From data to decision: Powering enterprise AI with NetApp

AI doesn’t just need data—it needs the right data, in the right place, at the right time. That’s why enterprises must rethink their infrastructure, unify their data estate, and operationalize AI from the ground up. For years, AI lived in the realm of research labs and pilot projects. It was experimental, aspirational, and often disconnected from the realities of enterprise operations. Today, AI is a business imperative. Enterprises aren’t just exploring AI, they’re operationalizing it. They’re asking how to scale AI securely, efficiently, and with confidence. And they’re right to ask, because the path to enterprise AI is anything but simple. 

Enterprise AI isn’t just about building smarter models. It’s about integrating those models into the fabric of the business, into workflows, governance, infrastructure, and outcomes. It’s about moving from experimentation to execution. From isolated insights to enterprise-wide impact. 

That’s where most organizations struggle.

Most AI projects stall before they deliver value. Not because the models aren’t good enough, but because the infrastructure can’t make data AI ready. In fact, Gartner predicts that through 2026, 60% of AI projects that are not supported by AI-ready data will be abandoned. Lack of data visibility, siloed infrastructure, limited or inefficient data mobility, poor scalability, and insufficient security are all key contributors to the data readiness challenge. 

NetApp’s answer: The AFX AI portfolio 

At NetApp, we’ve spent the last year building a solution to this challenge. Today we’re proud to introduce the NetApp^® AFX AI portfolio, an enterprise-grade foundation that’s purpose-built for enterprise AI. 

It starts with NetApp AFX 1K, a high-performance, disaggregated storage system designed for demanding AI workloads. Powered by NetApp ONTAP^® data management software, it delivers: 

• Independent scaling of performance and capacity to support diverse AI workflows, from model training to retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to agentic AI 
• Enterprise-grade security and mobility for fast, trusted access to AI-ready data 
• Unified data access and built-in metadata intelligence across hybrid multicloud for streamlined AI pipelines 

Complementing AFX is the NetApp AI Data Engine (AIDE), a unified, end-to-end data service that simplifies and secures the entire AI data lifecycle. AIDE provides: 

• Real-time metadata indexing 
• Automated data curation 
• Built-in guardrails for privacy and compliance 
• Integrated vectorization for GenAI applications 

AIDE comes with embedded NVIDIA AI Enterprise licensing, giving customers immediate access to production-ready AI software, including NVIDIA NIM microservices for optimized inference deployment. Data services, enterprise AI software, and infrastructure. Customers get a complete, validated AI stack working together from day one. 

Together, AFX and AIDE form a foundation that doesn’t just support AI – it accelerates, secures, and scales it. 

Enterprise AI requires more than just powerful infrastructure or intelligent data services; it demands a tightly integrated foundation where performance, governance, and data readiness work in harmony. That’s exactly what NetApp delivers with AFX and AIDE. 

Together, AFX and AIDE streamline the AI data pipeline. AFX means that data is fast, secure, and scalable. AIDE means that data is clean, governed, and AI-ready. And with embedded NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NIM microservices, AIDE bridges the gap between data readiness and model deployment. The result is a foundation that doesn’t just support AI, it operationalizes it to enable enterprises to move from experimentation to execution with confidence.

Every enterprise is different. Some are cloud-first. Others are modernizing on their premises. Many are doing both. That’s why we designed the NetApp AI portfolio to be flexible by default. 

NetApp Keystone^® for Enterprise AI allows customers to consume the AFX AI portfolio as a service, scaling elastically, paying as they grow, and accelerating time –to value without upfront investment. This model is ideal for organizations with dynamic workloads or constrained capex budgets. 

With FlexPod^® AI with AFX, we’re delivering full-stack integration with Cisco’s Secure AI framework, enabling secure, efficient deployment across hybrid environments. FlexPod brings validated designs, simplified management, and enterprise-grade security, making it easier to deploy AI where your data lives.

No one builds AI alone. That’s why we’ve invested deeply in an ecosystem that brings together the best minds, the best platforms, and the best data. 

Our partnerships with NVIDIA, Domino Data Lab, Starburst, Microsoft, LangChain, and others are more than integrations; they’re accelerators. These collaborations enable: 

• End-to-end AI workflows 
• Embedded data services in familiar tools 
• Faster time –to value for enterprise AI initiatives 
• And more importantly, they help us solve real customer problems 

NVIDIA has been a strategic partner since 2018. We share a worldwide partner ecosystem and over a thousand common customers.

NetApp AFX continues that legacy by bringing disaggregated ONTAP to NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD and DGX GB300. These certifications align NetApp with NVIDIA's AI Factory vision, enabling high-performance AI training and inferencing environments. NetApp delivers enterprise-grade resilience, scalable throughput, and integrated data pipelines, making it easier for customers to build AI factories with secure, multi-tenant infrastructure. 

Building on that infrastructure, NetApp AIDE brings NVIDIA GPU acceleration directly into the storage environment, enabling AI workloads to run where data already lives. With NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NIM microservices embedded in AIDE, customers get pre-integrated AI capabilities that massively reduce custom integration work. And with native support for NVIDIA AgentIQ blueprints, AIDE empowers enterprises to shift from generative to agentic AI. 

NetApp extends its partner ecosystem even further. Domino Data Lab streamlines model development and deployment. Starburst helps unify data across silos with federated query capabilities. LangChain enables enterprise-grade GenAI applications with secure -RAG. These aren’t just integrations, they’re strategic collaborations designed to solve real enterprise challenges and deliver tailored solutions for industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.

We believe that AI must come to the data, not the other way around. As a leader in data storage, enterprise data lives on NetApp at the edge, on the premises, and in the cloud. That’s why we’re expanding our first-party cloud integrations, making it easier than ever to run AI workloads directly on Azure NetApp Files and Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, without moving or copying data. This ability reduces latency, improves security, and simplifies compliance. 

Whether you’re training models in the cloud, running inference on your premises, or orchestrating hybrid workflows, the NetApp AFX AI portfolio adapts to your environment. It’s AI where your data lives, and where your business needs it.

Last year, we laid out a bold vision for enterprise AI, one that puts data at the center of innovation. Today, we’re delivering on that vision. NetApp AFX AI portfolio helps enterprises move from experimentation to execution by delivering the right data, in the right place, at the right time. If you’re ready to accelerate your AI journey, let’s talk. https://www.netapp.com/artificial-intelligence/