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We are one of the leading suppliers of HPE’s solutions and products on a global scale. We were, of course, present at the large HPE Discover again this year. At this event, it was clear that all doomsday theories about data centers we have in this world were removed from the agenda. The IT of the future is made up of a lot of things, but it will undoubtedly always remain hybrid. 

To fathom the extent of the HPE Discover event this year, one must first look at the physical surroundings. The largest Discover to date was hosted at one of the most spectacular venues in the world which is The Sphere in Las Vegas. Serving as an analogy of the world, the enormous sphere-shaped building symbolizes that nothing is too big, and nothing is impossible. In many ways, this became the perfect representation of this year’s theme, AI. HPE’s CEO, Antonio Neri, said in his keynote speech: Bold statements require bold locations. Having AI as the overall theme ensured a complete cohesiveness. 

The Main Theme

The indisputable main theme this year was AI. Artificial intelligence was present everywhere in all dialogue, sessions, exhibits, and keynote speeches. Yet, we also witnessed some of the biggest surprises through a combination of existing technologies. One of the big takeaways from this year’s Discover according to our own specialists Niels Vejrup Pedersen and Michael Schultz was the introduction of a brand-new Full Stack Hypervisor and in that context followed a general discussion of what the future of IT will look like. This is also where several firm statements were made. How daring they are, we will let you be the judge of. Before we look closer at the technical news, we are taking a look at some of the perspectives of the infrastructure of the future. 

 

Meet Niels  Meet Michael

AI Paving the Way for on-prem?

AI is opening up the door for a greater amount of on-premises infrastructure than ever before. This was one of the key points made by HPE CEO, Antonio Neri at Discover 2024. The point was even made that we are moving into a renaissance of on-premises computing. If you ask the employees who attended from Danoffice IT, they will say that is a noteworthy statement, but not bold. That is because it is quite accurate. Michael explains: “Whatever you put into AI is the goldmine of the company. That serves as the core. Would you want that located just anywhere? No! That is why HPE is talking about a renaissance of on-premises because this is where the data is close at hand.” Niels Vejrup, Technology Lead at Danoffice IT adds: ”Many have data which is subject to compliance requirements and regulations and therefore, on-premises will always remain available. Now, it is also available without missing out on the opportunities of features such as AI.”

“The term used today is data gravity and that gravity comes at a cost,” Michael says, and Niels adds: “Data to and from the cloud is expensive. We can refer to it as data road pricing. Moving data is expensive which is why on-premises will become more relevant now. The cloud and on-premises will co-exist. The world will always be hybrid.” 

 

CLOUD, HYBRID or ON-PREMISES

What is HPE Discover?

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  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 and adds: “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.” 

New Full Stack Hypervisor

Thus, the future according to HPE is laid out and thus the manufacturer presents its new portfolio to us in light of that context. This also includes their new Hypervisor solution. This is a solution which most certainly hogs the headlines just as the surprising launch of HPE’s Private Cloud AI is.
Despite the fact that the hypervisor technology is not new, HPE still surprised everyone with the introduction of HPE Virtualization stack which is exciting to Niels Vejrup and brings us back to the conversation about on-premises solutions: 
”This solution creates brand new opportunities and framework for the customer. It gives you the opportunity to manage on-premises workloads just as you would in the public cloud,” he says. “You can compare it to HPE’s PCBE which is VMware only, however, with the new virtualization Stack, you no longer need VMware. Furthermore, it provides access to cloud-based management through HPE’s Green Lake Edge-to-Cloud platform. Thereby, you have the freedom to manage the virtualization between on-premises and public cloud solutions.”  

 
According to Niels, HPE Virtualization stack provides you with the ability to control your own infrastructure. “The options are expanded, and you maintain administration and control regardless of which hypervisor you chose locally.” The operative words are Full Stack which is a pre-integrated “stack” of technological components which encompasses everything you need in your IT infrastructure. From the back-end to the front-end and everything in-between. 

HPE Hypervisor is built on an open-source Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)which is a part of Linux Kernel. KVM is a well-known technology with almost 2 decades of experience which encompasses the development, testing and reliability of the physical datacenters. KVM is open-source and has a large active community packed with knowledge resources and ongoing improvements.

Freedom to Choose

According to Niels, HPE’s new Hypervisor solution creates a freedom to choose. “Everyone has tried to find that one place where you can find it all. With the removal of the 3rd party software, you no longer have any obligation to ongoing maintenance. How, you can control the hardware and software which obviously also provides better finances,” he says. HPE’s vision is the opportunity for managing everything from their Green Lake platform which is in my opinion why they have launched their own Hypervisor,” Niels Vejrup Pedersen, Technology Lead at Danoffice IT, concludes.

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