The innovator’s entourage: 100 days of customer stories

Every A-lister has an entourage. Agent, publicist, manager. They handle the luminary’s schedule, negotiate contracts on her behalf, and manage her public reputation. It’s all about helping the star to shine. That’s the role that NetApp strives to play—our customers are the talent, and we’re behind the scenes, working out of the spotlight to help ensure their continued success.

Take Porsche Motorsport. They’re the stars of Formula E, pioneering electric vehicles that help put their drivers on the podium. Why are they so enthusiastic about having NetApp on the team? Because we provide the data chops that enable them to excel against tough competition. Data also plays a critical role in energy management, a vital necessity given that each Formula E team strives to finish the race with zero energy remaining.

All Formula E racers embrace the thrill of high-speed competition, and the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is no different. But Porsche is up against more than just the other cars on the track. The market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing at a staggering rate of 50% a year, and Porsche is intent on winning in this highly competitive market. To do so, Porsche has set an ambitious goal: by 2030, over 80% of the new vehicles they sell will be electric.

Fortunately, innovation is one of the things Porsche does best—and they have quickly trained their formidable engineering muscles to develop high-performance EVs that are energy efficient, sustainable, and (of course) fun. And Formula E plays a significant role in this process. In essence, the races serve as a real-time testing ground for Porsche’s EV innovation. In the crucible of races that often approach 200 mph, Porsche fine-tunes the technology that they then incorporate into their street models.

As you can imagine, this kind of development requires massive amounts of data—across edge, core, and cloud. To keep that data moving as quickly as their race cars, Porsche invited NetApp to be part of their entourage, drawing on our hybrid cloud solutions to access data and evolve their Formula E racing strategy in real time. The Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has access to a vast range of data, from EV, driver, and team performance analysis to outcome predictions and simulations. And thanks to NetApp^®, all that data stays backed up, secure, and available wherever it’s stored.

Of course, Porsche Motorsport is just one of the many companies that are teaming with us on their respective journeys. They amaze us every day. In fact, we’re so revved up about what our customers are achieving that we’re going to spend the next 100 days bragging about them. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get a shout-out the next time they’re up on the podium. In the meantime, we guarantee you won’t want to miss the next 100 days—we’ve got so many incredible stories to share. Stay tuned.