How Do You Make Multicloud Work For You with NetApp?

In an engaging Q&A session with Jeff Baxter, the Sr. Director of Product Marketing, and Phoebe Goh, the Principal Architect and Cloud Evangelist at NetApp, the complexities of navigating a multicloud environment and strategies for effectively harnessing its potential were explored. The conversation began with an analogy likening the multitude of available cloud services to the numerous streaming services we use today. Just as we manage multiple streaming subscriptions, businesses leverage multiple cloud providers to utilize their unique capabilities, which introduces a layer of complexity when it comes to cost management, security, and data sovereignty. The key, as discussed, is moving away from an ad-hoc approach to a purposeful strategy in managing multicloud environments to fully leverage the benefits while minimizing inefficiencies and unexpected costs.

Jeff Baxter, with his 15 years of experience at NetApp transitioning through various roles from systems engineer to product management and now marketing, provided insights into how NetApp is positioned to support enterprises in this multicloud journey. According to Baxter, a hybrid multicloud setup often still ties back to some on-premises data center interaction, reflecting the reality that most large-scale enterprises view cloud as an extension rather than a replacement. As cloud adoption is projected to grow, with a significant increase in enterprises engaging with three or more clouds, NetApp continues to focus on enabling businesses to seamlessly manage and operate across these varied environments. The focus on purposeful multicloud usage implies that enterprises should intentionally select cloud services to drive business outcomes rather than letting happenstance dictate their cloud strategy.

The session also delved into the broader concepts of cloud computing, including definitions that extend beyond infrastructure as a service to encompass software as a service, and the important interplays between private and public clouds. The importance of platform engineering and managing data across a spectrum of environments, including edge computing and hybrid models, was highlighted. Goh and Baxter noted that understanding and integrating data workflows across these varied domains are crucial and that there’s an evolution towards platform-agnostic, service-oriented infrastructures. Through this lens, NetApp sees its role as providing visibility and support for data governance, compliance, and privacy, thus enabling organizations to take charge of their multicloud strategy with confidence and foresight.

Visit netapp.com/cloud-services/multicloud/ for more information.