NetApp Keystone is a storage-as-a-service (STaaS) solution that lets organizations consume block, file, and object storage on a pay-as-you-go basis. It runs on premises, in co-locations, and natively across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, all under a single monthly subscription. Rather than purchasing and managing storage hardware, IT teams select a performance service level and committed capacity, and NetApp handles the design, deployment, and ongoing management. Keystone is built on NetApp's ONTAP data management platform, delivering enterprise-grade performance, data protection, and hybrid cloud flexibility without the upfront capital investment.

Traditional storage procurement requires significant upfront capital expenditure, long refresh cycles, and manual capacity planning. Keystone replaces that model with a subscription that scales up or down based on actual usage. You pay only for what you consume, avoid overprovisioning costs, and may adjust capacity or shift workloads to the cloud by up to 25% annually. Hardware refreshes, firmware updates, and day-to-day management overhead are eliminated from your team's responsibilities, freeing IT staff to focus on higher-value work rather than infrastructure maintenance.

Keystone supports a wide range of workloads across four performance service levels. The Extreme level is best for mission-critical databases and analytics. Premium is optimized for VDI and virtualized applications. Standard suits file shares and web servers, and Value serves secondary storage and backup use cases. Keystone also supports AI and machine learning pipelines through its AI-optimized architecture and integration with the NetApp AI Data Engine. Cloud Volumes ONTAP extends support to disaster recovery, dev/test, and business continuity applications in public cloud environments.

Keystone's Extreme and Premium service levels include a 99.9999% uptime SLA, which translates to less than 2.7 seconds of unplanned downtime per month for unified file and block storage with data tiering. This SLA is backed by service credits, giving customers a financial guarantee tied to real performance commitments. For organizations running business-critical workloads where downtime directly impacts revenue or operations, this level of guaranteed availability is a key differentiator compared with alternatives that offer best-effort or contractually weaker uptime commitments.

Keystone includes a built-in Ransomware Recovery for zero data loss, backed by end-to-end encryption and NetApp Autonomous Ransomware Detection, which monitors storage behavior in real time to identify and contain threats before they spread. This protection is integrated into the subscription, not sold as an add-on, so you're not left relying on bolt-on security tools. In the event of a ransomware attack, NetApp's recovery capabilities help restore clean data quickly, minimizing operational disruption and reducing exposure for your organization.

Yes. Keystone is designed for true hybrid multi-cloud connectivity. You can move workloads to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud at any time, without modifying your entire infrastructure. Cloud services are available through Cloud Volumes ONTAP, which supports NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, and S3 protocols across major cloud platforms. You can burst to the cloud at no extra cost, replicate data for disaster recovery, back up data offsite, or migrate cold data to lower-cost cloud object storage. The entire environment is managed through NetApp Console, giving you unified control across on-premises and cloud storage from one interface.

Keystone is managed through NetApp Console, a unified control plane that lets you monitor, provision, and orchestrate on-premises and cloud storage services from a single dashboard. Console is included in the subscription and doesn't require a separate license. For observability, NetApp Data Infrastructure Insights provides AI-driven analytics, capacity monitoring, and anomaly detection across your entire environment. Customers can choose to operate the environment themselves, work with a certified NetApp partner, or opt for NetApp's fully managed service for an additional monthly fee.

Keystone supports sustainability: NetApp commits to standard watts per TiB targets for each SLA-based performance tier, with service credits available if those targets aren't met. Automated data tiering moves cold data to lower-cost, lower-energy storage automatically, reducing your active storage footprint. Sustainability monitoring is built into the platform, giving IT leaders visibility into their environmental impact alongside performance and cost metrics. For organizations with ESG commitments or internal carbon reduction targets, Keystone provides measurable, contractually backed sustainability accountability.

Keystone offers flexible contract terms ranging from one to five years, giving organizations the ability to align their storage commitment to their business planning horizon. You may adjust capacity or shift spending to the cloud by up to 25% annually within your contract, and you can consolidate data or burst to the cloud without incurring hidden overage charges. Billing is consolidated into a single monthly invoice that covers both on-premises and cloud data storage services, simplifying financial management and supporting predictable IT budgeting.

NetApp's team of specialists manages the full deployment process, including design, build, installation, configuration, and onboarding, according to your contract terms. In most cases, Keystone can be up and running in as little as two weeks. NetApp can also migrate existing data onto Keystone as part of the same engagement. For organizations that want to start with a scoping exercise, NetApp offers a Workload Analysis for Keystone workshop to identify the right use cases, performance tiers, and capacity requirements before committing to a subscription.