Aruba introduces developer-ready Mobile First Platform to unlock the potential of modern IT infrastructures

BENGALURU: Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Aruba has launched its Mobile First Platform, a software layer that uses application programming interfaces (APIs) to provide third-party developers and business leaders with network insights to improve applications and services. The platform accelerates integration and innovation of mobile and IoT at the speed of the developer ecosystem, rather than the pace of a single vendor.

To support today’s mobile first and rapidly developing IoT environment, Aruba believes that networks must deliver more than connectivity. The days of one-dimensional networks designed for static functions are over, expresses Aruba. Modern networks must be able to easily adapt to new application requirements on-demand. With actionable insights about the use of specific mobile apps and the operational technologies powered by IoT, networks can help organizations justify future digital technology investments.

The press release further explains that the Aruba Mobile First Platform unlocks the ability for an ecosystem of developers and technology vendors to freely innovate, utilizing the rich contextual information the Aruba infrastructure collects from mobile and IoT devices, and customize networking functions dynamically in real-time. As a result, customers can improve existing applications and create new ones to enhance the customer experience, improve business operations, and drive new revenue opportunities.

The foundation of the Aruba Mobile First Platform is built on ArubaOS 8, a new operating system that allows developers to leverage contextual information from the infrastructure via its northbound API. Deployed as a virtual machine (VM) on a server appliance, ArubaOS 8 significantly simplifies changes within the infrastructure and enables customers to instantly scale their networks.

ArubaOS 8 also enables greater programmability in the Aruba infrastructure with the ability to upload custom app signatures in real-time. Developers and ecosystem partners can easily enable policy management and quality control for new, business critical applications without network upgrades or downtime.

Ecosystem partner, Skyfii, harnesses the power of the Aruba Mobile First Platform to help businesses analyze and visualize customer behavior data. Leveraging contextual data about users, devices, applications and location from the Aruba Analytics and Location Engine (ALE), Skyfii gives retailers a better understanding of behavior and lets them engage shoppers with targeted advertising and marketing calls to actions.

The latest enhancements to Aruba ClearPass software as part of the Mobile First Platform deliver deeper insights into all connected devices and improve capabilities for third party integration. The new ClearPass Extensions make it easier for IT security professionals and developers to integrate cloud-hosted technology services with Aruba ClearPass.

The Aruba Mobile First Platform also introduces advanced Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) analytics capabilities to theMeridian Mobile App Platform that go beyond simple monitoring of dwell times at a specific location. The new Meridian Goals leverages insights gathered via BLE to inform marketing and business development teams about the success or failure of their latest engagement campaigns, eliminating the need to sort through varied, detailed reports to determine the results of an engagement program.

Addressing the demands for highly customizable cloud networking solutions, Aruba has made significant advancements to its subscription-based, cloud-hosted network services solution, Aruba Central. With its multi-tenant architecture and the new managed services portal, Aruba Central allows re-sellers to rapidly create custom-branded managed services, deliver value-added services to existing customers and tap into new opportunities. Existing customers and partners can now easily add Aruba Central to their portfolio by integrating it with their existing systems through APIs.

Taking advantage of the Aruba Mobile First Platform and positioning partners to be highly competitive in the rapidly changing mobility networking market, Aruba has introduced the Partner Ready for Networking program. This new channel program takes the best elements of the Aruba PartnerEdge and HPE Partner Ready programs to create a new program that enables partners to capitalize on the burgeoning enterprise mobility market opportunity.

The Aruba Mobile First Platform and the associated enhancements to ArubaOS, Aruba Central, Aruba ClearPass and Aruba Meridian are available in the fourth quarter calendar year 2016.