Live from HPE Discover 2025: Interview with Bryan Lechner, NAC SME

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Hey HPE Discover attendees!

It’s Day 5 from the HPE Discover Showcase floor, I’m blogging from backstage in preparation for one of HPE Discover 2025’s most popular sessions – the Networking Technical General Session!

We are capping a summer of events in the networking industry with the most exciting innovations yet! As you learn about new ways to implement solutions from HPE Aruba Networking, collaborate and network with industry peers, and undergo rigorous certification testing to establish your standing as expert technologists, I wanted to shine a light on the behind-the-scenes work for the Technical General Session so you can get a hands-on feel for what we are doing to put on the best HPE Discover 2025 for our HPE Aruba Networking attendees yet!

This Wednesday in the General Session Theater, David Hughes, SVP and Chief Product Officer at HPE Aruba Networking has assembled an amazing slew of technical demos spanning our Security-first, AI-powered Networking architecture.

Those of you who have attended in years past will know that we seek to amaze our customers, partners, and industry experts with live demos of our latest innovations. This is not without risk, as we are beholden to the powers that be that features we have rigorously tested and prepared for in the months leading up to the Technical General Session go off without a hitch.

Bryan Lechner

Now, I’d like to spotlight some key technical subject matter experts who have been instrumental in the delivery of this year’s Technical General Session. Without further ado, lets hear from Bryan Lechner!

1) Hi Bryan, what is your role at HPE and how long have you worked here?

I have been working on NAC products now for 9 years

2) The TGS agenda is top secret, but what are you most excited for Discover attendees to see?

Everything in TGS is exciting, but I'm really looking forward to people seeing that HPE Aruba Networking Central is continuing to move forward with a lot of new capabilities (especially the re-branded Network Access Control features)

3) From your perspective, what is the biggest, new and exciting thing about HPE Aruba Networking Central?

Hands down the move with Agentic AI.  The AI capabilities in Central have been there for years but overlooked by most people because of how they presented.  This is making it VERY clear.

4) What is your favorite technical resource you want all technologists to read?

TechNotes are always easier to ready than the manual and they are not as sleep inducing as NIST guides.

Thank you Bryan. Great of you to provide a text-based tour of HPE Aruba Networking Central for us all! Will look forward to what we have to share to expand on Antonio’s keynote from today!