HPE Discover Barcelona 2025: Virtualization and Hybrid Cloud in Focus
This December, with customers, we visited Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s flagship European event, HPE Discover Barcelona 2025. The event offered a compelling vision for the future of hybrid cloud, AI infrastructure, and enterprise virtualization. With a strong emphasis on flexibility, cost-efficiency, and operational resilience, HPE unveiled a suite of innovations designed to address the evolving needs of modern IT environments.
Key Announcements
GreenLake Expansion: A Unified Hybrid Cloud Experience
At the heart of the announcements was a significant expansion of the HPE GreenLake platform. Positioned as a unified operating model for virtualised, cloud-native, and AI workloads, GreenLake now offers:
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Enhanced support for virtualisation modernisation, enabling enterprises to reduce reliance on legacy hypervisors amid rising licensing costs.
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Integrated AI-ready infrastructure, including HPE Private Cloud AI and the Alletra Storage MP X10000, optimised for data-intensive workloads.
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New StoreOnce solutions for ultra-fast, resilient data protection, ensuring business continuity across hybrid environments.
Morpheus Software: A Strategic Alternative to VMware
Another standout announcement made was the strengthening of HPE Morpheus Software, now positioned as a credible enterprise-grade alternative to VMware. Key enhancements include:
- Zero-trust software-defined networking, leveraging HPE Juniper Networking for secure, policy-driven connectivity.
- Automated switch provisioning via HPE Apstra, streamlining network operations.
- Stretched clusters with synchronous replication, enabling high availability across metro sites.
- Comprehensive Kubernetes and container orchestration support, aligning with cloud-native strategies.
These capabilities are designed to offer customers greater control, cost predictability, and operational agility - particularly critical as organisations navigate the complexities of AI adoption and multi-cloud governance.
Consistent Cloud Operating Model
HPE CEO Antonio Neri addressed a key pain point for many enterprises: the escalating costs and rigidity of traditional virtualisation platforms. “It is not enough to lift and shift to the public cloud,” he stated. “You need a cloud model and experience everywhere.” This sentiment underpins HPE’s strategy to provide a consistent cloud operating model across on-premises and cloud environments, reducing vendor lock-in and enabling smarter workload placement.
Strategic Partnerships
The event also highlighted deepening partnerships with NVIDIA and AMD, reinforcing HPE’s commitment to AI acceleration and high-performance computing. Meanwhile, the integration of Juniper Networks into the HPE portfolio is already delivering benefits, with unified AIOps capabilities now spanning both Aruba and Juniper platforms.
Closing Thoughts
HPE Discover Barcelona 2025 was a great event to attend - understanding the company’s evolution, with virtualisation emerging as a central theme. By addressing cost, complexity, and control, HPE is positioning itself as a strategic partner for enterprises seeking to modernise their infrastructure without compromising flexibility or security. For organisations rethinking their virtualisation strategy in 2026 and beyond, HPE’s expanded GreenLake and Morpheus offerings warrant serious consideration.
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