Juniper Networks, HPE-Aruba Take Top Two ‘Leaders’ Spots In Gartner LAN Infrastructure Magic Quadrant

‘Since we began leveraging the power of real AI to truly understand and improve end-user and operator experiences, we've saved thousands of customers time, money and effort – including 4 of the Fortune 10,’ said Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim in a LinkedIn post.

Juniper Networks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba took the top two spots in the “Leaders” category for the just-released Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure from research firm Gartner.

Juniper Networks came in at No. 1 and HPE-Aruba was No. 2 in the 2024 ranking. The other vendors in the “Leaders” quadrant are Huawei, Extreme Networks, Cisco and Fortinet.

The strong endorsement of Juniper Networks and HPE-Aruba comes just two months after Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced an agreement to acquire Juniper in a $14 billion deal that sets up a battle for network supremacy in the AI era with market-share leader Cisco Systems.

CRN reached out to Cisco but had not heard back at press time.

“There’s a palpable sense of enthusiasm and optimism when I speak with our Junivators around the world about our vision, momentum and what the future holds,” said Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim in a LinkedIn post. “So, it’s no wonder that for a fourth consecutive time Juniper Networks has been named a Leader in Gartner’s definitive 2024 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure.”

Among the strengths for Juniper cited by Gartner analysts in the Magic Quadrant report were AI-driven automation. “Juniper leads with AI/ML driven capabilities including performance monitoring based on customizable SLEs, to deliver improved user experience,” Gartner analysts Tim Zimmerman and Christian Canales said in the report. “Guided troubleshooting and the ability to automatically fix routine issues simplify network operations.”

Juniper also ranked first across all five use cases in the accompanying Critical Capabilities report and was named a leader for the third consecutive time in the 2024 Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Service, said Rahim.

“None of this would be possible without years of hard decisions, big bets about the future, cultivating the trust of our customers and the ongoing dedication of our Junivators,” said Rahim in the LinkedIn post. “Since we began leveraging the power of real #AI to truly understand and improve end-user and operator experiences, we've saved thousands of customers time, money and effort – including 4 of the Fortune 10, the world’s top 3 retailers, 2 of the top 5 fintech companies and the No. 1 healthcare provider in the United States, just to name a few. And for us, this focus on experience has also led to a staggering 70 percent y/y (year over year) revenue growth between 2022 and 2023 for our solutions that leverage Mist AI.”

HPE Aruba also touted its position in the “Leaders” quadrant, noting that it was the 18^th consecutive time that Gartner had named HPE Aruba a networking leader.

“We believe our position in this report is a result of HPE Aruba Networking offering customers a centralized platform, ensuring increased network reliability and security, and integration of AI into network management solutions to provide innovative capabilities to enhance both network team and end-user experiences," said HPE Aruba Networking Chief Product and Technology Officer David Hughes in a prepared statement.

Among the strengths cited for HPE Aruba in the Gartner report are inclusive AI features. “Aruba Central’s standard license includes key management functionality, such as AIOps, that provides significant value out of the box,” said Zimmerman and Canales in the report. “Customers will benefit without increasing costs for advanced licenses, as required with the competition.”

As for Cisco, portfolio breadth was among the strengths cited by Gartner analysts. “The scope of Cisco’s wired and wireless hardware and software product portfolio addresses use cases across market verticals, business organizations of all sizes and network deployment scenarios of any type,” wrote Zimmerman and Canales.

Patrick Shelley, CTO at PKA Technologies, Montvale, N.J., No. 441 on the 2023 CRN Solution Provider 500, said the Gartner Magic Quadrant results shows the potential of the HPE-Aruba-Juniper combination to disrupt the networking status quo and leapfrog Cisco.

“Both Juniper and HPE have unique AI technology,” he said. “Together the two companies could deliver an AI punch that could knock Cisco for a loop.”

Shelley said customers are excited about the combination of HPE Aruba with Juniper, and the potential for AI innovation to improve enterprise networking.

“We have longtime Cisco networking customers asking us about this,” said Shelley. “They are looking at the AI innovation and it is forcing them to look at HPE Juniper. It’s a new world with AI. Things are changing faster than ever before. In the next five years, the world is going to change more than it has over the last 30 years. Customers want technology and innovation that will make their lives easier. They want things that bring business benefits. It is no longer enough to just have the Cisco logo on networking gear.”

Shelley said there is a big appetite among customers for AI innovation. “Every single board member is talking about AI and looking for AI innovation,” he said. “Customers want to see use cases for AI. They want to be educated and learn as much as they can with regard to what is out there in terms of AI, how can they use it and what other industries or their competitors are doing. Customers are hungry for AI.”

PKA, for its part, has developed a strong relationship with AI market leader Nvidia and is hosting AI workshops for customers, said Shelley.

“Customers want to hear as much as they can about not only what their own vertical market is doing with AI, but what other verticals and industries are doing with AI,” he said. “They want to know what the world is going to look like with AI.”

The release of the Gartner Magic Quadrant comes even as former Cisco CEO John Chambers this week gave the thumbs up to HPE CEO Antonio Neri’s bid to make HPE-Juniper Networks a force to be reckoned with in the AI era.

“Antonio is a competitor, turned business partner, and a friend who I trust with my life,” said Chambers in a Linkedin post on Tuesday. “I believe HPE will become a top AI leader in the industry with Antonio at the helm.”

Chambers applauded Neri’s “courage” to disrupt the status quo.

“From my experience, it’s difficult for a company to stay on top of the market, and downhill trends are hard to correct,” wrote Chambers. “The exception to that rule has been Hewlett Packard Enterprise, under the leadership of Antonio Neri. I applaud Antonio’s dedication to building a clear, strategic vision – and dreaming big enough to execute on it.”