HPE boosts retail with Aruba, Mist AIOps & Nonstop

HPE has expanded its retail portfolio with new networking features, analytics integrations and updates to its Nonstop Compute systems aimed at transaction-heavy environments.

The company set out a combined approach that links branch and campus networking with back-end fault-tolerant systems. HPE is showing the updates at the NRF 2026 retail event in the US.

HPE said it has added new features to HPE Aruba Networking CX switching and extended retail analytics delivered through Mist AIOps. It has also updated the HPE Nonstop Compute range, which it positions for continuous operations in payment processing and other core retail workloads.

Retailers face pressure to keep checkout, inventory and fulfilment systems running during peak demand. Outages can disrupt sales and customer service across stores, distribution sites and online channels.

"In modern retail, a single lost transaction is a lost customer or a damaged reputation. HPE is raising the bar for retail by combining resilient edge connectivity, self-driving AI-native operations, and fault-tolerant compute to give retailers the insight, automation and assurance they need to meet existing and future shopper demands," said Sujai Hajela, EVP & GM, Campus & Branch, HPE.

Edge switching

HPE Aruba Networking CX 6000 Switch Series now includes 8-port models in Power over Ethernet and non-PoE configurations. HPE said it designed the smaller models for locations such as checkout lanes and overhead spaces.

HPE said the switches connect point-of-sale terminals, internet-connected devices and staff systems. It said the new models offer increased PoE capacity compared with legacy systems. The company linked that to support for devices such as wireless access points, cameras and sensors.

HPE also highlighted operational telemetry features. It cited advanced telemetry, IoT probing and total system monitoring. It said those functions support self-driving operations and reduce dropped connections. It also said the same data provides energy usage insights.

Analytics integration

On the analytics side, HPE said it is integrating the Marvis virtual network assistant with HPE Juniper Networking Premium Analytics. HPE said it is expanding access to retail insights provided by Mist AIOps through this integration.

HPE said the combined set-up brings location intelligence and network performance data into Marvis. It said the data includes engagement and occupancy analytics. It also said Marvis presents the information through a natural language interface.

HPE described this as a shift from reactive troubleshooting to proactive decision-making. It said IT, business operations and marketing teams can use the data for operational responses and customer experience work.

User assurance

HPE also outlined updates to HPE Aruba Networking User Experience Insight, which sits within HPE Aruba Networking Central. It described the product as an early warning system for organisations modernising their networks.

HPE said the Insight Sensors now support Wi‑Fi 7. It said the sensors identify issues introduced by upgrades or network changes before users are impacted.

The company said retailers can use the sensors alongside agents for a broader view of end-user activity. It said teams can baseline performance, test network health, track trends and plan for device growth.

Nonstop updates

In compute, HPE said it has released HPE Nonstop Compute NS9 X5 and NS5 X5 systems. It described Nonstop as a platform used for backend payment processing, inventory management and other applications that require continuous operation.

HPE said the latest Nonstop updates include performance and scaling changes. It said Nonstop now supports distributed scale up to 4,000 processors through multi-generational clustering. It also reported up to 15 percent more performance capacity based on internal benchmarks comparing HPE Nonstop Compute NS8 X4 and HPE Nonstop Compute NS9 X5.

HPE also cited a new kernel-level threading ability in Nonstop OS software. It said this supports application porting and scale-up.

On security, HPE said Transparent Data Encryption provides stronger security for sensitive customer data. It also said the feature supports retailers addressing data privacy and compliance requirements.

Commercial model

HPE said retailers can buy HPE Nonstop Compute and HPE Aruba Networking CX Switching as a service through HPE GreenLake. It described this as a subscription-based model.

HPE said the updated HPE Nonstop Compute systems and the HPE Aruba Networking CX 6000 Switch Series are available through HPE and its channel partners.