HPE Unveils Its First Edgeline Systems for Dedicated IoT Use

HPE is aiming a new batch of its Edgeline server products directly at internet of things business users with new Edgeline EL1000 and Edgeline EL4000 converged systems built specifically for IoT requirements.

The new systems, which were unveiled June 8 at HPE's Discover conference in Las Vegas, include data capture, control, computing and storage components in a converged package to help businesses handle their IoT requirements, the company said in an announcement.

The latest Edgeline systems are designed to provide deep analytics and insights at the network edge so companies can monitor and plan and pursue their business IoT strategies, wherever they are located.

Also unveiled were enhanced IoT security capabilities, related new services and a partner ecosystem to advance the adoption and impact of the Internet of Things.

The latest systems are built to help industries which have unique IoT challenges, according to HPE, including oil and gas, manufacturing and telecommunications industries that have operations where data must be collected in remote environments, from windmills in the desert to smart energy grids and manufacturing plants.

In the past, this kind of remote data would have to be transported to a data center or cloud for analysis, which can be a slow, risky and inefficient, but the new HPE systems will allow such data collection and communications using real-time analytics and machine learning at the edge, where the IoT devices are located.

"Organizations that take advantage of the vast amount of data and run deep analytics at the edge can become digital disrupters within their industries," Dr. Tom Bradicich, the vice president and general manager of HPE's servers and IoT systems division, said in a statement. "HPE has built machine learning and real time analytics into its IoT platforms, and provides services that help customers understand how data can best be leveraged, enabling them to optimize maintenance management, improve operations efficiency and ultimately, drive significant cost savings."

The Edgeline EL 1000 and EL4000 converged systems are built to operate efficiently in hardened environments and to handle shock, vibration and extreme temperatures, according to HPE. 

Also announced was that the HPE Vertica Analytics Platform will run on the Edgeline EL4000, which will provide business users with historical and predictive analytic insights from in-database machine learning algorithms across a broad range of IoT analytic use cases, according to the company. The EL1000 and EL4000 will also support Aruba's Virtual Intranet Access (VIA) VPN client, allowing enterprises to secure traffic back to the data center. 

Business IT administrators will also be able to use Aruba ClearPass to automatically add, detect, profile and secure new and unknown IoT devices without manual intervention within the systems. ClearPass will also exchange policy status with other security systems including mobile device management systems to protect enterprise users.

A new interactive HPE IoT Transformation facilitated workshop (TW) has also been established to help customers define their IoT visions and strategies as they proceed with their IoT plans, the company announced. The IoT TW is the first step in a full suite of services designed to help customers successfully implement IoT solutions based on business and industry needs.

To bring the blossoming IoT strategy together even more for customers, HPE is partnering with industrial IoT leaders including GE Digital, National Instruments and PTC to help customers find all the industrial IoT pieces they need to bring their own plans to fruition.