There is no such thing as a standalone company anymore. Businesses must rely on the ecosystem around their products and technology to survive. This ecosystem is made up of partners who bring their unique offerings to the table. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a powerful example of how the ecosystem becomes a necessary part of modern business. Players in this ecosystem are discovering the value of partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

To gain some insight from the partner’s perspective, Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and John Furrier (@furrier), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, visited the HPE Discover 2016 convention in Las Vegas. There, they met with Michael Tennefoss, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Aruba Networks, Inc.

Securing the elements of the Internet of Things

The conversation started with Tennefoss explaining Aruba’s position as a partner. He said the Aruba portfolio is very broad, with a focus on security. Through this portfolio, they cover the gamut of secure connectivity and management.

There are three elements to the IoT, he pointed out. It’s about converting data into action, unlocking data from silos inside organizations, and mining insights from data. He said Aruba plays into the secure connectivity element. “Across servers, storage, networking … we can put together a complete solution,” he said.

Partners and customers

Tennefoss explained where partnerships come into the equation. HPE has Big Data solutions, but it’s a matter of applying those solutions to solve specific business problems, he said. “IoT is confusing to customers because they think they should be connecting everything and doing something magical with it,” he said. IoT is transformational, it’s taking infrastructure and applying it in a different way, he added.

The transformation occurs in how a company leverages the data and how they apply it, Tennefoss continued. IT tech and operational tech will combine together, and the data they mine will be used to transform the business.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of HPE Discover 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE