HPE Discover Barcelona 2025: networking innovation for the AI era

At HPE Discover Barcelona, we discovered what happens when AI, sustainability and networking converge. This year’s event wasn’t just about incremental updates, instead HPE laid out a vision for redefining how organisations will build and manage networks in an AI-driven world.

From liquid-cooled switching designed for AI workloads, to private 5G and agentic AI, the announcements set a bold path for HPE as they start bringing Juniper and Aruba together.

Liquid-cooled switching for AI Factories

AI workloads are pushing infrastructure to its limits, and cooling is a critical challenge. HPE’s introduction of fully liquid-cooled Ethernet switching changes the game.

The new HPE Juniper QFX5250 is Ultra Ethernet Transport-ready and boasts 102.4 Tbps of bandwidth, powered by Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6. This technology underpins HPE’s AI Factory architecture. By implementing 100% liquid cooling, HPE can reduce power consumption and improve energy efficiency, enabling organisations to scale AI without compromising sustainability targets. It’s a win for performance and the planet.

Juniper Mist and Aruba Central: unification inbound

HPE is bringing together two industry-leading platforms, Juniper Mist and Aruba Central. This will provide a more integrated ecosystem that aims for functional and capability parity following a ‘build once, deploy twice’ approach.

We’re already seeing the benefits, with Mist’s AI-driven insights and Marvis virtual assistant enhancing Aruba Central, while Aruba’s AI organisational insight functionality and profiling capabilities are enriching Mist. Both platforms are also sharing data from Juniper’s Large Experience Model and Aruba GreenLake, improving overall AI accuracy.

Looking to the future, with the increasing cross-pollination of HPE Aruba Networking Central and HPE Juniper Mist, the distinction between the two platforms is going to diminish. The main difference will be the deployment model, whether it is a cloud-based solution with Juniper Mist or a virtual private cloud/on-premises solution with HPE Aruba Networking Central.

Speaking with a range of customers during the event, the sentiment was clear. Organisations are confident that neither Aruba or Juniper is a ‘wrong’ choice, post-acquisition. The focus instead is on which will deliver the most value for organisations based on current state, operational needs and future plans.

Standardised hardware on the horizon

Looking ahead to 2026, HPE Networking announced Wi-Fi 7 access points that work seamlessly with both Aruba Central and Juniper Mist. This dual-platform approach protects existing investments and gives organisations flexibility as their management needs evolve.

HPE’s leadership also stated that, “Practically all access points will become shared HPE Aruba‑Juniper access points”.

Agentic AI: beyond automation

AI was everywhere at Discover, but the conversation has clearly moved beyond generative models. Agentic AI brings autonomous agents that plan, reason and act, following a human authorised and human-in-the-loop approach.

These agents are set to transform network operations. Instead of reactive troubleshooting, networks will self-heal and optimise proactively around the clock. Adoption is already accelerating, with around 14% of enterprises using agentic AI today, 23% running pilots, and 61% preparing to deploy during 2026. This suggests that most enterprises will have agentic AI embedded in their everyday operations within the next two years. You can read more about these statistics in Capgemini’s ‘Rise of agentic AI’ report.

Private 5G for Enterprise

HPE also introduced its Enterprise Private 5G solution, combining a full-stack approach with a dashboard that feels familiar to Wi-Fi administrators. This opens up new possibilities for industries that need deterministic wide-area coverage and ultra-low latency, complementing Wi-Fi for mission-critical applications.

Examples of current industry applications include mining, transportation, event spaces and utilities organisations, where reliability and performance are non-negotiable.

Observability with OpsRamp

The integration of OpsRamp with Aruba Central brings multi-vendor observability into a single pane of glass. IT teams can monitor performance, map network topologies and troubleshoot issues across diverse environments from one platform. For organisations managing increasingly complex estates, this is a major step towards simpler, more effective operations.

What does this mean for you?

HPE Discover Barcelona wasn’t just about new technology, it highlighted a clear direction for AI-ready, sustainable and flexible networking. These innovations align perfectly with Softcat’s ambition to help organisations build smarter, performant, operationally efficient and greener networks.

If you’d like to explore what this means in practice for your environment and understand how these technologies can deliver value for your organisation, your Softcat Account team would love to start a conversation with you. If you’re a new customer, you can also reach out to our Sales team here.