Gemma Skelley
Marketing Director
October 12, 2026
This time last year, we wrote about what HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks could mean for DTP customers. We anticipated a broader networking portfolio, stronger AI-led operations and a clearer route towards networks that can spot and resolve more problems themselves.
So twelve months on, how is it going? And, more usefully, what does it mean if you’re responsible for a network that needs to support more users, more devices and more services without adding more work for your team?
A bigger networking business is taking shape
HPE’s latest results give us one indication that the acquisition has momentum. In its third quarter of fiscal 2026, HPE reported $2.9 billion in networking revenue, including $1.4 billion from campus and branch networking. It also reported revenue across data centre networking, security and routing.
The year-on-year growth figure needs some context: last year’s results included only part of Juniper’s contribution. Even so, the latest figures show that networking is now a substantial part of HPE’s business, with activity across the areas customers rely on. That matters when you’re making decisions about infrastructure you’ll live with for years. You want confidence that the technology you choose has a clear direction and the backing to keep developing.
Our prediction about AI-led operations still matters most
In our original article, we focused on the potential for HPE Aruba Networking and Juniper’s AI capabilities to make network management more proactive. That remains the most interesting part of the story for customers. Think about the everyday questions network teams face. Is a poor connection caused by Wi-Fi, a device, an application or something further along the route? Is an issue affecting one person or an entire building? Can the team see a pattern before the service desk fills up with tickets?
A more self-driving network should help answer those questions faster. The aim is to give teams better visibility, identify likely causes and automate appropriate actions, so they can spend less time chasing intermittent faults. HPE continues to position AI-led operations as central to its networking portfolio, including Juniper Mist, Marvis AI and HPE Aruba Networking Central. It doesn’t mean every customer already has one unified management experience across every product, or that every issue can be fixed automatically. Those are questions to test against your own estate and use cases.
The opportunity is broader than the campus network
Juniper has also expanded the scale of HPE’s networking portfolio. Its latest results show a significant routing business alongside campus and branch networking, data centre networking and security.
For an IT leader, the value is less about having every product from one supplier and more about having room to make joined-up decisions. A campus refresh, a data centre project and changes to how sites connect should all serve the same organisation. It helps to consider how those choices work together, how they’ll be managed and where your team needs consistent visibility.
That doesn’t mean replacing working infrastructure for the sake of it. For many organisations, the sensible starting point is an existing pressure point: a wireless estate due for renewal, a network that’s difficult to troubleshoot, or a team spending too much time on routine incidents.
What should technology leaders do next?
If you’re considering a move towards a more self-driving network, we’d start with the work your team wants to reduce. Where do incidents take longest to diagnose? Which sites generate repeat complaints? What can your existing tools tell you about the user experience, and where are the gaps?
Those answers give you a practical way to assess new networking capabilities. Ask for a demonstration using situations your team actually encounters. Be clear about what can be automated today, what still needs human approval and how the proposed approach would fit with the infrastructure you already have.
A year ago, we saw the HPE and Juniper acquisition as a promising step towards more intelligent, connected network operations. The combined business now has visible scale, and that gives customers more confidence in the direction of travel. The next test is the one that matters most: whether it helps your team run a more reliable network with less friction.
If you’re reviewing your networking strategy or planning a refresh, speak to a DTP expert. We can help you work through what a more proactive network would look like in your environment.
