The vital importance of sustainability and robust security measures in the enterprise, where artificial intelligence is starting to dominate, is a leading discussion at this week’s HPE Discover event in Barcelona. As businesses navigate an ever-changing landscape, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s intentions were on full display during the event’s keynote address.

“[HPE] talked about the growth that they’re experiencing and how they’re growing in the actual core networking of the enterprise,” said Rob Strechay (pictured, left), theCUBE analyst. “They’re making that more efficient and sustainable for folks as well … it could actually be a determining factor if you win the business or not.”

Strechay spoke with fellow analyst Rebecca Knight (right) about the day 1 keynote at the HPE Discover Barcelona event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed HPE’s contributions to enterprise tech and how its thought leadership has positioned the company as a significant player in the tech industry. (* Disclosure below.)

The business impact of sustainability in AI’s complex world

A major theme at this week’s event, sustainability has become a determining factor in winning business deals, with an increasing number of requests for proposals and inquiries focusing on environmental responsibility, Strechay noted.

HPE has made significant strides in this area, setting ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate its timeline for achieving sustainability targets. The company’s transparency in reporting its progress shows its commitment to sustainability and positions it as a forward-thinking and responsible partner for businesses, according to Knight.

“Going back to sustainability, this is really becoming a determining factor of whether or not companies win business, because there is so much more attention being paid to making sure that we are doing the right thing by our planet,” she said.

In today’s keynote, HPE also acknowledged the rising threat of ransomware attacks and social engineering, emphasizing the importance of zero trust as a security framework. Zero trust aims to eliminate trust assumptions and requires strict verification of all individuals and devices attempting to access resources on a network.

There is a need for user education in the context of zero trust and a comprehensive approach beyond just a framework, according to Strechay. HPE has made efforts to integrate robust security measures into its products and services, ultimately helping organizations bolster defenses against cyber threats.

“There’s a lot of social engineering going on,” Strechay said. “They talked a lot about zero trust, and as we know, authentication and authorization is a key part of that. I think that there’s going to be a lot of talk about how it’s being built into the products … everything has to be zero trust, not just talking about a zero-trust framework.”

While HPE may not have the AI market share as hyperscalers Microsoft, Amazon or Google, the company still has a significant presence, according to the analysts.

HPE’s acquisition of Cray and its focus on supercomputing and AI as a service are key indicators of the company’s commitment to AI. The integration of AI into hardware and software, which will address the complexities of AI workloads from edge computing to core training models, will be a topic of future discussions, Strechay added.

“I expect us to hear not only a lot about gen AI and how they’re enabling that, but how their partnerships — because they’re partnered with all of the silicon providers — how do they differentiate themselves from the others out there in bringing their technology to bear,” he said.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the HPE Discover Barcelona event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the HPE Discover Barcelona event. Neither Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., the main sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE