A convergence of cloud, private 5G and AI in real-world settings is setting the pace for digitalisation, according to Phil Mottram.
The executive vice president and general manager of Intelligent Edge at HPE Aruba Networking notes that enterprises are embracing the shift for one of two reasons. One, to cut costs, and two, to take bold steps into new “revenue-generating” technologies.
While Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) is primarily known for cloud services, it also provides networking, storage and AI capabilities to its customers.
Its concerted push towards cloud-managed networking is underpinned by the integration of its Aruba Central platform with private 5G capabilities acquired through its 2023 purchase of private network provider Athonet.
The result, says Mottram, is a unified cloud-to-edge infrastructure aimed at delivering secure, scalable connectivity.
Military defence
One standout application is in military bases, according to Mottram, where cloud-managed private 5G networks are being deployed to monitor assets, manage movements and ensure resilient communications.
“They like private 5G because it’s secure technology,” he explains. “They want to keep an eye on a lot of the assets they have on the bases – because obviously, they’re expensive, and it would be dangerous if they disappeared.”
These networks are also portable. HPE is supplying “5G backpacks” – self-contained, mobile private networks – for field deployment.
“So, with Athonet, they have these 5G backpacks the soldier can stack on a field and deploy a network – to keep track of other soldiers and more,” he says.
Industry 4.0
Industrial customers, too, are adopting private 5G and cloud-managed edge solutions.
“Warehouses are a great example,” he says. “Some of our customers deploy fleets of autonomous robots and want uninterrupted connectivity.”
In such cases, he argues, private 5G outperforms Wi-Fi and can be more cost-effective. “For every one private 5G cell, you’d need eight outdoor Wi-Fi access points.”
“You’ve got to cable them all, mount them, manage them. One small cell is cheaper and easier to deploy at scale.”
The Ryder Cup
That flexibility extends to environments where traditional infrastructure would be impractical.
At the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, HPE helped deploy a private 5G network to connect cameras and sensors across the course, eliminating the need for cables that might damage ancient Roman ruins beneath the fairways.“They used private 5G to link all the holes on the network,” says Mottram, noting that it worked alongside Wi-Fi.
The network spanned 370 acres of archaeologically protected countryside and supported connectivity for 250,000 spectators by deploying over 200 switches, 800 access points, 30 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, and a private 5G service.
Sensors were also installed throughout the site to monitor network performance and support sustainability efforts.
In addition to streaming live action to big screens and apps, the network enhanced the fan experience by providing real-time updates, such as directing visitors to less crowded food stalls or restrooms.
Staff could also be dispatched to on-course issues, and team captains accessed live data through their own dashboards.
“This event has seen a huge uplift in the number of edge devices gathering data, with cloud computing surfacing key insights,” said Michael Cole, chief technology officer at Ryder Cup Europe, in a talk with HPE.
Sustainability
Across these deployments, AI and automation are increasingly embedded at the cloud layer and claim to play a key role in managing energy usage.
“If you’ve got 500 access points in an office building, and on a Friday afternoon, 450 aren’t being used, the system can idle them automatically,” says Mottram – a change that significantly reduces power consumption, and the AI will also look for security issues too.
HPE is also incorporating carbon monitoring tools into both Aruba Central and its GreenLake cloud platform.
“It’s becoming table stakes,” he adds. “Customers, especially in Europe and Asia-Pacific, are actively making decisions based on sustainability metrics.”
In Finland, HPE supported a government-led AI and weather-modelling initiative based in a cloud-managed data centre that also provides district heating to the local village. “We’re using the waste heat from the servers to heat homes,” says Mottram.
And, as operators and enterprises evolve from cloud-first to cloud-everywhere strategies, Mottram anticipates a growing demand for unified infrastructure that supports AI, automation, sustainability and real-time operations.
