Software-Defined Networking (SDN) has become a popular technology that is powering future innovation. To talk about these advances, Jeff Frick and Dave Vellante of theCUBE joined Michael Zhu at HP Discover 2015. Zhu is the senior director of Global Solutions and Alliances with HP.

The discussion started off with a look at HP’s SDN app store. “In the last six months, our SDN app store has made huge strides in terms of progress,” Zhu said. He explained that the store launched with six apps and 40 partners, but has since grown to 18 apps and more than 80 partners.

Killer apps and objectives

Zhu continued to describe the app store, including HP’s desire to use an ecosystem-based approach with infrastructure and enterprise layers. It believes that innovation should come from the industry and developer community.

Among the store’s offerings are three killer apps. The first is security, with a system that turns the network into an intelligent security appliance. The second lies in optimization, with technology that can dynamically adjust the network to meet real-time traffic needs. Finally, there’s the apps that allow companies to orchestrate and visualize their whole network.

Partners in innovation

“I truly believe that after many years with SDN, we are reaching the stage where customer adoption is going to ramp up,” Zhu said, taking a moment to talk about HP’s partners. The role of these partners is to bring innovative ideas for applications, which HP will then back with business and technical support to make the app happen.

Beyond the broad killer apps, this plan has produced a number of more specialized tools. As an example, Zhu mentioned a security app that re-routed the network to contain damage after a breach. In HP’s eyes, the app store serves as a mechanism to provide the benefits of developer innovation into the future.

“They focus on the innovation of the app,” he said, “and we help them with global reach and service.”

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of HP Discover Las Vegas 2015.