In early December, I attended HPE Discover in Barcelona together with customers and colleagues from Nomios. This was the first major HPE event in Europe since the completion of the Juniper acquisition in early July 2025. With HPE Aruba, HPE already had a strong networking portfolio, but it remained to be seen how both worlds would evolve together.
After two days at Discover, one conclusion stood out. Innovation in networking has not slowed down. The combination of HPE Aruba and Juniper is driving clear momentum. Below are my four personal highlights from the announcements at this event.
1. AI cross-pollination between Juniper Mist and Aruba Central
One of the most visible developments is the exchange of AI capabilities between Juniper Mist and Aruba Central. Mist’s Large Experience Model, the AI engine that analyses large volumes of data such as QoS, application behaviour and video call performance, will become available within Aruba Central.
At the same time, Mist gains access to Aruba’s Agentic Mesh technology. This focuses on advanced anomaly detection and root-cause analysis. In parallel, the organisational insights and global NOC views from Aruba Central are being integrated into Mist.
The result is a consistent operational experience, regardless of which platform you use. Network teams gain the same level of visibility and insight, without being locked into a single management environment.
2. HPE’s first unified WiFi 7 access point
At Discover, HPE introduced a new WiFi 7 access point that can operate on both Aruba Central and Juniper Mist. This is the first truly unified hardware offering within the HPE portfolio.
You purchase a single access point and decide which control plane and management platform you want to use. This provides investment protection and flexibility, for example, if you choose to move from Aruba Central to Juniper Mist, or the other way around, at a later stage.
For HPE, a single hardware platform reduces development complexity. For customers, this translates into freedom of choice and, in all likelihood, a more attractive price point. A clear win for both sides.
3. QFX5250: A new generation of data center switching
Another standout announcement was the new HPE Juniper QFX5250 switch. With 64 ports delivering 1.6 Tbps each, this switch pushes the boundaries of high-performance networking. The real innovation, though, lies in its design.
The QFX5250 has no fans and uses liquid cooling, similar to the server architectures that power modern AI factory racks. It also does away with traditional power supplies. Instead, the switch connects directly to a power rail, mirroring the power design used in HPE’s AI server platforms.
This combination is unique in the networking market and highlights how data center architectures are evolving to support large-scale AI deployments. Designs like this are expected to become a standard building block in future AI infrastructures.
4. Private 5G, built the Mist way
The final session I attended focused on Private 5G, presented through the lens of Bob Friday, co-founder of Mist. The approach will feel familiar to anyone who knows Juniper Mist: zero-touch provisioning from day 0, straightforward day-1 configuration, and AI-Ops as the operational foundation.
In seven clear steps in the GUI, a complete private 5G environment can be activated. Management is handled entirely through Juniper Mist. Instead of a WiFi controller, an HPE server runs the full 5G core. WiFi access points are replaced by indoor and outdoor 5G antennas that closely resemble access points in form factor.
The use cases are clear. Consider large manufacturing facilities, where a single 5G antenna can cover an area roughly equivalent to that of ten WiFi access points. Or outdoor environments such as ports, where WiFi is difficult to deploy, or where requirements for latency and roaming exceed what can realistically be achieved with WiFi.
This solution is expected to become available in Europe in the second half of 2026, including HPE 5G antennas that operate on European private 5G frequencies.
Want to know more?
The announcements at HPE Discover show that HPE and Juniper are taking clear steps in AI-driven networking, spanning campus, data center, and private 5G environments.
If you would like to discuss any of these innovations or explore what they could mean for your network strategy, feel free to contact Nomios. We are happy to think through the practical implications for your organisation.
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