In a rapidly evolving threat landscape, cybersecurity is no longer a matter of simply blocking attacks—it’s about building resilience to withstand them. At Black Hat USA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) signaled a major strategic shift with a significant expansion of its security portfolio, moving toward a unified, multi-layered, and AI-driven approach. This new direction, which leverages the combined power of HPE Aruba Networking and HPE Juniper Networking, is a notable departure from a fragmented security model, hardening HPE’s position to compete head-on with rivals in the enterprise space.
The core of HPE’s new strategy lies in three key areas: advanced network security, breakthrough data protection, and enhanced cyber resilience. For network security, the new SASE copilot for HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect provides AI-driven insights to proactively identify security gaps and network anomalies. This is complemented by the expansion of HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC, which can now enforce zero-trust policies on devices from HPE Juniper and other third-party vendors—a crucial step toward a truly integrated security ecosystem.
HPE’s focus on data protection is equally impressive. The new HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000, optimized for modern data protection, is being touted as the “world’s fastest enterprise backup storage.” It can achieve backup speeds of up to 1.2 petabytes per hour, nearly double that of its closest competitors. This kind of performance is vital for organizations in data-intensive fields like healthcare and finance, where swift recovery is essential for compliance and business continuity.
The third pillar of this new strategy is resilience, particularly against ransomware and other sophisticated threats. The new integration hub for HPE Zerto Software, with CrowdStrike as the exclusive launch partner, provides a powerful solution for rapid cyber recovery. By combining threat detection from CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform with HPE Zerto’s recovery capabilities, organizations can restore critical systems from a “clean” point in time just moments before an attack, minimizing downtime and business disruption.
This comprehensive, integrated approach stands in contrast to how some competitors have traditionally positioned their security offerings. While companies like Dell and Lenovo also have robust cybersecurity portfolios that focus on a zero-trust model, their strategies are often more hardware-centric or offered as a service. Dell’s approach, for example, heavily features its PowerProtect Cyber Recovery solutions, which create a secure, air-gapped vault to isolate critical data from attacks. Similarly, Lenovo’s ThinkShield strategy focuses on “secure by design” principles, building security into its devices and supply chain from the ground up, and offering managed services like its Cyber Resiliency as a Service (CRaaS).
What sets HPE’s new strategy apart is its emphasis on unifying diverse security components—from networking to storage and recovery—into a cohesive, AI-powered whole. By leveraging the recent acquisition of Juniper Networks and building on its GreenLake platform, HPE is creating a single, comprehensive framework designed to simplify security management and accelerate recovery for hybrid cloud environments. This move not only expands HPE’s security capabilities but also positions the company as a unified, one-stop-shop for end-to-end cyber resilience.
