Data storage provider NetApp targets smaller enterprises with new AFF series hardware, aiming to bring enterprise capabilities to cost-conscious buyers.
As organisations generate more data than ever through AI workloads, while ransomware threats and regulatory compliance requirements demand robust protection measures, the data storage market faces unprecedented pressures. Traditional storage architectures, based on mechanical hard drives, struggle to deliver the performance needed for modern applications.
All-flash storage arrays – which use solid state drives instead of spinning disks – have emerged as a solution to these challenges, but the technology has traditionally carried a premium price tag that put it beyond reach of many mid-sized organisations, creating a gap in the market between basic storage systems and enterprise-grade arrays.
Now, NetApp – a provider of enterprise data storage systems and cloud management software – has introduced new mid-range storage hardware aimed at organisations seeking to modernise their data centres without enterprise-level budgets.
The company’s new AFF A-Series and C-Series systems represent an expansion of NetApp’s all-flash storage portfolio, which uses solid state drives rather than traditional spinning disks for improved performance. The systems are designed to handle workloads including database applications and AI processing.
Enterprise features at mid-market scale
The AFF A20, A30 and A50 models bring capabilities previously reserved for larger systems to organisations with smaller storage requirements. The systems offer response times of less than one millisecond and include built-in protection against ransomware attacks, which the company states is 99% accurate in detecting threats.
For organisations beginning their storage modernisation, the AFF A20 starts at 15.35 terabytes of capacity. The A30 can scale to over one petabyte of raw storage, while the A50 provides twice the performance of its predecessor model in a more compact form factor.
Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Storage at NetApp, says: “Customers facing these challenges can rely on NetApp to deliver continuous innovation, illustrated by the release of the new more powerful, intelligent and secure NetApp AFF A-Series systems and the new scalable, efficient, and secure NetApp AFF C-Series systems.”
Efficiency and consolidation
The C-Series systems, comprising the C30, C60 and C80 models, focus on general-purpose workloads across file, block and object storage protocols. These systems can provide 1.5 petabytes of storage capacity in a two-rack configuration, with NetApp claiming the systems reduce floor space requirements by 95% compared to hybrid flash alternatives.
The systems run on NetApp ONTAP, the company’s data management software platform, which enables organisations to manage mission-critical applications and general-purpose workloads while moving data between different storage tiers as needed.
German financial technology services provider Atruvia AG has deployed the new systems. Oliver Fuckner, System Engineer at Atruvia AG, says: “Modernising our data storage onto NetApp AFF C-Series all-flash systems enabled us to consolidate our data centres with an 80% reduction in rack space. The power and efficiency of flash storage has enabled us to modernise our workloads and more easily condense the physical space required for our data.”
Object storage developments
NetApp has also updated its StorageGRID object storage platform, which provides a system for storing unstructured data such as images and documents. The StorageGRID 11.9 software release includes increased storage bucket capacity and new options for separating metadata and data storage nodes.
KEY FACTS
- First mid-range systems with enterprise features
- Targets organisations starting storage modernisation
- Support for AI and database workloads
The company has added support for 60 terabyte flash drives to its SGF6112 storage system, doubling the storage density of object deployments. This enhancement aims to support organisations modernising their data lake environments and artificial intelligence implementations.
Market significance
IDC, the technology market research firm, views the release as significant for smaller enterprises seeking enterprise-grade storage capabilities. The new systems enable organisations to start with smaller deployments and scale up as needed, while maintaining access to advanced data management features.
Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Infrastructure Research at IDC, says: “You don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company to access high-performance all-flash storage systems with advanced data management and protection capabilities. Businesses can now find a NetApp offering at a price point that meets their specific needs while benefiting from a single unified data storage ecosystem to streamline their operations.”
The broader context for these releases is the growing challenge of data management across enterprises of all sizes. Sandeep Singh notes: “The unrelenting growth of data volumes and increasingly demanding workloads have put increasing pressure on IT teams of any size to provide simplicity at scale for all their workloads.”
