NetApp bullish on India, to strengthen operations and R&D

Bullish on India, the US-based IT major NetApp has said it will soon introduce the latest storage and data management tools in the country to help domestic enterprises, SME and start-ups grow faster, besides strengthening its research and development centre in Bengaluru.
"We are in the best position to help SMEs as we have the right technology and can assist Indian companies to embrace Cloud and Hybrid Cloud and benefit from the latest technologies," Karthik Ramarao, Chief Technology Officer (APAC), NetApp told PTI on the sidelines of a conference 'Insight 2014' here.
The new offerings from the company like Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3, Cloud ONTAP and OnCommand Cloud Manager, he added, "will help companies grow at faster pace with great cost efficiency. Companies can leapfrog using these tools."

The latest IT tools, he said, would be of immense help to companies in sectors like banking, telecom, manufacturing, IT/ITeS, healthcare and oil and gas.
US-based NetApp is a USD 6.3 billion company with 150 offices around the world. It employees over 12,000 people and has the largest R&D centre at Bengaluru.
Talking about the company's India plans, Ramarao said that the firm was on its way to strengthen its Bengaluru R&D facility which currently employees 2,000 persons and is the single largest research unit of the company.

NetApp, he added, has already acquired land in Bengaluru and was in the process of constructing its own premises in the IT hub of the country.

Elaborating on the latest offering of NetApp, Ramarao said, it would help companies in adopting the technology as well as have data storage as per their needs, with the option of scaling up their requirements.
The upgraded software and tools developed by the company, he added, "will enable users to embrace the hybrid cloud while maintaining control of their data and ensuring choice across a blend of private and public cloud resources."
Cloud in the IT world refers to computing services like software and data storage which can be purchased by users as per their requirement. Hybrid cloud allows users to have control on data stored in cloud.

According to Anil Valluri, President, NetApp India and SAARC Operations, the new offerings, especially hybrid cloud, would immensely help Indian enterprises and cater to their growing needs over the years.
"Hybrid cloud computing leads the way toward a unified cloud computing model. This ideal approach offers the best possible cost efficiency and ensures maximum agility," Valluri added.