intelligent

THE GOAL IS TO DELIVER A

SIMPLE , SECURE AND SMART

ENVIRONMENT – THE THREE CRITICAL SS .

Jacob Chacko , Regional Director ,

Middle East , Saudi & South Africa ( MESA ), at Aruba , a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

How can SMEs use technology to adapt and thrive in challenging times ?

AM : SMEs need to ensure that the foundation of the technologies they invest in is built around agility , flexibility and adaptability . They need to evaluate if the technologies they are deploying can deliver business outcomes in today ’ s digital-first fast-paced environments .

One of the primary business objectives of any SMEs is to reduce time to market . Technology can be a great enabler to help them accelerate time to market and deliver business outcomes . This is also where the Edge comes in . By equipping the first point of connectivity into the network , which could be any endpoint device , with enhanced intelligent computing capabilities , SMEs can achieve their digital business goals . This is what HPE Aruba is enabling SME customers to achieve .

The goal is to deliver a simple , secure and smart environment – the three critical Ss .

Can you highlight some of the key challenges your SMB customers are experiencing ?

JC : Besides the challenges mentioned earlier , SMBs are also dealing with a small but increasingly complex IT environment . The expanded threat landscape is another big challenge that they now , more than ever , need to seriously address . They are also struggling with limited IT personnel and other tech resources . Constrained IT budgets also continue to make it difficult for SMBs to invest in technologies that will help them be digitally ready .

What technologies do small and medium organisations need in order to address these challenges ?

AM : Industry reports indicate that around 75 % of SMEs are expected to spend more on technology post-COVID-19 . In fact , we have already started to see it happening . They need to invest in technologies that help them enhance their current environment , extend their corporate networks to outside of the physical office and deliver seamless and impactful experiences to customers .

JC : SMEs need to reevaluate their current business and IT environment and embark on the cloud journey , irrespective of whether it is endpoint security , mobility or computing . They need to implement solutions that are simple , secure and easy to deploy . They should also look at capitalising on the power of data analytics to analyse and enable quick decision-making . Most of all , to successfully operate in the digital era , they need to also invest in seamless and secure connectivity solutions .

What is Aruba ’ s strategy for targeting this market ?

We look at how we can take a technology infrastructure and make it simple . Then we bring in the security aspect , especially as seamless connectivity environments give birth to new and evolving threats . Finally , we assess how we can make it smart , and this is where intelligence is embedded at the Edge . We need to evaluate how we can integrate backend analytics to make the environment more productive and efficient for SMEs .

JC : We see a significant growth opportunity in the SMB sector . We have enhanced our SMB portfolio so that SMBs can benefit from our leadership in enterprise-grade offerings by building solutions that are more secure , faster and simpler . At Aruba , we are always innovating to create world-class solutions that SMBs can take advantage of . We are also finding new channels such as service providers and e-commerce offerings , which