It can be difficult for a company with deep hardware roots to be seen as an equal contender in software-led solutions, with all the new services-only companies springing up. Customers may see a company like Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s foray into services as simply a ploy to follow the money. But HPE says that it takes two — infrastructure and services — to provide the seamless experience customers want, and HPE combines them in one package, according to Alastair Winner, VP of technology services, compute, at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Winner spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Paul Gillin (@pgillin), co-hosts of theCUBE*, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during HPE Discover EU in London, about how outsourcing Enterprise Services to CSC through a spin-merger is giving them room to evolve. “With ES moving out, it gives us the opportunity to partner far more with the likes of [professional services company] Accenture,” he said.

Additionally, Winner said HPE’s merger with software company Micro Focus will be mutually enriching. “I think the opportunity really for us is to be the infrastructure partner for those SIs [system integrators] and companies,” he said.

Winner said that HPE’s software capabilities are robust enough to be of real value, “helping customers modernize applications with technology like Docker.”

HPE does double duty

When asked if HPE is still primarily a product and hardware company, Alastair answered resolutely, “No.”

He said where once customers just wanted to buy gear from them and move on, “now customers are saying, ‘Actually, I don’t want to buy gear anymore. Help me consume it, whether that’s on premise or on the cloud.'”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of HPE Discover EU. (*Disclosure: HPE and other companies sponsor some HPE Discover EU segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE. Neither HPE nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo by SiliconANGLE