HPE hosted the TSANet EMEA Focus Group Meeting at its Sofia, Bulgaria site on September 29-30, 2026. Representatives from HPE, Microsoft, Red Hat, NetApp, AWS, IBM, Nutanix, F5, Cohesity, and Tigera participated either in person or virtually.
HPE Executive Keynote
HPE’s executive keynote outlined the company’s transformation from a reactive, SLA-driven support model to a predictive, AI-enabled service approach focused on customer outcomes, proactive issue prevention, and seamless collaboration across support, engineering, and partner ecosystems.
Digital Sovereignty Requirements and Models
Presentations from HPE, AWS, Nutanix, and Microsoft explored the evolving concept of digital sovereignty, highlighting the importance of data control, operational autonomy, technology independence, and regulatory compliance. Speakers also noted that customer expectations and regulatory interpretations continue to vary widely across markets.
The Forward Deployed Engineer Career Path
An interactive workshop led by AWS examined the emerging role of the Forward Deployed Engineer as a potential career path for support professionals as routine activities become increasingly automated. Discussions focused on how this role differs from traditional support and professional services while creating new opportunities for technical talent.
TSANet Connect Expansion
TSANet provided an update on TSANet Connect, emphasizing its role as a vendor-neutral collaboration platform for multi vendor support. Recent enhancements include additional integrations, secure file transfer capabilities, a developer hub, and strategic expansion beyond technology vendors to include service providers and third-party maintainers.
Leadership in AI Transformation
Participants discussed the leadership challenges associated with AI transformation. The workshop concluded that organizational change often lags behind technological innovation, creating uncertainty and resistance. Effective leaders focus on understanding challenges, communicating a clear vision, and enabling adoption rather than reacting with urgency.
HPE Expert Center Model
HPE presented its Expert Center model, describing its evolution from traditional tiered support structures and earlier open-swarming approaches into a dedicated, real-time collaboration framework that connects frontline engineers with Level 2 and Level 3 experts to accelerate problem resolution.
AI in Motion: Practical Applications for Internal Processes and Customer Solutions
Companies reported that customer adoption of AI-driven self-service is contributing to lower support case volumes, while the number of critical and complex incidents remains largely unchanged. AWS, Red Hat, Microsoft, Nutanix, and IBM showcased AI initiatives ranging from agentic AI and automated workflows to embedded assistants designed to enhance engineer productivity rather than replace human expertise.
Discussions highlighted AI’s growing impact on case avoidance, proactive support, intelligent routing, and improved customer experiences. A common theme across the sessions was that AI will increasingly handle routine and repetitive tasks, allowing support professionals to focus on complex technical challenges, customer engagement, and strategic problem-solving.
The next TSANet EMEA Focus Group Meeting is planned for Spring 2027.
For information about attending future meetings, please contact Rainer Zielonka at rainer@tsanet.org.