Aruba is also extending its ClearPass technology, bringing it to the Mobile First Platform. ClearPass was first announced by Aruba in 2012 as a way to help organizations deal with the BYOD (bring your own device) challenge. The new ClearPass Extensions platform enables IT professionals to integrate cloud services together with ClearPass for access and policy control. Looking also to the cloud, Aruba is improving its Aruba Central management service. Aruba Central was first announced in October 2013 as a cloud controller for Aruba’s hardware. Now Aruba is expanding Central to enable partners to create custom branded managed services. In a bid to further its partnership and channel business, Aruba also announced a new “Network-as-a-Service” (NaaS) offering enabling an operational cost model for consuming Aruba’s products and servers. The Aruba NaaS is being offered in collaboration with HPE Financial Services, HPE Technology Services and consulting firms Accenture and Deloitte.