You may recall we posted previously on LinkedIn about attending the big “HPE Discover” conference in Las Vegas, June 23-27. It is of course put on by technology giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE). This event has been held annually for some 16 years now and, as a Platinum Partner, we’ve attended almost every single one! It is an event only for “the channel” (resellers and OEMs) – that is, not for HPE’s own sales people. The channel essentially multiplies HPE’s sales force by 2-3X. More than 20,000 attended this year, and we were again quite impressed with the event and picked up a ton of knowledge and intelligence. Following are some takeaways.
The educational content was extremely valuable, and was layered in a way to make it easily understandable by the various levels of attendees, whether technical or business. “We were surrounded by tech the whole time, making us aware of just how much it’s changing our world,” said Barb Stinnett, Timmaron’s CEO (who’s a former senior exec at HP). “And the venue was nothing short of amazing.” That venue was The Sphere, a new landmark in Las Vegas. The photo above is a scene inside during the event. And here’s another view.
Artificial intelligence was, of course, a major focus of the content at the conference. We learned about the many specialized forms it’s taking and what the differences are — and, more importantly, what partners and technologies are best to do each type of AI.
We learned about the need for a full AI stack. The right hardware is critical — and that can include the need for a High-Performance Computing (HPC) architecture, such as HPE’s El Capitan and Frontier. Of course, the right chips for the application is another factor — whether Nvidia, AMD, or ARM. HPE partners with all of them. Customers need a whole system. The hardware must be right for the type of AI. The right software is critical, too, of course, along with security at the appropriate level.
But, on top of hardware and software considerations, customers need the knowledge to do something with all this power. That’s where a solution stack comes into play — again, one that’s right for the type of AI. And right for the type of application — commercial, military, or whatever.
Beyond that, the human element cannot be overlooked when implementing AI — meaning the thought processes. That is, knowing what to ask of it. And thinking carefully through the problem you’re trying to solve.
We were struck by how accessible that HPE senior management was at the event. It was impressive to see how open they were to interacting with the attendees. It was primarily a U.S. audience, but we noticed significant numbers from Europe, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and a contingent from Helsinki, Finland.
For an amazing look at the event, check out this post-event reel from HPE.
Thanks to all who made it a special event, and we’ll see you next year! Meantime, with our knowledge and long experience with HPE, if we may help you with solutions involving AI, please reach out by contacting us at hi@timmarongroup.com.
