HPE Discover: Microsoft And HPE Partnership Creates 5,000 More Azure Cloud Architects

HPE and Microsoft have officially unveiled details of their joint innovation in hybrid cloud computing through Microsoft Azure, HPE infrastructure and services, and new program offerings.

The extended partnership appoints Microsoft Azure as a preferred public cloud partner in providing infrastructure and services for Microsoft’s hybrid cloud offerings.

Global Services Practice

In turn, HPE also plans to certify an additional 5,000 Azure Cloud Architects through its Global Services Practice. This will extend to its Enterprise Services offering to bring customers an open, agile, more secure hybrid cloud that integrates with Azure.

Meg Whitman, president and CEO, HPE, said: “HPE is committed to helping businesses transform to hybrid cloud environments in order to drive growth and value. Public cloud services, like those Azure provides, are an important aspect of a hybrid cloud strategy and Microsoft Azure blends perfectly with HPE solutions to deliver what our customers need most.”

The partnering companies will collaborate across engineering and services to integrate innovative compute platforms that help customers optimise their IT environment, leverage new consumption models and accelerate their business further, faster.

Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, who was speaking at the HPE Discover event in London this week, said: “Our mission to empower every organisation on the planet is a driving force behind our broad partnership with HPE that spans Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows 10. We are now extending out longstanding partnership by blending the power of Azure with HPE’s leading infrastructure, support and services to and make the cloud more accessible to enterprises around the globe.”

HPE and Microsoft are introducing what they describe as the first hyper-converged systems with true hybrid cloud capabilities, the HPE Hyperconverged 250 for Microsoft Cloud Platform System Standard. Bringing together HPE ProLiant technology and Microsoft Azure innovation, the jointly engineered solution brings Azure services to customers’ datacentres, empowering users to choose where and how they want to leverage the cloud. An Azure management portal enables business users to self-deploy Windows and Linux workloads, while ensuring IT has central oversight. Azure services provide reliable backup and disaster recovery, and with HPE OneView for Microsoft System Center, customers get an integrated management experience across all system components.

HPE offers hardware and software support, installation and startup services to customers to speed deployment to just a matter of hours, lower risk and decrease total cost of ownership. The CS 250 is available to order today, according to HPE.

As part of the extended partnership, HPE will enable Azure consumption and services on every HPE server, which is said to allow customers to rapidly realise the benefits of hybrid cloud.

Building on the success of HPE Quality Center and HPE LoadRunner on the Azure Marketplace, HPE and Microsoft will work together to make select HPE industry-leading application lifecycle management, big data and security software products available on the Azure Public Cloud.

HPE and Microsoft will create HPE Azure Centers of Excellence in Palo Alto, California, and Houston, Texas, to ensure customers have a seamless hybrid cloud experience when leveraging Azure across HPE infrastructure, software and services. Through the work at these centres, both companies will invest in continuing advancements in hybrid IT and composable infrastructure.

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