Advancing enterprise cloud storage across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud

Over the past several months, NetApp has continued to raise the bar for enterprise‑grade cloud storage across the major hyperscalers. Here’s a look at the key product updates across Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, Azure NetApp Files, Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, NetApp Workload Factory, and NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP.

At AWS re:Invent, Amazon introduced S3 Access Points for Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, delivering a major step forward in how organizations harness the power of their file data. By enabling direct, frictionless access to AWS AI/ML and analytics services—such as Amazon Athena, SageMaker, QuickSight, and OpenSearch—customers can eliminate the burdens of complex migrations, redundant data copies, and disruptive storage redesigns. This capability empowers industries such as healthcare, finance, automotive, EDA, media, and gaming to accelerate innovation, strengthen compliance, and streamline operations by tapping into real‑time insights from their existing on‑premises or cloud-based datasets. With simple setup and unique aliases for seamless integration, S3 Access Points pair with the proven performance and hybrid flexibility of FSx for ONTAP, including features such as SnapMirror replication, to help organizations unlock new possibilities without disrupting the systems they rely on.

In November, ahead of Microsoft Ignite, Azure NetApp Files (ANF) announced its support for Red Hat OpenShift virtualization on Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO). This advancement allows enterprises to modernize their cloud infrastructure to effortlessly run and manage both traditional virtual machines and containerized applications, all while benefiting from enterprise-grade storage performance.

This integration leverages NetApp’s Trident CSI driver to provision ANF NFS volumes on demand as persistent VM disks, allowing VMs to migrate across OpenShift worker nodes without storage interruption—ensuring high availability and load balancing. ANF offers sub-millisecond latency, high IOPS, and native integration with Kubernetes and OpenShift, delivering the performance and reliability of on-prem SAN/NAS systems combined with the agility and simplicity of a fully managed Azure service. This allows businesses to modernize at their own pace without costly refactoring or sacrificing control.

At NetApp INSIGHT 2025, Google Cloud NetApp Volumes announced support for iSCSI block storage for allow listed customers enabling seamless migration of high-performance SAN workloads to the cloud using NetApp ONTAP technology. This fully managed, elastic service delivers enterprise-grade performance with sub-millisecond latency, and dynamic scaling up to 5 GiBps and 160,000 IOPS per volume, along with features like Snapshot copies, thin clones, and cross-region replication.

These features empower organizations to run mission-critical workloads—such as self-managed databases, real-time analytics, and virtual desktop infrastructures—while optimizing resources and ensuring robust data protection. By adding block storage to our already proven NFS and SMB options, and integrating proven SAN and NAS capabilities with Google Cloud’s agility and scalability, NetApp Volumes enables true hybrid cloud architectures, operational efficiency, and future-ready flexibility for enterprises modernizing their data estates.

At AWS re:invent 2025, NetApp Workload Factory for FSx for ONTAP introduced AI-driven, proactive tools that shift operations from reactive troubleshooting to intelligent, automated control. The new Agentic AI Analyzer leverages event intelligence to detect anomalies, correlate issues, and guide administrators toward resolution before problems escalate, reducing downtime and freeing IT teams to focus on innovation. Integrated features include continuous best-practice checks for AWS Elastic VMware Service, AI-assisted infrastructure-as-code development with GitHub Copilot, and automated Oracle database management, all designed to optimize performance, security, and compliance while minimizing manual effort.

Additional enhancements, such as native iSCSI provisioning in the EC2 Launch Wizard and intelligent edge-aware caching for distributed workloads, further streamline deployment and boost operational efficiency, enabling enterprises to achieve smarter, faster, and more proactive cloud storage management.

At Microsoft Ignite 2025, NetApp^® Cloud Volumes ONTAP^® for Azure announced enhancements that boost performance, security, and flexibility for block and file workloads. These include support for new VM families optimized for both block (NVMe/TCP) and file storage, delivering improved speed and lower latency for demanding enterprise applications. The ONTAP 9.18.1 release also brings Azure VNet encryption at the infrastructure layer, strengthening data protection and compliance for sensitive workloads.

To learn more about all the recent cloud storage product announcements, visit the Product Updates page.