When Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced the acquisition of Juniper Networks earlier this year, the global tech industry knew the integration would create ripples across the networking landscape. But for HPE’s leadership, the move was not just about scale, instead it was about creating a unified, partner-first ecosystem designed to capitalise on the next wave of technology shifts, precisely AI, hybrid cloud, and networking.
In this first joint interaction following the acquisition, Simon Ewington, Senior Vice President, WW Channel & Partner Ecosystem, HPE and Gordon Mackintosh, Vice President, WW Channel & Partner Ecosystem Networking Sales, HPE, share how the combined strengths of HPE and Juniper are unlocking fresh opportunities for partners, especially in a fast-growing market like India.
A clear vision anchored in mega trends
“Antonio has always been ahead in predicting industry shifts,” notes Ewington, referencing HPE CEO Antonio Neri’s long-standing emphasis on AI, hybrid cloud, and networking. “Now these trends are no longer predictions, they’re defining the market,” he adds.
To harness this, HPE’s channel strategy is anchored in three pillars. First is AI enablement by making AI simple to adopt with offerings like PCAI (Private Cloud AI) and pre-validated ISV solutions. Then it’s profitability for partners through a unified, streamlined partner program. And finally growth into new markets by leveraging core strengths in compute, storage, and networking while venturing into emerging areas such as virtualisation and AI-native networking.
The PCAI solution, described as an “appliance-like AI stack,” is central to HPE’s mission to demystify AI adoption. Complementing this is the Unleashed AI program, which equips partners with skills, certifications, and ISV integrations to accelerate their AI journey.
Integrating Juniper: Minimal overlap, maximum opportunity
One of the most striking outcomes of the acquisition is the surprisingly low overlap between Juniper and Aruba’s partner ecosystems. “We’re talking about only 10–15% overlap,” points out Ewington. “That means 85–90% of the partner base represents a fresh opportunity,” he reveals.
This realisation led to the launch of Fast Start, a program designed to quickly onboard partners from both ecosystems. In parallel, the Medallion-to-Medallion program ensures that partners with existing recognition from either Juniper or HPE automatically qualify for the other, unlocking instant access to incentives, certifications, and enablement resources.
India is playing a pioneering role. “Partners here have been waiting for this moment,” says Ewington. He adds, “We launched Fast Start just last week, and adoption has already been tremendous.” Mackintosh mentions that during recent partner meetings in Bengaluru and Delhi, excitement was palpable. He shares, “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to disrupt the networking market, and partners want to be at the centre of it.”
Making AI and cloud real for enterprises
While early AI discussions centred on computing power, HPE is expanding the conversation to encompass networking, storage, and hybrid cloud, all vital components of an AI-ready infrastructure.
“Every enterprise must modernise data to leverage AI,” explains Ewington. “That’s where partners come in, helping customers make data accessible and AI-ready,” he adds. Networking plays a critical role, with AI workloads demanding self-healing, intelligent, and high-performance infrastructure.
Unlike competitors, who often rely on third-party alliances, HPE now offers an end-to-end AI stack, from networking and storage to hybrid cloud and compute.
Building partner capabilities beyond products
For HPE and Juniper, it isn’t enough to offer best-in-class technology; the mission is to build partner practices around them. The High Flyers community in India, run by Ashutosh Dubey, has become a forum for equipping partners with AI knowledge and practical insights.Then the AI Focus Partners Program goes a step further, identifying partners with AI readiness and investing in their practice development. On the networking side, Juniper’s AI-native capabilities (like Mist Cloud and Marvis) now combine with Aruba’s strengths to create differentiated, full-stack offerings for partners.
According to Mackintosh, from mid-market Mist to high-end data centre networking and WAN to Aruba’s SASE, the opportunities look immense.
Financing, security, and as-a-service models
HPE Financial Services (HPEFS) is emerging as a key enabler of this ecosystem in India. It has already underpinned HPE’s as-a-service business, and now Juniper partners can leverage it for flexible financing. “This is a massive opportunity,” Ewington emphasises. “Even non-HPE products have been financed through HPEFS, and we’re seeing strong growth,” he adds.
On the security front, the companies are embedding zero trust principles across their architectures. AI-driven orchestration, policy automation, and self-learning capabilities are making security inherent rather than add-on.
Equally transformative is the as-a-service model. HPE GreenLake has been a game-changer globally, and in India it has delivered strong double-digit growth. Partners who initially hesitated have since built specialised capabilities, driving sustained momentum. “Networking-as-a-service is the natural extension,” says Mackintosh. “Juniper tripled its NaaS business in the last two years, and combined with GreenLake, the growth trajectory is phenomenal,” he further adds.
A partner-first philosophy
If there’s one theme that both Ewington and Mackintosh returned to repeatedly, it’s the partner-first DNA of both HPE and Juniper.
Ewington says, “Culturally, this alignment is our biggest strength. Our compensation structures, our organisational design, even our leadership approach, everything is geared toward ensuring partner success.”
Mackintosh echoes the sentiment by mentioning that speed, execution, and simplicity, is what matters. “And our partners in India are telling us this is exactly what they need,” Ewington adds.
The road ahead in India
India is more than just a market for HPE, it’s becoming a test bed for global channel strategies. From early adoption of Fast Start to scaling GreenLake as-a-service models, Indian partners are leading by example.
As Ewington concludes, “We have almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to opportunities. Our job now is to make sure partners are equipped, enabled, and profitable every step of the way.”
As enterprises embrace AI, cloud, and secure networking, HPE and Juniper are positioning themselves not just as technology providers, but as ecosystem builders. For partners, this means new opportunities across verticals, new revenue streams through as-a-service models, and the backing of a unified global channel strategy.
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