NetApp: Your strategic storage partner for generative AI

In the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence, generative AI (GenAI) has emerged as a transformative technology that’s opening new doors for businesses of all sizes. It's an exciting and innovative time, but it also offers a unique set of challenges, especially when it comes to managing AI's fundamental component: data. That’s where we come in. At NetApp, we're not just about selling storage solutions—we’re about understanding your GenAI journey, challenges, and goals. 

The recent Gartner® research report, Top Storage Recommendations to Support Generative AI warns that “choosing the wrong type of storage deployment or omitting critical GenAI storage capabilities can be a very costly mistake.” In this report, Gartner lays out what’s needed for GenAI workloads, which aligns with NetApp’s core focus. It involves building a storage solution that’s not only robust and secure but also intelligent and responsive to GenAI’s specific requirements. 

Whether you’re just starting to explore what GenAI can do for you or scaling up your efforts, NetApp’s intelligent data infrastructure solutions are designed to meet the unique demands of GenAI workloads. Here’s a snapshot of the key storage considerations for GenAI readiness and how NetApp’s AI solutions address these needs. 

• Performance demands. GenAI applications need a storage solution that can deliver high throughput and low latency to keep up with GPU-accelerated computing tasks. 

• Data management. With data sprawled across various locations, enterprises need a strategy to manage and integrate data globally without introducing complexity or inefficiency. 

• Scalability. As GenAI projects grow, storage infrastructure must effortlessly scale to manage petabyte-scale datasets while maintaining high performance. 

• Flexibility. Organizations require versatile storage solutions that can support the full spectrum of the GenAI workflow, from data ingestion to archiving. 

• Security. As GenAI applications become more integral to business operations, ensuring the security and integrity of data throughout the lifecycle is paramount. 

NetApp’s suite of AI solutions is designed to directly address these GenAI storage challenges: 

• High-performance infrastructure. Our storage solutions are engineered to meet GenAI’s performance demands, so that GPUs are fully utilized without data bottlenecks and you can maximize your computing investment. 

• Global data management. NetApp’s data management capabilities span on-premises, edge, and cloud environments, providing a unified view and control of your data pipeline, simplifying operations, and reducing the risk of data silos. 

• Scalable data lake platform. We offer a single, scalable data lake storage platform that can host all your GenAI data, regardless of size, type, or source. Our solutions are designed to grow with your needs, so that scalability isn’t a barrier to your GenAI progress. 

• Flexible deployment options. Whether you’re integrating with public clouds, deploying converged infrastructure, or using existing storage platforms, we provide the adaptable infrastructure needed to support every stage of your GenAI workflow—from data ingestion to model training to inference. 

• Unmatched data security. Confidently deploy and protect AI workloads, like GenAI, by pairing real-time AI/ML-based ransomware protection with our recovery guarantee. Enable safe and responsible AI practices with built-in access controls, versioning, and traceability. 

For more details, read the full Gartner report. It provides an in-depth exploration of the capabilities needed for GenAI storage, and it gives guidance on selecting the appropriate deployment model.

Are you ready to take the next step with GenAI? Learn more about NetApp^® AI solutions, or contact us to learn how an intelligent data infrastructure can bring your GenAI projects to life. 

Gartner, Top Storage Recommendations to Support Generative AI, Chandra Mukhyala, Julia Palmer, 14 February 2024. 

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