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On a global scale, we are among the leading suppliers of HPE solutions and products and that is no coincidence. This is a manufacturer that not only keeps up with the trends, but one that is also constantly pushing them forward and shaping them. This was confirmed like never before at the large HPE Discover 2024 in Las Vegas.

 

Is it worth it to make the trip from Denmark to the USA to listen to keynote speakers and see exhibits? The short answer is YES. Overall, HPE Discover is a breeding ground for inspiration and insight for budding new partnerships and for projects already in motion that are to be sling-shotted into a whole new level of technology. Niels Vejrup Pedersen, Technology Lead at Danoffice IT explains: “This is very valuable to us, and it is also very valuable to our customers. There is a high concentration of relevant information which cannot be properly conveyed in a re-cap video,” he says 

Their Largest Assets

"This is where HPE gathers all their largest assets from top management to the heavy-weight expert champions of various subjects. Furthermore, our customers get to meet the manufacturer of their products face-to-face for an in-person conversation. There is a unique opportunity for input into how to run your IT in the future. Credibility is at its peak and our customers can feel it. This year’s event was the biggest ever and the most high-profile” says Niels.

Bold Statements

In order to appreciate the extent of this year’s HPE Discover, you have to start by setting the scene. The largest ever Discover was hosted in one of the world’s most spectacular venues, which is the Sphere in Las Vegas. The enormous sphere-shaped building seems to serve as a reminder of the magnitude of our globe and that nothing is big enough and nothing is impossible. In many ways, this was the perfect correlation with the theme this year which was included in every presentation, all sessions, exhibits, and conversations: AI. In his keynote speech together with Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, HPE’s CEO, Antonio Neri, stated that; Bold statements require bold locations. Having AI as the overall theme provided a complete cohesiveness. This year’s keynote speeches and sessions will send shock-waves into the industry and may even part the waters here and there.

Michael Schultz, Sales Specialist, Datacenter adds the following to the topic of the venue itself: ”For the first time ever, the decision was made to combine Aruba Atmosphere with HPE Discover. This is a clear win for the industry and for HPE’s customers. Everything is gathered in one place and highly concentrated. This eliminates the need to spend resources on seeking knowledge anywhere else in the HPE world and the need to physically travel anywhere else.” Niels Vejrup agrees and explains that the expectations were very high. “Looking back, we most definitely had high expectations. We already knew that they would bring Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, on stage and following Antonio’s statement of bold statements, we knew that something big would be introduced and that it was likely to not just be about new servers.”

The Wow Effect

”The scene was truly set,” Michael concludes. “In typical HPE fashion, the lodging and all practical aspects ran like clockwork. Everyone was ready to provide us with excellent care. This was quite a feat because everything was supersized. There were nearly 15,000 people present waiting to be inspired. They even pulled off their annual celebration, also at the Sphere, which is their large socialization event running alongside the keynote speeches and sessions, at an A+ level.” 

Niels adds: “Antonio’s keynote speech truly had the wow effect in The Sphere. “Everything you hear or see is amplified,” he says and adds: “We had already asked our customers what they wanted to see and hear which meant we had the agenda planned out down to the smallest detail. At Danoffice IT, we take pride in making things relevant and manageable. If we do not, it is easy to lose focus during such a big show. However, no matter how big it is, the educational component is at the core and with the proper planning, the experience becomes highly valuable.”  

A Big Suprise 

EVERYONE is talking about AI. Yet, too much talk becomes indistinguishable noise. Therefore, there was a certain level of excitement when Niels Vejrup Pedersen and Michael Schultz found their seats in The Sphere. “From the first phrase uttered, it was clear that HPE views AI from an IT infrastructure angle. They know that Nvidia owns the market when it comes to the GPU, which is an essential part of every AI solution. Therefore, when Antonio Neri introduced HPE’s collaboration with Nvidia, it became clear that they are combining the best of both worlds,” Niels says and adds: HPE’s and Nvidia’s hardware combined with software is powerful in itself. However, HPE takes it one step further and creates solutions that mean that everything is up and running right out of the box. This means ready-to-use models and completed packaging. With that, undoubtedly the biggest surprise this year, which was also the core of Antonio’s keynote speech, was the introduction of HPE Private Cloud AI. This is a turn-key solution which is all-inclusive.”

”We suspected that the theme this year would be AI,” Niels says. “However, the fact that they introduced a turn-key solution which is all-inclusive and includes training programs for us as partners was surely a big surprise.” According to Michael Schultz, this solidifies the message of a powerful collaboration between HPE and its partners. “They are emphasizing that they desire to deliver collaborative solutions in the future even though a new level of automation and intelligence is brought into the mix.” 

HPE Private Cloud AI

This turn-key solution is HPE’s suggestion to how we can start our customer’s AI journey in the best possible way: 

  • A pre-integrated ready-to-use solution
  • Comes in four sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-large
  • Extensive AI workload solutions with complete integration to HPE Greenlake
  • Full support from both HPE and Nvidia
  • The solutions will fit companies in most markets and countries

Intelligence Has No Limits

“Intelligence has no limits.” Those were the words from the center stage and HPE’s new AI solution was surely introduced as limitless. Michael Schultz explains: “Simply put, you can get an AI-driven infrastructure which is plug & play and HPE’s goal is to take the complexity out of the equation for the customer and then all the customer has to bring is the data. The rest is handled.” “This is a significant step for our industry” HPE said themselves and according to Michael, this is not necessarily a bold statement. “We were presented with AI in the context of other historical developments in our industry such as the calculator, the client and servers, virtualization, and now AI. By introducing such a simple solution, HPE has removed the technological barrier between the solution and the customer. It is impressive and even more so because there is virtually no limitation to the solution,“ Niels Vejrup Pedersen adds. 

There are many ways to view the next new technology wave and from the specialists at Danoffice IT, the perspective is this: This is the next revolution that we must all adjust to. This is the solution which can improve a lot of things in our society. We now have new opportunities,” Niels says. Michael Schultz agrees and adds: “As an example, let’s consider illnesses which will affect us all. There are currently studies attempting to resolve these with AI. Health Care and manufacturing in the medical field now have a computation factor which can bring about historic changes for us.” 

Next Level Support: ”We all have one thing in common here…”

“This is new to us all.” These were the words of Krista Satterthwaite, SVP & General Manager, HPE Computer. At Danoffice IT, we have already started and today, we have a dedicated department which provides AI solutions to customers both locally and globally. However, we are dealing with an introduction to a technology being provided to the general public at an unprecedented pace. Therefore, Krista is correct this is new and that is the exact argument used by HPE to launch an extremely ambitious training program for partners such as us here at Danoffice IT. “HPE will be delivering the infrastructure for the future AI solutions. That is the sole point. They are ready so now; they are getting us as partners ready as well” Niels says. “The support platform we have access to now as one of their partners allows us to bring our customers right at the forefront of development without the usual learning curve. They have embedded training and enablement of the partners so that we may go right out and educate the customers and have the conversations. They ensure our ability to become the preferred partner in AI solutions,” Niels Vejrup Pedersen Technology Lead at Danoffice IT, concludes.  

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