Channel Beat: Why HP Enterprise Is Doubling Down On SMB

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Juniper Networks stock kicked off this week with a 10 percent plunge. According to partners, a new relationship forged between Cisco and Ericsson ended the years-long running rumor that Ericsson was looking to buy Juniper. That sent the stock price in a downward spiral. For its part, Juniper sent CRN a statement that the Cisco-Ericsson announcement has not changed Juniper’s customer strategy.

Apple released its new 12.9-inch iPad Pro online this week, the latest product from Apple’s struggling tablet line.

The iPad line has seen seven consecutive quarters of decline, and Apple partners said the applications are key to customer interest. That means targeting specific business areas. The iPad Pro’s new $99 Apple Pencil may interest customers in the design and architecture fields, and productivity features like that will be key as Apple goes up against Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 4.

The tablet’s price starts at $799.

Newly independent Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveiled plans this week to double the number of SMB products it releases over the next two years. The company jump-started that plan with two new affordable servers.

The ProLiant DL20 Gen 9 starts at $660, while the Proliant ML30 Gen9 starts at $599. Both products will be made available Dec. 1.

HPE has predicts continued growth in the SMB space, with specific focus on servers, storage, networking and services.

PUBLISHED NOV. 13, 2015