HPE Expands Instant On Product Lineup Aimed To Aid Midmarket In Tackling ‘Complex’ Threats

‘Today’s SMBs are under constant pressure to defend their networks from complex cyber threats,’ says Amol Mitra, VP and GM, worldwide small and medium business, at HPE.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise recently announced a new offering in its Instant On lineup of gateway appliances targeting small business and the midmarket.

The HPE Networking Instant On Secure Gateway offers intelligent monitoring, filtering, and network traffic monitoring, at what HPE says is a lower hardware price point for smaller organizations.

The latest Instant On Secure Gateway ships in two SKUs. The HPE Networking Instant On Secure Gateway SG1004 supports 1GB network connectivity, has four ports with features that include routing, firewall, VPN, and IDS/IPS.

The HPE Networking Instant On Secure Gateway SG2505P supports multi-GB connectivity, has five ports, and includes all the features of the SG1004, plus Power-over-Ethernet capabilities.

The new gateways are managed with a single-seat cloud system interface, HPE said in a news release.

“Today’s SMBs are under constant pressure to defend their networks from complex cyber threats, with limited IT resources, and a fast-evolving digital landscape,” said Amol Mitra, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Small and Medium Business, HPE Aruba Networking, in a news release. “Without dedicated security teams or substantial budgets, many SMBs struggle to protect their networks effectively. Traditional security solutions lack agility, adaptability, cloud security, and advanced threat detection, creating a false sense of protection and leaving these businesses vulnerable. The HPE Networking Instant On Secure Gateway addresses this gap, offering SMBs enterprise-grade protection without the need for extensive resources, empowering them to stay secure in a rapidly changing digital world.”

Despite Move To Cloud, Many Midmarket Businesses Retain On-Premise Network Appliances

As more midmarket organizations move to cloud solutions, there is still a demand for on-premise networking hardware. There are several reasons why.

First, one of the biggest concerns of midmarket IT leaders is the cost associated with cloud computing.

One recent report revealed that many organizations said they were burdened with high cloud compute costs and even struggle to accurately tally their cloud spending.

Next, there are concerns with the security of cloud environments versus on-premise. Some organizations may want to retain the utmost control over their network that on-premise appliances in their datacenter can provide.

Yet, there are questions about the security of networking hardware, some brought up by politicians.

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the ROUTERS Act on Sept. 9, 2024.

The proposed legislation would “conduct a study of the national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router, and for other purposes,” the bill reads.

But John Terrill, CSO at IoT firm Phosphorus, which provides a platform that monitors and manages IoT devices, questioned Congress’ focus on routers and told MES Computing that any internet-connected hardware could potentially be vulnerable. Security issues aren’t exclusive to Wi-Fi devices but also smart fridges, printers, door controllers and other IoT devices.

There are also concerns about the security of components procured from the supply chain to build network appliances.

In an interview with MES Computing earlier this year, HPE executives stressed the security of their devices, like the newly announced gateways.

“We spend a lot of time on the security of the supply chain. We make sure that any parts that are in the product, we know what they are. Plus, we build in technology to reduce and eliminate the ability to tamper with [the products],” Larry Lunetta, vice president of AP security and networking product marketing at HPE, told MES Computing.