HPE NonStop RUGs

HPE has always been about partners. Partnerships have laid the foundation for the successful introduction of products and there are has been a constant stream of events and conferences designed specifically for HPE partners. Of course, much like everything else we have witnessed of late, these events have gone virtual, but nevertheless, HPE’s commitment to its partners cannot be questioned.

In his keynote address at HPE Discover Virtual Experience, HPE CEO Antonio Neri had this to say:

“We have been, we are and we will continue to be a partner-led company. That is a fact. I continue to reinforce that every time I speak, not just in front of our partners.

“What we have done is make it easy for partners to come along in this transition to deliver everything as a service and at the same time grow profitably with us.

“It is not just about GreenLake because we have a transactional business which is very large and we are pivoting to as-a-service, which is the long-term future. We need to be able to do both and be able to give partners the flexibility to come along.

“For us, remember 70 percent of our sales on a global basis goes through the channel partner community. Given that, it is going to be hard for us to grow our business without partners. We have no intention to change our go-to-market strategy.”

I have written about HPE having “a transactional business which is very large and we are pivoting to as-a-service, which is the long-term future” about which we will be learning a lot more in the coming months. By transactional business it’s hard to ignore NonStop and its contribution to HPE in this regard, but prior to HPE Discover Virtual Event, HPE gathered its partners together and outlined a three-pronged call to action (to partners):

 “First, the world is changing and we need to make sure our sales teams are capable and competent to discussions with customers around financial services, and consumption, and software; so get certified!

“The second call was to lead with HPE. Make HPE your vendor of preference! We truly go all out for those who go all in. As we go forward, that will be selling the whole portfolio, not just bits and pieces.”

The third theme emphasized was to make GreenLake central to their business. Lead with consumption; we have the best offering in the industry.”

I have also made reference to “(Partners) will be selling the whole portfolio, not just bits and pieces” previously but it’s good to reference both. Partners will be selling the whole portfolio including addressing the business needs of the transaction-oriented businesses. What does this mean for NonStop and what does this mean for the NonStop community? And herein lies the challenge for the traditional NonStop vendor community and for the manner in which we all communicate.

It should come as no surprise to hear NonStop product management report that no other HPE product line has a development-focused vendor community as large and as diverse as has the NonStop product line. Collectively the NonStop community is responsible for making the NonStop platform complete. Working together the NonStop team and the vendor community provide a more comprehensive “software stack” than otherwise could be offered; NonStop today is the sum of many parts and for that, the NonStop community benefits immensely. HPE may project an image of being partner-led but for NonStop it’s much more. In many respects, NonStop is partner-driven.

Our Regional User Group (RUG) gatherings therefore take on a different look as they meet a vastly different need. RUG meetings are not super-hyped, energetic affairs designed to motivate a community to go sell more products from the HPE portfolio. We have known this for a very long time. RUG gatherings are among the most effective ways to go about the collection of user requirements from the users themselves. One-on-one! Face-to-face! But as with all other similar processes, the global pandemic has forced our NonStop community into trying different approaches to better sustain the sense of community we have enjoyed for so long.

It was only last month that we wrote of RUG events still being planned to include a live audience. However, in just a few short days, news broke that “GTUG onsite in Berlin has been cancelled. They are looking into other options and will send out information.” It is now looking as though this event will now not take place until 2022 with the latest communication from the committee noting that it is:

“Out of concern for the health and safety of attendees, as well as for the ability to deliver a high quality community event, as you would expect from GTUG, we had to make this tough decision. The next European GTUG is currently planned for spring 2022.”

For this edition of HPE NonStop RUGS, there is little to report concerning events for 2021 and even now, the first half of 2021 will likely see events flagged with a big asterisk. However, none of this news should detract from the benefits the community has enjoyed from virtual events so stay tuned for more information in this regard. There are even discussions going on as to how to do traditional activities via video conferencing from beer busts to games to interviews. Our sense of community hasn’t been lost; it is simply being addressed in a new way. And for that, the NonStop community continues to have much to be thankful about!