NetApp Enhances Microsoft Partnership for Azure Optimization

NetApp has announced the expansion of its collaboration with Microsoft, marking the next phase of their partnership. The global cloud-centric software company is bringing innovations to Microsoft Azure users through a variety of services, including Azure NetApp Files (ANF), NetApp BlueXP, Cloud Volumes ONTAP, and CloudOps solutions from Spot by NetApp. These offerings are based on industry-leading technologies from both NetApp and Microsoft.

ANF, designed specifically for public cloud environments, provides purpose-built storage solutions for all enterprise file workloads. It delivers high performance and data management capabilities, comparable to on-premises environments, with low latencies within the secure Azure Virtual Network (VNET). ANF facilitates the seamless integration of enterprise-grade data protection and disaster recovery architectures into the Azure ecosystem.

With Azure software-defined networking enhancements for ANF, customers can implement storage-related aspects of their enterprise security architectures in the public cloud. ANF offers flexibility and scalability through real-time provisioning of both performance and capacity, enabling customers to be agile and meet their business needs cost-effectively.

Ronen Schwartz, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Storage at NetApp, emphasized the unique capabilities delivered through collaboration with Microsoft. NetApp’s comprehensive set of capabilities, including ANF, NetApp BlueXP’s hybrid data services, Cloud Volumes ONTAP, and Spot, aim to optimize both storage and compute, accelerating the transition to the cloud for general file and enterprise workloads, as well as assisting with cloud-native workloads, Kubernetes, and AI.

In this phase, NetApp has made significant investments in its Spot by NetApp portfolio for CloudOps on Azure. The new solutions include integrated support for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) environments and a fully managed, open-source solution that integrates with existing ANF, NetApp BlueXP, and Cloud Volumes ONTAP services. Spot’s CloudOps solutions leverage AI/ML-driven automation to continuously optimize all Azure compute, enhancing efficiency and reducing operational complexity for customers.

Aung Oo, General Manager for Microsoft Azure Storage, highlighted the ongoing innovation delivered by Azure NetApp Files through the longstanding partnership with NetApp. Together, Microsoft and NetApp aim to provide customers with an efficient way to optimize their Azure infrastructure, ensuring maximum benefit from their investment in Azure NetApp Files, a first-party storage service based on ONTAP.