Today we’re continuing our series of blogs introducing members of the HPE OEM Solutions team by meeting Peter Ulrik Groth. He’s our Chief Technologist, which he insists isn’t as nerdy or intimidating as it sounds!
Hi Peter, can you start by telling us a bit more about your background?
Well, I’ve been with HPE since the Earth was young—about 26 years—but before that I worked for a company called CapaCity. We made network/IT/configuration management software and helpdesk support products (including remote control) before anyone really knew what that was. This was before Microsoft System Management Server (later System Center) was even invented. We eventually got bought by CA Technologies, and the product (CapaCity NetCon) turned into CA Unicenter and other CA products, which are still in production today!
And what about life at HPE, what’s been a highlight for you?
Oh gosh, there are many! I have managed pretty much every server line we have in the portfolio, from 100-series, through 300, 500 and 700, as well as the Apollo range (back then we called it XL), C-Class, Synergy—you name it. My product roots go pretty deep, but if I were to pick one moment, it was likely the early AMD Opteron work back in the early 2000s. That was super disruptive and highly innovative.
What’s your favorite part of your job today?
It’s still about innovation. Driving innovation and delighting customers with practical and simple solutions to complex IT problems.
And how about outside of work, what keeps you busy?
I love to build stuff. Whether it’s remodeling the house or building, restoring and racing vintage race-cars. I also love to cook, which my wife, kids and friends tell me I’m pretty decent at doing.
We’re all hoping to see life return to normal a bit more in the coming months. What are you most looking forward to doing post-pandemic?
Travelling again! I’m from Denmark and all of my family lives in Europe but I’m based in Texas, so I’m desperately looking forward to seeing them again—it’s been a long time apart. I can’t wait to get back to Denmark, which is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, in the summer at least!
Turning to business, what are HPE OEM Solutions’ main focus areas for 2021, and why are they a priority for you?
Our HPE GreenLake and Ezmeral offerings are a really huge focus areas for me right now. We’re partnering with OEMs to help them navigate the move from monolithic hardware/software implementations on presence devices, to offerings that are as-a-Service based with modern software stacks. This brings massive benefits for them in terms of containers, microservices, cloud management and complex financial models and it’s going to be crucial in maintaining HPE’s place as the premier partner in the industry for OEMs.
What do you think are the key opportunities and challenges for OEMs at the moment?
In terms of opportunities, I’d say new consumption and deployment models have a lot of potential for OEMs right now. HPE GreenLake and Ezmeral are perfect examples.
And then challenges: OEMs are typically a cautious bunch—they favor stability over capabilities, and often for good reasons. This means that outside the hardware itself, technology adoption in the OEM space can be slow at times. Considering how the new consumption and software models will disrupt OEMs just like they have disrupted other segments, I think there will be some interesting developments in the OEM industry. We’ll see some surprising winners and losers depending on who is best at adopting the parts of the models that make sense to OEMs.
Could you tell us about a particularly innovative or inspiring use case that you’ve been involved in recently?
We are doing some pretty cool stuff with several storage vendors right now. It is really innovative stuff and the OEM we worked with felt like they needed to have a premier T1 hardware vendor behind them so that all the innovation they were doing on the software side was matched by the hardware and not just delivered on white boxes. It really showcases how HPE can bring something to the table for any OEM as they are looking to journey forward.
What really excites you about HPE OEM Solutions’ offering to the market today?
Again, it comes back to innovation, as well as our agility and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the best possible solution for the OEM.
And finally, is there anything else you’d like the HPE OEM Solutions community to know about the work you’re doing with and for them?
You know, culture trumps product every time, and HPE always wins when it comes to the long-standing relationships we form with our OEM partners. We have their backs both when times are good, and when they are tough. That’s something that is deeply rooted in our culture and DNA as a company; it is something HPE is making a big push around in 2021, and every customer out there will see a difference.
Connect with Peter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterulrikgroth/
Nabanita Maji
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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Nabanita1
OEM Solutions team