Sustainable AI solutions driving businesses, Amer Warsi, HPE, India

How does HPE's AI channel strategy create opportunities for its partners?

HPE’s AI channel strategy is designed to transform AI opportunities into tangible realities for our partners through a structured and comprehensive approach. Our strategy revolves around three key pillars:

Identifying and Working with Specialized Partners: We collaborate with partners with deep expertise in AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL). These partners possess strong data science capabilities and are specialized in high-performance computing (HPC). Leveraging their advanced skills ensures that our AI solutions are robust and cutting-edge.

Creating Differentiated Offers: We are dedicated to developing unique and curated AI solutions, such as our Proactive Care AI (PCAI). These differentiated offers include solutions tailored for inferencing and generative AI (GenAI), enabling our partners to deliver precise and impactful AI capabilities to their customers.

Broadening the Community: We are expanding our HPC and AI Highflyers community, providing extensive education on various AI topics to empower our partners. Our deep integration with NVIDIA further enhances our ability to deliver comprehensive AI solutions, ensuring our partners access the latest technologies and expertise.

One of the standout benefits of partnering with HPE on AI solutions is our unwavering commitment to security, privacy, and data protection. We understand that neglecting these aspects can expose sensitive information, which is why we ensure that our entire ecosystem—computing, storage, and networking—is fortified against such risks.

By fostering innovation, we increase the relevance of our partners in the market and support the evolution of the as-a-service (aaS) business model. This approach allows our traditional partners to evolve at their own pace and attracts new partner archetypes, such as managed service providers (MSPs), through the HPE GreenLake platform. HPE GreenLake facilitates the development and enablement of managed capabilities, enabling partners to scale and grow rapidly while only paying for what they use.

Elaborate on how the NVIDIA AI Computing portfolio integrated by HPE impacts channel partners and enhances their ability to deliver AI-driven solutions?

The NVIDIA AI Computing portfolio integrated by HPE is a transformative addition for our channel partners, significantly enhancing their ability to drive innovation and generate new revenue streams. This program offers various competencies and resources across AI, computing, storage, networking, hybrid cloud, and sustainability. Along with the enhanced HPE GreenLake offerings, it provides comprehensive support that equips our partners with the necessary tools and skills to navigate the evolving AI landscape and deliver state-of-the-art solutions to their customers.

One of the standout features of this integration is the fully integrated private cloud, which can be deployed in just three clicks and 24 seconds. This remarkable efficiency allows our partners to rapidly and effectively bring advanced AI capabilities to their clients, significantly reducing deployment times compared to other solutions. This ease of deployment means partners can quickly capitalize on AI opportunities, providing their customers with faster access to powerful AI-driven solutions.

By leveraging the NVIDIA AI Computing portfolio with HPE’s robust infrastructure, our channel partners are better positioned to meet the growing demand for AI technologies. They can offer comprehensive, scalable, and sustainable AI solutions that drive business outcomes and enhance productivity. This integration streamlines the deployment process and ensures that our partners can deliver cutting-edge AI capabilities efficiently and effectively, ultimately enhancing their value proposition and competitive edge in the market.

What are the key components of HPE's approach to equipping partners with the necessary tools and skills to navigate the AI landscape, and how do initiatives like AI acceleration workshops and AI skills development workshops fit into this strategy?

At HPE, we are dedicated to delivering innovations that not only meet market demands but also help our partners and customers streamline their operations and seize competitive opportunities. While there's a lot of buzz around AI, the execution still has a way to go. We anticipate that AI adoption will grow and mature significantly over the next 12-18 months. Therefore, our partners must be proactive in offering the right expertise and tools to help their customers expand their AI capabilities seamlessly.

Our approach to equipping partners for the AI landscape focuses on several key areas:

