Building the AI-powered enterprise: Why the infrastructure matters

AI is changing how we design and operate enterprise IT. Most of the attention goes to GPUs and models, but AI is still a data problem at its core. Without the right infrastructure, performance gains disappear.  

The new NetApp^® AFX data storage architecture is designed to fill that gap. It brings AI performance and enterprise-grade reliability together on a platform that organizations already know: the NetApp ONTAP^® operating system. 

At the NetApp INSIGHT^® 2024 partner and customer conference, the company outlined a goal to make AI infrastructure simpler and more scalable. A year later, AFX delivers on that vision with a disaggregated storage architecture that lets you scale performance and capacity independently. It runs on ONTAP, which means you keep the same management, automation, and security features that are already proven in production environments. Instead of reinventing storage for AI, AFX enhances what enterprises already trust.

Traditional AI deployments often use infrastructure that’s separate from core business systems. That separation creates complexity, inefficiency, and extra data movement. AFX allows high-performance AI workloads to run on the same ONTAP infrastructure used for enterprise data.

This approach reduces silos and provides: 

• Consistent security and governance 
• A single management interface 
• No need for proprietary client software 
• Support for high-speed networking such as 400GbE 

The result is better performance—without a complete rebuild of your storage environment. 

Scaling for real AI workloads 

AI data patterns are unpredictable. They spike, change shape, and can overwhelm rigid systems. AFX handles these shifts with automated load balancing, seamless scaling, and strong multitenancy controls. 

Because it’s based on ONTAP, AFX technology works with existing automation and integration tools, keeping operational changes minimal while still supporting heavy I/O and demanding pipelines. 

Security and data protection 

Security must be part of the foundation, rather than an afterthought. AFX builds on the security framework of ONTAP and includes AI-powered NetApp Autonomous Ransomware Protection with AI, which detects threats with 99% accuracy. This protects not only datasets and models, but also the processes that feed them. 

Hybrid by design 

Modern enterprises operate across data centers, clouds, and edge locations. AFX integrates with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud so that data can move freely between environments. The NetApp AI Data Engine adds features like metadata indexing, privacy management, and vectorization, helping teams prepare data for AI use without manual work. 

NetApp AFX has the potential to become a key building block for AI-driven enterprises. It builds on familiar technology while addressing new performance and scalability needs.  

A few things to watch for as this technology starts getting into customer environments: 

• Real-world scalability beyond lab results 
• Operational simplicity for disaggregated deployments 
• Integration depth with cloud and AI ecosystems 
• Cost efficiency compared to traditional silos 
• The future of enterprise AI is bright. Look to NetApp to lead the charge with solutions like AFX. 

No ransomware detection or prevention system can completely guarantee safety from a ransomware attack. Although it’s possible that an attack might go undetected, NetApp technology acts as an important additional layer of defense, and our research indicates NetApp technology has resulted in a high degree of detection for certain file encryption-based ransomware attacks.