HP Networking adds Aruba for wireless and the Converged Campus

HP has been claiming second position in the enterprise network area for some time: but it hasn’t always been true in my research, where it circulates with Huawei and Alcatel Lucent for the ‘also ran’ spot behind Cisco. It announced this week its intention to purchase Aruba for around $3B, which – if it had already happened – would have secured the second spot. Without it my research puts HP in fourth for the year.

You’ll want to assess why HP is making this move and think about its position post-acquisition.Aruba currently employs around 1,800 and has revenues of roughly $800M for the calendar year. Its specialisation is in Enterprise wireless networking. If everything goes to plan the deal will be completed in the second half of HP’s financial year and when done Aruba’s current CEO Dominic Orr and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Keerti Melkote, will report to HP Enterprise Group’s leader Antonio Neri.

HP will use Aruba’s brand and sales channel to enhance its ‘Converged Campus’ and enterprise wireless offerings and to push forward the emerging 802.11ac standard. It should help HP execute its mobile network and BYOD plans more effectively.