Updates for HPE Zerto, storage and networking offerings all aim to increase cyber resiliency and recovery without significant enterprise interruptions.
HPE's infrastructure portfolio is expanding its cyber resiliency and cyber recovery features with updates to the Alletra storage server line, the Zerto disaster recovery software and its networking lineup.
These new updates include an integration hub in Zerto for third-party cybersecurity platforms and a data protection integration for the HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000, the vendor's all-flash object storage platform released last fall.
These updates from HPE echo other launches from backup storage vendors that are making the data stores in backups an important and vital component of AI initiatives, said Jon Brown, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia.
It's quite clear that simply storing data is no longer enough.
Jon BrownAnalyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
Backup systems previously concerned about straightforward recovery actions must now be ready to participate in a more active data lifecycle, he said.
"It's quite clear that simply storing data is no longer enough," Brown said. "You can try to build a resilient system, but the whole nature of what you do with data has changed. That data is no longer at rest."
Storage and security
The Alletra Storage MP X10000 now supports integration as a storage target with popular backup platforms, including Commvault, Veeam and Cohesity NetBackup, according to an HPE spokesperson.
This integration supports capabilities like deduplication, encryption and the ability to create an off-site cloud backup with major hyperscalers such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and AWS, according to the vendor.
The new integration hub for Zerto will connect the backup data to cybersecurity platforms, starting with CrowdStrike Falcon at launch.
These connections will enable security platforms to automatically suggest rollback dates for snapshots within Zerto if suspicious activity or active attacks are found. HPE plans for the integration hub to eventually connect Zerto with other infrastructure components, such as HPE's own networking devices, according to the company.
Connecting Zerto to a cybersecurity platform and supporting all-flash hardware for recovery shows how the roles of backup and security are continuing to merge, said Brent Ellis, principal analyst at Forrester Research.
An increasing number of enterprises are required to maintain high uptime, meaning technologies that support resilience without interruption are becoming a priority, he said.
"This is more evidence of the convergence of security and availability technologies in order to support overall resilience in the enterprise," Ellis said.
Nebulous networking
As part of these updates, HPE is also now offering a new Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) copilot for HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect, the vendor's SD-WAN fabric.
The vendor said this new AI assistant analyzes network and security conditions to report on anomalies, unpatched systems, security gaps and other suspicious activities.
Part of the SASE update includes an expansion of the HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC to enforce security polices for Juniper, a networking vendor recently acquired by HPE, and other third parties with identity access controls governing users and IoT devices.
The future of Juniper as a division of HPE remains in flux. Although Juniper's acquisition by HPE was approved in late June following a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, recent political blowback within the Trump administration's DOJ has renewed scrutiny of the deal among lawmakers.
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for Informa TechTarget covering cloud and data storage.
