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Based on a comprehensive discussion between:

• Kirk Sinclair, Partner Sales Executive, OEM team (DPSS), Microsoft Canada
• Craig Tullett, Vice President Device Sales, Microsoft Canada
• Mike Hilton, President, HPE Canada
• Denis Gaudreault, Country Manager, Intel Canada

In this special Executive Edition of Windows Server Explained, Kirk asks key questions to some of the most knowledgeable executives in the industry. Here’s a brief summary.

Windows Server 2022: Exciting New Features

Windows Server 2022, which now has general availability, builds on the capabilities of Windows Server 2019. It’s not a complete rebuild, meaning that the vast majority of applications and workloads for 2019 users will be fully compatible.

Firstly, Windows Server 2022 includes hybrid capability with Azure that allows you to extend your datacenter into the cloud. The hybrid capabilities are built right in, making it a big step forward.

The second overhaul is for security. There’s a whole gamut of increased capability, built in multi-layer security that protects the data and apps for virtually every level of the business, starting right with the operating system.

The third is around more secure remote working. It provides tools for administrators to allow remote work and access to data and apps seamlessly and securely.

Lastly, it has a modernized infrastructure with more flexibility for app creation, app deployment, and containerization.

HPE GreenLake

HPE GreenLake offers a highly flexible infrastructure as-a-service for modern workloads. It operates on-prem while delivering cloud compatibility across the board. It runs on a consumption-based structure at the edge, within your datacenter, and in colocations.

What makes this particularly valuable for partners is that the backend costs are all usage based, allowing you to easily pass them down to your customers. When using it as a managed service, you can rely on HPE for support, providing a mostly hands-off approach.

GreenLake also offers the ability to adapt to macroeconomic changes. If suddenly your workforce needs to work remotely and you need to shut down components of your infrastructure, you can reap savings from doing that as long as you have consumption-based IT in all locations.

On the other hand, although some customers may not need so much capacity today, the ability to respond quickly to market demand or business demand and not worry about supply chain issues offers a major advantage.

Windows Server 2012 End of Service

GreenLake provides an excellent solution to the upcoming end of service for Windows Server 2012. GreenLake allows you to transfer workloads to it to use on a consumption basis, reaping the benefits of Azure and Azure Stack HCI or Azure Stack Hub, and then retain the workloads that you can’t quite upgrade yet how they are.

Intelligent Edge

Intelligent Edge refers to incorporating AI at the edge to reduce the gravity of your data. It also aids in management and decision making so that you don’t have to micromanage. Not only that, it provides a modern, fully interconnected cloud experience.

It’s a big step for digital transformation and automation, and it’s something that partners can use as another selling point for customers who will no doubt be looking to deploy intelligent edge moving forward.

Conclusion

For partners, the best value prop here is to ask your customers to consider all the advantages of the cloud, and then to imagine that they could have all of those perks with their infrastructure too. That’s what GreenLake provides.

Ingram Micro is the key piece in the ecosystem, because they aggregate all of the partner programs, terms and conditions, and technical side of things. They simplify the process, offer guidance, and provide support.

Get in touch with Ingram today to discuss the advantages of being a partner and get prompt answers to any questions you might have.