• AI Acceleration Workshops: These workshops support partners throughout their AI journey. They include AI readiness assessments, tools for building tailored AI growth strategies, success measurements, and a roadmap for developing AI service practices. These workshops are designed to help partners understand their current position, develop their skills, and build a strategic plan to advance their AI capabilities.
• AI Skills Development: We provide comprehensive AI skills development through workshops, self-paced content, and certifications available via HPE Tech Pro. These resources help partners advance their AI expertise, including selling and architecting full-stack AI solutions from HPE and NVIDIA’s portfolio. By enhancing their skills, partners are better equipped to deliver sophisticated AI solutions to their customers.
• HPE AI Solutions Competency: This competency enables partners to develop a comprehensive AI practice that supports all stages of the AI lifecycle. Partners gain the skills to architect complete AI solutions, allowing customers to focus on accelerating AI use cases that enhance productivity or create new revenue streams.
• HPE Compute Competency: This competency helps partners develop expertise in inferencing solutions to support the AI models and use cases planned by their customers. Partners can recommend optimal NVIDIA-Certified HPE ProLiant GenAI inference servers, ensuring the right price-performance ratio for their customers.
• HPE High-Performance Computing (HPC) in the Enterprise Competency: This competency enables partners to support advanced enterprise customers in developing and customizing their GenAI models. It includes integrating the HPE Cray portfolio, including NVIDIA-Certified HPE Cray systems, into broader AI and HPC strategies, supporting data-intensive models and use cases like deep learning and autonomous driving.
• HPE Storage and Data Services Competency: We have updated this competency to include expertise in supporting HPE GreenLake for File Storage, certified for NVIDIA DGX BasePOD and validated for NVIDIA OVX. This provides a proven enterprise file storage solution for accelerating AI, GenAI, and GPU-intensive workloads at scale.

Through these comprehensive support initiatives and innovative solutions, HPE ensures that partners are well-equipped to navigate the evolving AI landscape and capitalize on significant market opportunities. We encourage our partners to be proactive and assertive in seizing these opportunities, as the AI-driven world will require a robust understanding of data strategies and storage solutions.

How does the HPE AI Solutions competency help partners develop a comprehensive AI practice that supports all stages of the AI lifecycle, from development to deployment and maintenance?

HPE AI Solutions competency enables partners to develop a comprehensive AI practice that can support all stages of the AI lifecycle - whether customers are starting with AI, scaling existing use cases, or conducting advanced AI research. In collaboration with NVIDIA, HPE will deliver a comprehensive enablement program for channel partners to recommend, deploy, and manage a complete AI software and hardware solution stack, which includes the new HPE Private Cloud AI, a full-stack turnkey private cloud designed for AI workloads. Partners will develop skills to architect a complete AI solution, enabling customers to then focus their resources on accelerating the development and deployment of AI use cases that can enhance productivity or create new revenue streams.

Despite the growing potential of AI, many end customers are still unaware of its transformative capabilities. What steps is HPE taking to help channel partners educate and engage their customers about the benefits of AI?

At HPE, we are committed to helping organizations transform through a learning culture that drives technology adoption, business growth, process innovation, talent retention, sustainability, and competitive differentiation.

Our comprehensive AI training programs cover a wide range of AI-related subjects, from the basics of AI, ML, and DL to advanced topics like Microsoft Azure AI and HPE Ezmeral ML Ops. These programs help partners and their customers understand how to leverage AI to automate complex tasks, analyze data, improve product recommendations, and more. Additionally, we offer AI certification training to verify expertise and build credibility.

HPE engages in joint go-to-market initiatives with partners to drive awareness and adoption of AI solutions. These initiatives include co-branded campaigns, customer events, and targeted outreach programs that emphasize the practical benefits of AI across various industries. By working together, we amplify our efforts to educate customers and generate interest in AI technologies.

Recognizing that services are critical to delivering comprehensive AI solutions, we support partners in developing their own AI service practices. HPE provides training, tools, and resources to help partners build and grow their AI service offerings, enabling them to offer complete solutions to their customers, from initial education and consultation to implementation and ongoing management of AI technologies.

HPE also offers AI acceleration workshops that guide partners through the entire AI journey. These workshops include AI readiness assessments, tools for crafting tailored AI growth strategies, success metrics, and roadmaps for building AI service practices.

By participating in these workshops, partners gain the knowledge and confidence to demonstrate the tangible benefits of AI to their customers. Through HPE Digital Learner subscriptions, partners can access flexible, anytime, anywhere learning options tailored to their customers' needs and budgets. Well-trained teams drive better results and attract top talent, leading to strengthened customer relationships, additional sales, and recurring revenue.

By equipping our partners with these comprehensive resources and support, HPE ensures that they can effectively educate and engage their customers about the transformative capabilities of AI. Our collaborative approach helps partners demonstrate the real-world benefits of AI, driving adoption and creating new growth opportunities.

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