HPE Unleashes Breakthrough Intel Converged IoT Systems Designed For Edge Of Network

Hewlett Packard Enterprise says it is attacking the exploding Internet of Things market by going where no vendor has gone before: creating Intel Xeon-based converged IoT systems designed for the edge of the network.

HPE CEO Meg Whitman is expected to unveil the Edgeline EL1000 and Edgeline EL4000 systems, which are being touted as the industry's first converged systems for IoT, at the company's Discover conference Wednesday.

"What is cool about this is it is a new product category we are inventing," said Dr. Tom Bradicich, general manager and vice president of servers and IoT systems for HPE, who was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the converged systems product category many years ago. "This has never been done before. This is not just a new product. Everybody has new products. It's a new category."

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Bradicich said the new systems mark the first time a company has brought high-performance standard x86 computing power to the edge of the network with data capture and control along with proven device management technology and security from HPE's Aruba business.

Up until now, there has not been an industry-standard Intel IoT edge system designed to collect data from the millions of sensors and devices and analyze it in real time at the edge of the network, said Bradicich.

The Edgeline systems support up to 64 Intel Xeon core processors for IoT data capture and analytics in an environmentally hardened chassis that is shock- and vibration-proof with a temperature range of zero to 55 Celsius.

"We are taking this to an unprecedented level," said Bradicich. "We need to do that because the edge is hostile. The edge is not the cushy protected environment of the data center. It is out there at the edge where it is harsh and hostile at times."

The Edgeline systems support industry computing and data systems capture standards, opening the door for them to run thousands of existing applications. Furthermore, they incorporate industrial operational technology standards such as PXI.

HPE, Palo Alto, Calif., is driving the combination of industry-standard Intel systems through industrial operational technology partnerships with the likes of National Instruments, GE Digital and PTC.

The IoT market is growing at a breakneck pace, with research firm Gartner estimating that IoT will support total services spending of $235 billion in 2016, up 22 percent from 2015. Furthermore, Gartner expects 4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up 30 percent from 2015, and will grow to 20.8 billion by 2020.

HPE partners said they see an explosive sales opportunity ahead.

Mike Leeper, chief technology officer for Denali Advanced Integration, a top HPE enterprise partner based in Redmond, Wash., said edge systems are a must to kick the IoT market into high gear.

"I love the fact that HPE is bringing it to the edge," said Leeper. "We are talking about temperature sensors, cars and roadways, and lighting -- all the things that are not in your house or office. The only way to collect that data is to get data collectors further to the edge. HPE is going after all that data and telemetry at the edge. That takes moving technology out there further, and who better to do that than HPE?"

Leeper said that as the company split from HP Inc. and plans to spin off its $20 billion Enterprise Services business in a merger with CSC, it is now once again focused on infrastructure innovation. "That is what I want HPE to be," he said. "That is their DNA."

Dan Molina, chief technology officer for San Diego-based Nth Generation, one of HPE's top enterprise partners, said he sees the Edgeline systems as a breakthrough that will help drive future sales growth.

"HPE has a robust edge technology with these systems," he said. "They are designed with Vertica and Aruba, which is great news. I can't wait to see these systems in action. HPE is using the right architecture and the right components to allow businesses to do real-time decision-making through relevant insights gained at the edge of the network."

Kelly Ireland, founder and CEO of Orange, Calif.-based CB Technologies, an HPE enterprise partner, said CB is sharply focused on the IoT opportunity with HPE and even has collaborated with the company on a breakthrough asset management solution that was being demonstrated on the Discover show floor.

Ireland sees the new Edgeline systems as another example of HPE flexing its converged systems muscle. "HPE is the only company that has all the pieces and parts to bring a full converged IoT system like this to market," she said.