COMPETITIVE BATTLE CARD

ARUBA INSTANT ON
vs UBIQUITI, NETGEAR, CISCO SMALL BUSINESS, MERAKI GO

INTRODUCTION – WHAT DO I SELL

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is the second largest manufacturer of networking solutions in the world, and a recognized leader in wired and wireless
technology.

Aruba Instant On is a combined wired and wireless networking solution built with the industry-leading, enterprise-grade technology Aruba is known for. It is right-sized for
small and growing businesses, with little to no IT support, who are looking for a reliable, secure, easy-to-setup networking solution at an affordable price. The solution
includes:
• Extensive range of wireless access points (indoor, outdoor and hospitality) with 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi technology
• Wired infrastructure covered with the new Aruba Instant On 1930 Ethernet switches, available with various port counts ((8, 24 and 48 ports) and capabilities e.g.
Class4 PoE (i.e. PoE+), and enabling streamlined wired and wireless network setup and tuning
• Cloud Portal and mobile App based management options (full interoperability) with intuitive dashboards providing a single view of the network.
• 1-year warranty (Access Points) and limited lifetime warranty (switches); 24x7 phone support for 90 days, chat support for entire warranty period. There are
options to extend support and warranty

ELEVATOR PITCH

For small and growing businesses with little to no IT support and single or multiple sites, Aruba Instant On offers easy-to-setup speedy and reliable enterprise-grade
connectivity, built-in security, and best-in-class support services that give small businesses the peace of mind they need to focus on growing their business while
increasing their employee productivity and customer satisfaction. Aruba Instant On offers unified wired and wireless capabilities that simplify network setup and tuning.
Because Instant On is cloud-based and app-managed, customers can manage their network remotely, access tech support within the mobile app and keep the entire
network up-to-date and protected with regular, automated updates. All of these features are included in the price of the hardware – there are no hidden subscription or
licensing fees.

THE OPPORTUNITY TARGET CUSTOMERS

Small businesses prefer to deploy out-of-the box solutions to save money and speed deployment. They hold Small and growing businesses with limited IT staff
onto equipment longer, because of limited budgets and lack of dedicated IT. They look for long-term value for
their investment, long warranties, and dedicated support. They value simplicity, reliability and ease-of-use, • Medical Clinics • Home Office
and want to ensure their company’s and customers’ data is secure. Small businesses are currently adopting • Independent • Tech Start-Ups
new technologies: Retailers • Professional Firms
• 68% have a focus on investing in replacing outdated IT infrastructure; • Boutique Hotels • Small Schools
• 50% will adopt a Cloud-First approach when sourcing software, infrastructure or platforms. • Restaurants / Café / • Churches and
• 44% plan to use automation tools; 43% plan to use Gigabit Wi-Fi technology. Coffee Shops other non-profits

For Aruba Internal and Partner Use Only

ARUBA BATTLE CARD FOR INSTANT ON (CONTINUED)

UBIQUITI UniFi - Weaknesses include: ARUBA INSTANT ON – We counter with:

1. No out-of-the-box. Need additional security gateway and management 1. Simple solution to deploy, it does not require any additional appliance or tool.
controller, increasing costs and complexity. Free mobile app offers only Unified setup and management using mobile app or cloud portal. Very easy device
onboarding with multiple methods.
limited capabilities.
2. One-Touch Mesh setup - Aruba Smart Mesh Technology in all Access Points.
2. More complex Mesh setup, not supported by all Access Points. Offered
3. Built-in security, pre-configured or very easily to configure. No additional appliances.
Wireless uplink feature has limitations.
4. Unified capabilities. streamlined wired and wireless network setup and tuning
3. Security features only available with additional security gateway. Provide
5. Built-in Automation; automatic software updates; more advanced features
similar features as Aruba. Weaker authentication.
6. Enterprise Grade reliability. Wi-Fi Alliance certification of all Access Points.
4. Lacks Access Points and switches integration
7. Extraordinary support experience. Better warranty and support than Ubiquiti. Aruba
5. Lacks some of the advanced features provided by Aruba Instant On.
pays shipping costs both ways.
6. Consumer-grade reliability (frequently reported issues; poor record of fixing
8. Lower TCO than comparable Ubiquiti UniFi solution
small issues/bugs; some features are incomplete or buggy) and support
experience. Customer pays all shipping costs.

