By Jacob Chacko, Regional Director – Middle East, KSA & SA at HPE Aruba
Aruba’s Jacob Chacko tells us how its AI-powered ‘sixth sense’ ESP makes a difference in data analytics and real–time decision making
Jacob Chacko believes that the most dynamic customer experiences happen at the Edge – an office, a hospital, a school, or at home. Work gets done any place, and data is generated by users, devices, and things across the network. Aruba’s mission, he says, is to help customers capitalize on these opportunities by providing secure edge-to-cloud networking solutions.
The company takes a cloud-native approach to help customers meet their connectivity, security and financial requirements across campus, branch, data center and remote worker environments, covering all aspects of wired, wireless LAN and wide-area-networking (WAN).
This year Aruba returns to GITEX Technology Week, exhibiting under the theme ‘Your Journey. Your Edge’. In its 12th appearance at the event, the company will demonstrate how organizations in the Middle East can leverage Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) to prepare for a post-pandemic world of hybrid working, digital-first experiences, and hyper-aware facilities.
“GITEX, with its position as the Middle East’s largest tech exhibition and networking platform, is the perfect venue for us to showcase our technology in simple, yet innovative ways,” says Chacko, regional director, Middle East, Saudi and South Africa, HPE Aruba. “Our solutions address the specific needs and imperatives of different industries and create value through transformed customer experiences and accelerated financial outcomes. We constantly strive to build loyalty among our customers as well as channel partners, including distributors.”
The challenges today are the proliferation of data and the need to take decisions in almost real time. That’s where Aruba ESP makes a difference. “Legacy networks are unable to cope with the massive amounts of data and decisions required in near real-time. Network architecture needs to utilise Artificial Intelligence in order to be predictive. That’s where Aruba ESP comes in. It is the industry’s first platform with an AI-powered ‘sixth sense’. The solution is designed to unify, automate, and secure the Intelligent Edge, and help organizations harness its immense potential,” says Chacko.
At the GITEX, Aruba demonstrates its latest technologies addressing the digital transformation needs of regional enterprises including:
An area of focus for the company at GITEX 630 Series Access Points (APs) – the industry’s first enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E solution. The benefits of Wi-Fi 6E are clear and, alongside other important networking advancements, it is set to enable businesses to become more connected than ever before.
With organizations looking to lower their risk during uncertain times, Aruba executives are keen to discuss Aruba as-a-service and Aruba network as a service (NaaS) options that offer business and IT leaders greater visibility, control, and flexibility across hardware, software, and management operations. The pay-as-you-go budgeting model respects today’s organizational imperative of guarding the bottom line.
The UAE government is exploring ways to use data to improve the life of citizens, increase the efficiency of operations, and create more innovative business models. “Gathering, accessing and analyzing data can assist the government with insight to implement strategies, monitor the impact of those policies, and ensure a safe living and working environment while data can also assist in delivering proactive services to the public,” says Chacko, reiterating Aruba’s commitment on creating intelligent network solutions that will help the UAE become one of the most advanced countries.
The real-time applications have to have the capability to receive, analyze and communicate huge amounts of data, and achieving this requires powerful computing and intelligent edge network, which offers a flexible, highly reliable connection to cloud services, such as Aruba Central. If the network connecting the sensors or devices goes down, local computer, storage and resources can keep the devices working until the cloud connection re-establishes. Safety and efficiency are therefore not compromised.
Many governments around the world require the separation of open networks from classified networks but while sharing the same physical access point. With MultiZone, a capability of ArubaOSv8 operating system, government IT can create separate zones to allow multiple data classifications to share the same network infrastructure, but with appropriate levels of control. This control can be managed by Aruba ClearPass, which simplifies role-based access controls across wired and wireless networks for a unified approach.
As government agencies are exploring IoT to increase the efficiency and safety of these smart cities, it’s important that the network on which the IoT is built is secure. An intelligent network can handle encryption for these devices, ensuring the integrity of communications, detect suspicious activity through analytics, and respond timeously to limit the spread of a cyberattack.
This enhanced cybersecurity can be applied to the workplace, particularly as the coronavirus has accelerated the need for a smartly reimagined working environment. Employees in both the public sector and private sector are no longer office-bound but can operate anywhere using a number of devices, which makes them more vulnerable to threats.
Aruba SD-WAN solutions allow IT teams to quickly optimize connectivity across a hybrid WAN of Internet, MPLS, and cellular in far-reaching locations, without waiting for service providers. These systems are integrated with Aruba 360 security exchange technology, which delivers cloud-based firewall and threat protection.
“Data-driven applications can provide the UAE government with the ability to make informed decisions to benefit citizens and economies. Through optimizing solutions offered by Aruba, government agencies can leverage data securely, increase efficiency in operations and services, and encourage innovation for a better future,” says Chacko.
As public-private ecosystems around key areas such as health care, transportation, and education, are increasing to drive dynamic and collaborative networks, government data-driven applications can be used by other stakeholders. Many businesses depend on government data to guide business investments, create new products, and encourage innovation.
Aruba’s cloud solutions can help in the creation of an open platform for collaboration between private and public sectors, paving the way for innovative business models.
(To learn more, visit Aruba at GITEX Technology Week at stand number H7-A1.)
