NetApp Empowers Secure Cloud Sovereignty with StorageGRID

• NetApp introduces StorageGRID for VMware Sovereign Cloud, enhancing data storage and security for sovereign cloud customers.
• NetApp's Object Storage plugin for VMware Cloud Director enables seamless integration of StorageGRID for secure Object Storage for unstructured data.
• NetApp's Sovereign Cloud integration ensures data sovereignty, security, and data value while adhering to regulatory standards.

NetApp, a prominent global cloud-led, data-centric software company, has recently introduced NetApp StorageGRID for VMware Sovereign Cloud. This NetApp plugin offering for VMware Cloud Director Object Storage Extension empowers sovereign cloud customers to cost-efficiently secure, store, protect, and preserve unstructured data while adhering to global data privacy and residency regulations. Additionally, NetApp has also unveiled the latest release of NetApp ONTAP Tools for VMware vSphere (OTV 10.0), which is designed to streamline and centralize enterprise data management within multi-tenant vSphere environments.

The concept of sovereignty has emerged as a vital facet of cloud computing for entities that handle highly sensitive data, including national and state governments, as well as tightly regulated sectors like finance and healthcare. In this context, national governments are increasingly exploring ways to enhance their digital economic capabilities and reduce their reliance on multinational corporations for cloud services.

NetApp's newly introduced Object Storage plugin for VMware Cloud Director offers Cloud Service Providers a seamless means to integrate StorageGRID as their primary Object Storage solution to provide secure Object Storage for unstructured data to their customers. This integration provides StorageGRID services into the familiar VMware Cloud Director user interface, thereby minimizing training requirements and accelerating time to revenue for partners. A noteworthy feature of StorageGRID is its universal compatibility and native support for industry-standard APIs, such as the Amazon S3 API, facilitating smooth interoperability across diverse cloud environments. Enhanced functionalities like automated lifecycle management further ensure cost-effective data protection, storage, and high availability for unstructured data within VMware environments.

The integration of NetApp's Sovereign Cloud with Cloud Director empowers providers to offer customers:

• Robust assurance that sensitive data, including metadata, remains under sovereign control, safeguarding against potential access by foreign authorities that may infringe upon data privacy laws.
• Heightened security and compliance measures that protect applications and data from evolving cybersecurity threats, all while maintaining continuous compliance with infrastructure, trusted local, established frameworks, and local experts.
• A future-proof infrastructure capable of swiftly reacting to evolving data privacy regulations, security challenges, and geopolitical dynamics.
• The ability to unlock the value of data through secure data sharing and analysis, fostering innovation without compromising privacy laws and ensuring data integrity to derive accurate insights.

VMware Sovereign Cloud providers are dedicated to designing and operating cloud solutions rooted in modern, software-defined architectures that embody the core principles and best practices outlined in the VMware Sovereign Cloud framework. Workloads within VMware Sovereign Cloud environments are often characterized by a diverse range of data sets, including transactional workloads and substantial volumes of unstructured data, all requiring cost-effective and integrated management that is compliant with regulated standards for sovereign and regulated customers.

In addition to the aforementioned advancements, NetApp also announced a collaborative effort with VMware aimed at modernizing API integrations between NetApp ONTAP and VMware vSphere. This integration empowers VMware administrators to streamline the management and operations of NetApp ONTAP-based data management platforms within multi-tenant vSphere environments, all while allowing users to leverage a new micro-services-based architecture that offers enhanced scalability and availability. With the latest releases of NetApp ONTAP and ONTAP Tools for vSphere, NetApp has significantly made protection, provisioning, and securing modern VMware environments at scale faster and easier, all while maintaining a centralized point of visibility and control through vSphere.

NetApp ONTAP Tools for VMware provides two key benefits to customers:

• A redefined architecture featuring VMware vSphere APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) integration, simplifying policy-driven operations and enabling cloud-like scalability.
• An automation-enabled framework driven by an API-first approach, allowing IT teams to seamlessly integrate with existing tools and construct end-to-end workflows for easy consumption of features and capabilities.