HPE and Spark NZ Partner to Redefine Hybrid Cloud Operations

HPE has announced Spark NZ’s implementation of a series of transformational infrastructure projects with HPE to enable faster and more reliable hybrid cloud and managed IT services to its customers in New Zealand. The refreshed IT unlocks new streamlined and automated capabilities for the New Zealand telco.  

Spark NZ wanted to completely overhaul its cloud management platform to address the significant growth in digital consumption in the country, and the surge in demand for fast, reliable and uninterrupted connectivity across all its services.

Together with HPE, Spark NZ transformed its legacy infrastructure into a modern, purpose-built hybrid cloud environment, integrating HPE GreenLake cloud and HPE Morpheus Enterprise Software to deliver scalable, unified services. This expansion allows Spark NZ to better serve its customers through improved, far-reaching connectivity, advancing novel and scalable AI solutions, and providing customers with enhanced control, agility, and security.

The modernisation has been implemented across several stages, to revolutionise Spark NZ’s most vital infrastructure while maintaining a clear focus on delivering measurable outcomes to drive transformative business change for customers.

• Phase 1: To set the groundwork for the entire project, Spark NZ built the necessary hybrid cloud infrastructure leveraging HPE GreenLake as a core pillar of Spark NZ’s internal processes. By unifying compute, block storage, and object storage into a single platform, Spark NZ established a scalable and efficient foundation adaptable to evolving business and customer needs.
• Phase 2 - HPE Morpheus Enterprise Software was chosen to empower Spark NZ to control on-prem private clouds, centralise public cloud access and orchestrate change with cost analytics, governance policy and automation. This unified approach helps streamline operations, improves visibility across cloud resources, and enables Spark to respond rapidly to changing business needs.
• Phase 3 – A new joint effort significantly expanded Spark NZ’s managed service offering, strengthening the management of core platforms, hypervisors and backups, and enhances the ability to design new and innovative solutions.

“We’re incredibly proud of the partnership we have with Spark NZ and the innovations that we have delivered to evolve its capabilities and bring cutting-edge solutions to their customers,” said Chris Weber, Vice President and Managing Director at HPE South Pacific. “This collaboration demonstrates the full breadth of modern solutions HPE offers, from modernising cloud infrastructure capability to enabling greater efficiency and scalability. We’re excited to see how this partnership will continue to deliver outcomes in an ever-evolving landscape, and what new business opportunities we’ll see once these projects mature.”

The New Zealand telecommunications sector, by design, is incredibly unique, serving a vast and highly distributed network of customers, businesses, and enterprises. At the same time, increasing global pace of productivity and innovation has heightened the demand for novel solutions to meet the needs of critical national infrastructure and private business. Spark NZ’s early adopter approach towards new solutions helps position New Zealand competitively on the world stage, by prioritising better customer outcomes and improved cost efficiency.

“As technology continues to evolve, business needs are changing. Relying on either public or on-premise cloud alone doesn’t offer the flexibility, control, and speed that enables them to make the most of technology to improve productivity.  These barriers can be overcome by hybrid cloud and that’s exactly where Spark is focused,” said Penny White, Business Technology Services General Manager at Spark NZ. “Our strategic partnership with HPE has not only strengthened our foundational infrastructure; it has also positioned us to continue to deliver the seamless, user-friendly experience our customers expect while unlocking increased efficiencies, tangible business outcomes and new potential capabilities to take advantage of.”