NETGEAR Insight - Weaknesses include: ARUBA INSTANT ON – We counter with:

1. NETGEAR offers multiple management options. Their cloud-managed 1. No subscriptions needed to setup and manage all Access Points and switches from
solution is called NETGEAR Insight. Three subscription levels available for Cloud portal or from mobile app. Free access to all features (e.g. multi-site, multi-
Insight, with different feature access. Mobile app provided for all tenancy). No subscriptions. Simple solution to deploy.
subscriptions, Cloud Portal access only with Insight Premium and Pro
levels. Multi-site only with Premium. Multitenancy only with Insight Pro. 2. One-Touch Mesh setup - Aruba Smart Mesh Technology in all Access Points.
Simple to deploy devices if Insight subscription purchased. 3. Built-in security: firewall, IDS and DPI including ability to block type of traffic. All pre-
2. Insight Instant Mesh only available on two Access Points. AirBridge configured or very easy to configure. Stronger authentication mechanisms.
available for outdoor wireless coverage (complex to setup). 4. Built-in Automation. More advanced features
3. Offers significantly less security features (Intrusion Detection not in all 5. Enterprise Grade reliability. Wi-Fi Alliance certification.
Access Points, no firewall, no DPI) than Aruba Instant On. Weaker
authentication. 6. Better support services (e.g. chat support during warranty; payment of shipping
costs).
4. Advance features available only with Insight Premium but less offered.
7. Lower TCO than NETGEAR Insight solution
5. Provides Consumer-grade reliability. Access Points not certified.
6. Only 90 days phone and chat support on Access Points and some
switches. To get further support, need to buy Premium support or pay per
incident. Their Access Points’ warranty is 5 years but Aruba can offer
extensions.

For Aruba Internal and Partner Use Only

ARUBA BATTLE CARD FOR INSTANT ON (CONTINUED)
CISCO SMALL BUSINESS – Weaknesses include: ARUBA INSTANT ON- We counter with:
1. More complex setup, no out-of-the-box: two different applications provided to 1. Simple solution to deploy. Single pane of glass to deploy and manage Access
deploy and manage the network. Need to buy and host an additional Points and switches. No extra licenses/fees, no additional server/probes. Easy
management application (Cisco FindIT) for single pane of glass (no cloud device onboarding
managed) and multi-site management. FindIT requires a probe per site in
addition to central server. Licenses/subscription paid based on number of 2. Manage from anywhere, anytime with Aruba Mobile App or the Cloud Portal.
devices to manage. 3. One-Touch Mesh setup - Aruba Smart Mesh Technology in all Access Points.
2. Need Mesh Extenders to setup Mesh network. 4. Built-in security: firewall, IDS and DPI including ability to block type of traffic. All
3. Lacks most of Aruba’s built-in security features (e.g. firewall, DPI, IDS, WPA3 pre-configured or very easy to configure. Stronger authentication mechanisms.
not on all Access Points) and advanced features. No integration between 5. Unified capabilities. Streamlined wired and wireless network setup and tuning.
Access Points and switches.
6. Built-in Automation; automatic software updates; more advanced features
4. Offers slightly better support services for their Small Business products than
Aruba but they do not cover all shipping costs (only one way). 7. Enterprise Grade reliability. Wi-Fi Alliance certification of all Access Points.
8. Lower TCO than Cisco Small Business.

MERAKI GO – Weaknesses include: ARUBA INSTANT ON – We counter with:

1. Lower grade cloud management solution. Only mobile App provided, no cloud 1. Simple solution to deploy, it does not require any additional appliance. Unified
portal. Multi-site management and multitenancy not supported. setup and management using mobile app or cloud portal. Supports multi-site, multi-
tenancy.
2. Only 1 indoor Access Point, 1 outdoor Access Point. Smaller cluster size (20
Access Points, 4 SSID). Less performant switches. 2. Extensive portfolio to better serve client needs. Higher performance on switches.
3. Need to buy additional security gateway (combined firewall and router) for 3. Built-in security, pre-configured or very easily to configure. No additional
increased security and advanced features. Very basic security provided without appliances and subscriptions. Stronger authentication. More advanced features.
it. Extended security (on top of the security gateway features) requires an
additional optional subscription. Weaker authentication (no 802.1x, no WPA3). 4. Better scalability: not constrained by security gateways throughput.
Security Gateway is a bottleneck (250 Mbps throughput, 50 users per site). 5. Enterprise Grade reliability. Wi-Fi Alliance certification of all Access Points.
4. Less advanced features. Lacks Access Points and switches integration. 6. Better warranty and support services. Aruba pays shipping costs both ways.
5. Only 1-year warranty and 1-year 24x7 chat support on switches 7. Lower TCO than Meraki Go solution

