- FlexSITE proposition set to make international debut after Aruba partnership extension.
- Telefónica Tech and Aruba pledge collaborative R&D from new Madrid labs.
Telefónica Tech partnered Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) subsidiary Aruba to “evolve” FlexSITE, a hybrid working solution.
The pair will jointly develop a “fully managed” network and cybersecurity service to complement hybrid working models, underpinned by an SD‑Branch solution that is said to bridge software‑defined local and wide area networks (LAN/WAN), via the HPE Aruba Central cloud platform. Aruba’s SD‑WAN platform EdgeConnect will support the FlexSITE tool, while Telefónica Tech will manage the product via its network and security operations centres (NOC/SOC).
FlexSITE going global
A limited launch in October 2022 saw the new services made available to enterprise customers in Spain. Plans are in place to extend the solution to Telefónica’s other markets from December 2022.
Telefónica Tech noted that it aims to further evolve the service in the coming months to incorporate additional security and SD‑WAN functionalities, but did not go into detail.
FlexSITE was launched in 2020 as a partnership between Telefónica Tech and Aruba as a secure access service edge (SASE) proposition for enterprise customers. Core target markets included banking, education, hospitality, and retail. In mid‑2022, Telefónica Tech signed an expanded partnership with Cisco Systems to incorporate the vendor’s “full portfolio” of SD‑WAN services, Meraki cloud platform, and security solutions such as Cisco Umbrella (Telefónicawatch, #164).
R&D up next
As part of the strategic partnership, Telefónica Tech has earmarked space at Telefónica’s Madrid HQ for an Aruba “global laboratory”. Both parties will use the lab for collaborative research and development. Aruba and Telefónica Tech will base a number of “highly specialised technology professionals” at the site.
Out of the research lab will come an “innovation programme”, jointly launched to identify opportunities with three technology focuses: 5G; artificial intelligence in IT operations; and SASE. No timeframe was given for the launch of the lab or the innovation programme.
