SAN JOSE, CALIF. -- NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Google Cloud with the integration of unified data storage and intelligent services into the Google Distributed Cloud architecture. This integration empowers organizations, especially in the public sector and regulated industries, to leverage AI-ready infrastructure while maintaining high standards for security and strict regulatory compliance.

Highly regulated organizations such as those in the government, manufacturing, telecom and retail sectors, want to drive innovation by tapping into AI, but emerging regulations such as data sovereignty and consumer privacy laws are creating new hurdles for organizations as they modernize their IT workloads. These organizations need to ensure that they are protecting and governing their data appropriately to overcome these challenges. NetApp’s collaboration with Google Cloud to provide the foundational data storage for Google Distributed Cloud offerings empowers organizations to innovate confidently and manage data effectively, enabling compliance and supporting application development in a secure environment.

Google Distributed Cloud extends customers’ cloud infrastructure and services to the places customers need them, including on-premises data centers and network edges. This enables customers to leverage cloud technology and applications—including AI capabilities—while maintaining more control over their IT environments by bringing the cloud closer to where their data is generated or creating air-gapped environments that limit or eliminate outside connections. Intelligent data infrastructure from NetApp further enhances these environments with its NetApp ONTAP® and StorageGRID solutions which give customers better control over their data to efficiently scale their workloads and leverage AI, while helping maintain security and regulatory compliance. Google Distributed Cloud also leverages these capabilities to support its own services including databases, AI and analytics.

“By working together, Google Distributed Cloud and NetApp are putting AI-innovation in reach, even as organizations navigate new regulatory requirements that make data security and compliance more challenging,” said Cesar Cernuda, President at NetApp. “NetApp is a trusted partner for organizations seeking innovative and compliant data management solutions. With solutions powered by NetApp intelligent data infrastructure, Google Distributed Cloud can offer AI-ready solutions tailored for the public sector and regulated industries.”

With this collaboration, customers can reduce their reliance on disparate solutions across their cloud, data center and edge environments with strong compliance and security. This reduces complexity and increases agility, allowing customers to deploy and manage distributed cloud solutions more easily to keep up with emerging trends and respond to changes in their operating environment.

“Our partnership with NetApp on Google Distributed Cloud has enabled us to provide customers with a platform such that organizations can benefit from localized processing, rapid scalability to meet changing demands, and enhanced security,” said Sameet Agarwal, General Manager and Vice President of Storage at Google Cloud. “These capabilities equip organizations in regulated sectors to effectively address their need for data-driven innovation as they tap into emerging technology like AI.”