Royal Jaarbeurs selects HPE Aruba Networking to transform its IT infrastructure and reimagine visitors experience
The Netherlands largest exhibition and conference venue leverages HPE Aruba Networking NaaS solutions to transform its IT architecture and provide enhanced visitor experience
- HPE Aruba Networking enables a world-class event space capable of supporting a range of features, from ticketing to broadcasting to wayfinding
- HPE Aruba Networking creates a unified connectivity platform to digitize event operations, making them more sustainable, and enables granular performance analytics, strengthening customer service for the Royal Jaarbeurs
Amstelveen – April 2, 2024- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NSYE:HPE) announced Royal Jaarbeurs, one of Europe’s major event organizers located in Utrecht, has selected HPE Aruba Networking to turn its IT infrastructure into a secure, scalable and more sustainable platform. The modernized infrastructure will be delivered in an as-a-service model to make greater use of IoT and deliver indoor navigation.
The Royal Jaarbeurs’ mission is to be the smartest and most sustainable event organizer in Europe. With HPE Aruba Networking the Royal Jaarbeurs can create world-class event spaces capable of supporting myriad features - including digital ticketing, wayfinding for visitors across its 11 halls, and providing Network as a Service (NaaS) tailored to customers to allow livestreaming or podcast broadcasting during their events. Additionally, operations like tracking valuable assets and scheduling maintenance are streamlined to drive efficiency and support customer service.
“With HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass, we can recognize different profiles of users and devices and implement smart segmentation based on defined policies.”
A modern venue IT infrastructure
The Royal Jaarbeurs chose HPE Aruba Networking to provide a range of infrastructure features with standardized network hardware and management, creating a high-performance, flexible platform. The connectivity brings different aspects together, ranging from surrounding areas to IoT devices, visitor and exhibitioner needs and actionable intelligence. The HPE Aruba Networking infrastructure will be delivered by HPE long-term IT service partner Wentzo, for improved asset tracking and maintenance scheduling.
The HPE Aruba Networking architecture for Royal Jaarbeurs is built on the latest generation CX switches in the core, distribution, and access layers – including the CX10000 Smart Switch with AMD Pensando® DPU technology. This robust network connects all Wi-Fi 6 access points, computers, and servers. The Wi-Fi 6 access points serve as IoT gateways. Together they serve as the central “nervous system” for all the data that will be generated by not only Royal Jaarbeurs but also its customers and visitors.
The Wi-Fi 6 access points can connect to everything wireless, like the mobile devices of visitors, employees, or customers. Royal Jaarbeurs can provide wayfinding for visitors across its 11 halls via beacons, offering digital ticketing, event guides, and a better e-commerce experience. In addition to enabling tracking of valuable assets and anticipating maintenance scheduling requirements, the wireless coverage enables the Royal Jaarbeurs to offer closer links to the attractions within the city. All access points utilize HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass to ensure that each user has the necessary level of access to the network and resources of Royal Jaarbeurs, essentially allowing Royal Jaarbeurs to decide what can go where on the network.
Additionally, standard event facilities can be ordered or upgraded through the Royal Jaarbeurs app. Through these means, the IT-infrastructure serves as a link to bring the Royal Jaarbeurs closer to its customers and visitors. Dynamic segmentation ensures secure end-to-end boundaries between users, devices, and things. Customers of the Royal Jaarbeurs can access the network through the new architecture, enabling Royal Jaarbeurs to offer different levels of connectivity service, backed up with an SLA that they can manage and deliver on. This can be tailored to the exhibitioner’s needs.
Via the cloud-native, AI-powered management platform, HPE Aruba Networking Central, Royal Jaarbeurs can control the IT infrastructure and has an overview of what is happening at the venue. As part of the AI-powered monitoring, UXI sensors deliver real-time insights into network performance, ensuring SLAs are met while providing a real-time dashboard of critical network parameters.
“With HPE Aruba Networking, Royal Jaarbeurs will be able to leverage the power of IoT, cloud and edge computing to deliver innovative and engaging experiences to their visitors, exhibitors and staff”
NaaS accelerates digital transformation
The HPE Aruba Networking architecture is as flexible and multipurpose as the Royal Jaarbeurs event space itself can be. For customers, extra bandwidth can be easily added, for example when livestreaming or when multiple interactive screens are at use in their booth. NaaS offers Royal Jaarbeurs business agility, as it allows them to scale network services up or down as required without the need to over- or under-provision. The network also delivers the most precious of modern business resources: data.
“We can see footfall and heat maps of busy areas—so if an exhibitor tells us their stand was quiet, we can show them the passing traffic,” says Teun Schermerhorn, General IT Manager, Royal Jaarbeurs. “We can determine if facilities are being over- or underused, which helps us manage on-site teams. We know what type of device is connecting to the network, and how the connectivity is being used. Through the app downloads and Wi-Fi sign-up, we’re also capturing a great deal of marketing data. We know we have a broad audience at Royal Jaarbeurs. With HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass, we can recognize different profiles of users and devices and implement smart segmentation based on defined policies.”
“We are delighted to partner with Royal Jaarbeurs, one of Europe’s leading event organizers, to transform their IT infrastructure into a smart, secure and sustainable platform. With HPE Aruba Networking, Royal Jaarbeurs will be able to leverage the power of IoT, cloud and edge computing to deliver innovative and engaging experiences to their visitors, exhibitors and staff,” says Martijn Koning, Country Manager, Netherlands at HPE Aruba Networking. “NaaS is a great example of how HPE Aruba Networking enables partners like Wentzo to deliver in a network-as-a-service motion, something our partners are asking for.”
Read more about this partnership on the website.