NetApp ramps up its AI channel services effort
by Antony Savvas, IT Europa
NetApp made a big AI channel play last week at its annual Insight customer and partner event in Las Vegas. IT Europa heard how the company intended to help partners take advantage.
As previously reported, the company unveiled a new range of AI optimised flash storage appliances that could be used on-premises, through the cloud on-demand, and in hybrid cloud environments, along with new security software that could protect data from widening ransomware attacks. It also announced a raft of technology alliances with leading cloud and enterprise data providers to help get these solutions to market.
"Around five years ago, when NVIDIA launched its own AI hardware solutions, we designed and developed our own hardware simplification solutions to match them and work with them," said Russell Fishman, NetApp senior director, field advocacy and solutions technology. "It was about infrastructure simplification, and getting more out of your data in mission critical industries with high compliance needs."
Fishman said company AI projects commonly start up in a silo, and that NetApp wanted to help break these silos, although sometimes CISOs (certified information security officers), because of good reasons, can slow projects down.
"You can start an AI project with a credit card in the cloud. The challenge is to move from that to a true production environment. The CISO may say you can't use that data, asking you where you got it from, and whether it addresses all compliance demands etc."
World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh also addressed delegates. "There is an incredible opportunity around generative AI, security, and through AI transformation, and there's no one else we'd like to do it with more than NetApp," said the channel leader.
Gagan Gulati, senior vice president and general manager, data services at NetApp, is leading the firm's AI security play. He said: "Partners are becoming MSPs now, and many have a security practise, and we are helping them to build it. Our Keystone on-demand service is expected to grow rapidly.
"When enterprises talk about AI, it's not a case of whether they are investing in it, it's how much."