The narrative for the last few years has been that HPE is struggling, falling behind and isn’t keeping up with innovation. One major reason has been their failure to get in on the cloud game in time with everyone else. Having shed debt and consulting services, HPE is now in a position to have to prove their mettle. What will be the company’s strategy for pulling ahead?

Hosts Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and John Furrier (@furrier) of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, speculated on how HPE can become relevant again. Vellante said, “This company has to shrink to grow,” meaning that they have to hone in on specific areas for growth and innovation. “It’s got to get back to its roots, to invent, he said, adding that the company’s organic R&D will allow them to do just that.

IoT: The wind in HPE’s sails?

Both hosts agreed that the Internet of Things (IoT) is HPE’s best shot at becoming relevant again. Furrier said that the company’s networking service is enjoying growth, and its Aruba offering looks particularly promising. “This is a critical piece of IoT,” he said. “If you combine converged infrastructure concepts with wireless and IoT, you have in essence the opportunity to have a new category of converged IoT infrastructure,” Furrier said, adding that this could put new wind in the company’s sails.

As for cloud, Furrier said that HPE is going to leave public cloud alone for the most part and get in the game with hybrid. He said that the question of, “Can they deliver on cloud,” will be a crucial one to watch.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of HPE Discover 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE