Aruba Partner Summit: 3 Things I'll Be Asking

Aruba Networks is hosting its Americas Partner Summit this week at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. It's the first time the company has opened the event to the media, which this year means yours truly. There's going to be some top-secret stuff divulged during the discussions that I can't write about, but there will be plenty of other things I can (more on that to come).

As wireless technology vendors go, Aruba is considered a tier-two vendor, which means it doesn't have the massive size and baggage of its competitors (think Cisco Systems) but it also doesn't have the same level of name recognition. It's nimble and it's working to win the hearts and minds of the channel. It seems to be on the right track: This year's event has about 300 channel partners—enough to fill a decent-size room.

As things kick off March 12, here's what I'll be asking the good folks at Aruba:

1. Where's the enterprise noise? Aruba does a great job touting its campus wins–yesterday alone I received information on two separate higher education wins–but I hardly hear anything about the inroads it's making in the enterprise. I know enterprise companies are notorious for holding their technology close to their chest, but Aruba's closest competitors continually bang the drum about their enterprise offerings and their plans for the space. So what's the deal?

2. Where's the channel noise? There is no doubt Aruba wants to go deeper in the channel, and with the reception the company is getting from its current partner base, it would be a smart move. So why isn't the company talking about its channel love? Where's the deep dive on its channel program, and what does Aruba have in store for its partners in the coming year?

3. Why isn't the Aruba Partner Summit in Aruba? It's a legitimate question, if for no other reason than the fact that I've been to Las Vegas so many times I'm thinking about applying for residency.

I'll be posting updates throughout the event, so keep checking back.