Eight things that will help you sell HPE Aruba

With so many mobile devices connecting to the corporate WiFi network, your customers face a constant battle to manage every potential attack surface. In a traditional network setup that relies on a collection of technologies and tools to provide management capabilities, the number of potential attack points actually increases.

HPE Aruba automatically detects and profiles every network-connected device, and applies pre-defined, role-based security templates to each one automatically. The context-based policy engine is complemented by industry-standard protocols including RADIUS and TACACS+. The network engine can even detect and block suspicious traffic automatically, limiting potential damage without tying up the IT team.

HPE Aruba access points provide super-fast 802.11ac wireless connectivity, along with a full array of networking configurations, including private VLANs, web and MAC authentication and ACLs. At the backbone, advanced Layer 3 switches provide 10GbE and 40GbE uplinks for enterprise-class bandwidth provisioning.

Aruba also caters for smaller deployments of less than 100 seats with their Office Connect range. Although smaller in scale, they are no less powerful or flexible, providing a robust platform for growing businesses.

Whatever their headcount, your clients benefit from Cisco-beating technology at a much lower price point.

The organic growth of WiFi networks as an add-on to existing wired infrastructure makes managing the environment quite difficult. And where an administration relies on several disparate tools for each vendor, the task becomes even more complicated.

Using Aruba AirWave, or Aruba Central, your clients will be able to administer all of their network assets, anywhere in the world. More importantly still, these tools can also assist with the configuration of equipment from other vendors too. In effect, HPE Aruba offers a single pane of glass for complete network management.

With BYOD and site visitors constantly connecting and disconnecting from the WiFi network, valuable time is wasted enrolling devices – especially when many will not be used to access corporate resources and data.

Aruba’s ClearPass system greatly reduces administrative overheads through the provision of self-service capabilities. Authorised users can configure their own devices for enterprise use or Internet access according to pre-defined rules that maintain security throughout.

The more users can do for themselves, the more time the IT team can reclaim for use on strategic projects.

As IoT moves into the mainstream, your clients will be looking at ways to leverage the technology across a range of applications. HPE Aruba’s beacon technologies can be used to deliver location-aware services that improve customer experience, and increase profitability.

WiFi enabled beacons are battery powered, and do not require any additional cabling. Each beacon can be configured in situ using a smartphone, and managed remotely via the same management tools used for the local network. Deployments can be completed in a matter of minutes, allowing your customers to begin generating a return on their investment immediately.

To take full advantage of beacon technologies, HPE Aruba have developed AppMaker, a simple tool for building location-aware mobile apps. Used in conjunction with the beacons, they can push messages to apps, or provide value-add information to app users.

AppMaker lowers the barrier to app development because apps can be deployed without any coding at all. Which means that your clients will be able to accelerate their mobile strategy with the assistance of Aruba technologies.

When your clients buy Cisco or Meraki infrastructure, they are committed for the long term. In order to realise the maximum performance benefits of these platforms, they will need to keep buying products and services from the same vendor.

Aruba helps to break that control, allowing your customers to build a network using the equipment and features they want. And because Aruba’s management tools are vendor agnostic, your clients are not penalised for adopting this strategy.

The flexibility and power of an HPE Aruba network is further enhanced by the reduced cost of ownership. Offering the same power and functionality as Cisco, but at a lower price point, HPE Aruba should be a serious consideration for your customers.

– A solution designed from the outset to work with mobile.

– Control of security without compromising user experience of efficiency.

– A lower initial cost and ongoing savings of IT resource time.