - of technology is innovating to advance the way people live and work, make an impact, and ultimately solve our biggest societal problems. No one can do that on their own. It takes a village. The right village. I call it “ecosystem.”