Should you care about HP’s acquisition of Aruba?.

Let me start out by saying that not all acquisitions positively impact enterprise customers. Also, not all acquisitions are executed well.

This article highlights why I think this acquisition is being executed well and is having a positive impact on enterprise customers.

Something you might not know.

One of the most important highlights of HP’s acquisition of Aruba revolves around a fact that you probably won’t read in other news articles. HP and Aruba insiders consider this acquisition a “reverse acquisition”. What this means is that while HP officially (legally) acquired Aruba…it will be Aruba that absorbs the best products, engineering and staff from HP’s Networking unit and continue under the Aruba brand, leadership and innovation engine. “So what?” you might be asking.

What’s the benefit to enterprise organizations?

HP acquired Aruba and is keeping the best parts of Aruba intact. After all, why buy a company and then wreck the very reason you bought the company to begin with (which is what so many other acquiring companies do). Enterprise customers will get the best of both companies as a result of this laser-focused, build-upon-what’s-working approach.

Aruba’s value proposition aligns with HP’s vision for the unified wired and wireless campus, which is a key part of that strategy. Aruba will bring its best-of-breed wireless LAN infrastructure and policy management to the access layer, complementing HP’s strong footprint in wired LAN. Aruba will also bring enterprise mobility software, security and orchestration solutions that can be integrated across the campus infrastructure.

Together, HP and Aruba will offer a unified solution to help your enterprise successfully manage your networking needs throughout the transition to a mobile first infrastructure.

How are analysts and customers responding?

The response has already been overwhelmingly positive. Gartner positions HP/Aruba in the “leaders” quadrant for “Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure” well ahead of competitors in both “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Note, HP/Aruba is one of only two manufacturers in the leaders quadrant.

Customers are responding positively as well. HP Networking 3rd quarter 2015 sales (May-July), independent of Aruba sales, was the best quarter on record. This tells us that clients, when provided an HP wired and wireless option are choosing HP now more than ever. We think this is largely due to the confidence that enterprise organizations have in the joint HP/Aruba brand.

Click here to review the full Gartner Magic Quadrant report for a more detailed analysis.

Let’s start a dialogue.

If you’ve made it this far in the article you probably have an enterprise network. The Matrix Integration team is eager to help you succeed with your next networking endeavor. Contact us and we’ll set up a time to get the dialogue started.

Matrix Integration has been an HP partner for over 30 years and an Aruba partner for 3 years with many successful client engagements to reference as we help you on your journey.

To learn more about leveraging the HP & Aruba formula for success, click here.