Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Hewlett-Packard are teaming up to take advantage of HP's $3 billion acquisition of Aruba Networks, a key player in the enterprise WLAN and Wi-Fi market. Ericsson and HP will resell each other's gear, especially in the enterprise market, and also integrate their technologies as they seek to go after the enterprise.
HP completed its purchase of Aruba in May, and the Ericsson partnership is one of the first major steps HP has taken since then regarding Aruba. Ericsson said the deal will let enterprise customers take advantage of network technology products that use LTE and licensed spectrum as well as unlicensed spectrum.
Ericsson said it will be incorporating Aruba's 802.11ac enterprise Wi-Fi technology into its RBS 6402 indoor picocell product, which will still carry the Ericsson brand. The picocell will work seamlessly with the rest of the Aruba Wi-Fi portfolio and with Ericsson's radio access network gear, the companies said.
The two vendors also inked bilateral resale agreements that will allow Ericsson to offer Aruba's enterprise Wi-Fi and connectivity solutions along with Ericsson's portfolio of mobility solutions and global services to customers around the world Additionally, HP will be able to resell Ericsson's indoor small cell solutions that use licensed spectrum. Ericsson and HP plan to collaborate to win deals for indoor coverage and mobility for both carriers and enterprises by offering licensed and unlicensed solutions.
The deal comes days after HP disclosed that it plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce – 30,000 more jobs – as it prepares to split into two separate companies in November. The new cuts come on top of a restructuring HP announced in 2012, in which it slashed 54,000 jobs.
One half of HP will become HP Enterprise, which will focus on selling servers, data storage, software and services to the enterprise market. Aruba will be part of HPE. The other company, dubbed HP Inc., will sell PCs and printers.
For more:
- see this release
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