NetApp unveils data storage innovation at INSIGHT 2023!

The NetApp INSIGHT^® partner and customer conference officially kicked off in Las Vegas yesterday, ushering in a new era of groundbreaking data storage innovation that’s backed by over 30 years of expertise. Needless to say, we’re thrilled to be back live and in person for the first time since 2019. We’re excited to host thousands upon thousands of our incredible customers, trusted Partners, and so many others who make up the amazing NetApp ecosystem.

During the first day of NetApp INSIGHT, CEO George Kurian shared NetApp’s vision for the industry, including thought-provoking conversations with industry luminaries and AI visionaries. Today, on day 2, Chief Product Officer Harv Bhela and Executive Vice President and General Manager of CloudOps Haiyan Song unveiled the transformative power of NetApp’s latest offerings.

We’re reaching new heights in simplicity, savings, and sustainability in block storage as part of the NetApp^® unified data storage portfolio. We’re making storage as a service easier to consume. With yet more innovations, we’re continuing our mission to be the most secure enterprise storage on the planet. And we’re improving on the best hybrid multicloud data pipeline for artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) and generative AI.

If you don’t get a chance to join us in Las Vegas or to watch the live stream, stop by netapp.com to watch the replay. But I’ll help you out right here and give you just a few of the highlights of what we announced.

Today, NetApp has extended the definition of unified data storage to an entire ecosystem that enables file, block, and object workloads in a common operating system. And that operating system spans multiple on-premises storage offerings and every major public cloud, unified by a common API set and control plane.

Over 20,000 customers trust us for block workloads. This year, we introduced NetApp ASA systems, all-flash SAN arrays, to provide a simple block-optimized option that still operates with the same NetApp ONTAP®. So, you get great block storage but without bespoke silos.

Also, now we’re using the power of capacity flash to unveil the ASA C-Series, offering industry-leading savings and sustainability for block workloads. While driving the cost of block storage to a new low, NetApp ASA systems still provide a 4:1 Storage Efficiency Guarantee and a Six Nines (99.9999%) Data Availability Guarantee. NetApp ASA systems deliver better effective capacity for any workload, with integrated data protection and hybrid cloud connectivity.

In addition, we enhanced the NetApp Keystone^® storage-as-a-service (StaaS) offering to provide maximum reassurance for customers like you, making available the most comprehensive set of guarantees for a STaaS offering. You can now take advantage of integrated performance, availability, and sustainability all delivered as part of the NetApp Keystone experience. We also intend to extend our Ransomware Recovery Guarantee to NetApp Keystone in the future.

With the fully managed Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, you can easily migrate, deploy, and manage data and applications in Google Cloud, without refactoring code or redesigning processes. In addition to the offering’s Premium and Extreme service levels, we’ve now added a Standard service level that offers smaller entry configuration capabilities for more cost-effective starting points. Making things simpler and automated, you can now extend integration into the entire Google Cloud ecosystem through a fully managed cloud storage service that automates operations and optimizes capacity.

In today’s world, the cadence and impact of ransomware attacks continue to increase, which is why we back it with a leading Ransomware Recovery Guarantee.

ONTAP combines built-in security and ransomware protection features. It blocks malicious file types, prevents rogue admins and malicious users by using multi-admin verification, and provides tamperproof NetApp Snapshot™ copies that can’t be deleted. The ONTAP Autonomous Ransomware Protection feature detects attacks, creates additional Snapshot copies, and enables quick recovery. Now, NetApp offers the Ransomware Recovery Guarantee for all on-premises NetApp ONTAP based systems, including AFF A-Series and C-Series, ASA A-Series and C-Series, and FAS systems. This guarantee warrants Snapshot data recovery if a ransomware attack occurs, with compensation provided if data copies can’t be recovered with assistance from NetApp or its Partners.

NetApp is also offering a new Ransomware Recovery Assurance service to support improved recovery after a ransomware attack. The new service is more affordable and is backed with the NetApp Ransomware Recovery Guarantee. Giving you peace of mind, the service offers configuration validation for NetApp SnapLock^® Compliance and SnapMirror^® technology​, a recovery test that includes related documentation​, one recovery engagement if an attack occurs, and more.

NetApp has successfully adapted to disruptive technology waves, including AI. We enable customers to integrate, to access, and to manage data for any application, anywhere. Our solutions efficiently collect, prepare, and manage data for AI integration. Here are a few ways that we’re helping customers like you embrace AI technologies and eliminate data challenges, from edge to core to cloud:

• NetApp ONTAP AI verified for AFF C-Series systems. AFF C-Series now supports ONTAP AI with a competitive price-to-performance ratio. This solution enables C-Series to connect to NVIDIA DGX BasePOD, lowering the overall cost of entry to scalable AI without sacrificing outstanding performance. This collaboration with NVIDIA uses the latest in capacity flash to promote improvements in cost, density, and sustainability for every enterprise.
• Generative AI for Vertex AI on Google Cloud NetApp Volumes. For customers who are investing in generative AI data pipelines, NetApp data connects directly to Google Cloud Vertex AI on Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, with no additional engineering.
• Cross-protocol AI data pipelines on Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP. FSx for ONTAP now supports SageMaker Studio notebooks, as well as Kafka and Spark, by using either NFS or S3 protocols.

It has been an amazing start to NetApp INSIGHT in Las Vegas. As we navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape, NetApp remains at the forefront of innovation, facilitating a seamless and connected world in which technology enhances our lives. Join us as we shape the future of data management., and in the meantime, check out the NetApp INSIGHT sessions on demand.