For Aruba Internal and Partner Use Only

ARUBA BATTLE CARD FOR INSTANT ON (CONTINUED)

WHY WE WIN
1. We win when clients are looking for “Simplicity”, “Ease of Use” and “Out-of-the 2. We win when clients are concerned about “Security”
Box solutions” • We provide, at no extra cost, built-in Security that none of our competitors can match. Our
• We provide a simple plug and play deployment and intuitive unified management competitors require the customer to buy a security gateway (Ubiquiti Unifi; Meraki Go) or
with mobile app or cloud portal. We do not require any additional appliance (e.g. they lack most of those security features (NETGEAR and Cisco Small Business)
security gateway, management controller) to provide a secure network and cover • We offer built-in firewall, Intrusion Detection System, Deep Packet Inspection engine
all areas in a very simple way. including ability to block one or more traffic types, strong authentication (support WPA3
• With the exception of Meraki Go (cloud managed solution but only mobile app and 8021.x with external Radius in all Access Points and switches) and other security
provided), our competitors require to pay a fee or subscription for the features like TPM chipsets. All come pre-configured or are easily configured with few clicks.
management software, and in some cases to install it on either a local computer, • We offer as well an advanced feature set that most of our competitors do not provide, like
public or private cloud virtual machine or appliance (e.g. Ubiquiti). For free they the control over Wi-Fi usage, the common workflows between the switches and Access
offer different tools to manage separately the switches and the access points Points, automatic updates, auto-prioritization of voice/video, automatic Access Point PoE
(Cisco Small Business), or basic tools with limited features (NETGEAR, Ubiquiti). prioritization, dynamic RF optimization, NAT, DHCP, Router mode.
• We provide unified wired and wireless capabilities that simplify the network setup
and tuning. Many built-in advanced features are pre-configured or configured with
few clicks.
• No competitor offers an out-of-the-box solution like Aruba Instant On does
3. We win when clients are concerned about their “Budget” 4. We win when clients are looking for a “Trusted Vendor” and “Reliability”
• Our products have a very attractive price point • Aruba is a recognized leader in WLAN and wired space
• We do not have any hidden fee • We provide superior hardware and software quality, also in our Small Business
• With all our competitors customers have to pay extra fees and subscriptions. products
• We beat all our competitors when Total Costs of Ownership are evaluated (Access • All Access Points have Wi-Fi Alliance certification
Points, switches, support services, management, security, reliability, simplicity) • Our 1930 switches beat competitors’ equivalent switches throughput/uplinks
• Aruba is recognized for the extraordinary support experience we provide

RESPONDING TO FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)

1. Aruba Instant On Positioning (features, scalability)

Competitors trying to position mid-size business solutions instead of small business, might claim that Aruba Instant On is not an enterprise solution. They might claim as well that it does
not scale or support growth and clients would have to buy a different solution if they initially invest on it. Understanding when to position Instant On will counter those statements.
Aruba Instant On is ideal for small businesses (single or multi-site) with limited IT staff. It is primarily targeted at small and growing businesses (e.g. less than 100 users per site), but Instant
On Access Points can support up to 250 users, and switches can scale to support 500 users, supporting growing businesses. Aruba Instant On is designed for simplicity, affordability and
ease of use, but it provides a high quality out of the box solution with the security and reliability needed by small businesses. For bigger organizations, or with special technical needs,
Aruba Instant or traditional Aruba Access Points might be a better fit. Aruba Instant solution uses more expensive Access Points and switch hardware and is a mid-size enterprise solution
with a lot of options and capabilities. Companies with specialty devices and specific requirements for the wireless network, such as specific data rates that should not be enabled, DTIM
adjustments, or special wireless QoS settings, will need Aruba Instant instead of Aruba Instant On. Understanding the specific needs of a client will help position the best Aruba solution
(either Aruba Instant On, Aruba Instant or Aruba Controllers) and beat our competitors.
2. Aruba Instant On – Switch Local mode (web UI) vs Cloud mode
Some of the advanced features on the 1930 switches can only be configured on the web UI (local). If web UI is used, cloud management is not possible. We should counter this by
mentioning that most common switch features are available on the cloud portal and mobile app. More and more advanced features will be available on Aruba Instant On cloud portal in
coming releases. This is similar to our competitors.

ArubaInstantOn.com ArubainstantOn.com/support Community.ArubaInstantOn.com

For Aruba Internal and Partner Use Only