Case Study: Japanese IT Service Provider achieves data control and cloud flexibility with NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure

Service Provider Gives Customers Data Control and Cloud Flexibility with NetApp Private Storage for Azure

A Japan-based IT service provider — the first in the country to deploy NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Microsoft Azure — sought to differentiate its hybrid-cloud offerings by giving customers greater storage security and control than public cloud alone. Its main challenge was to improve customer satisfaction and retention by enhancing an SAP development platform for systems-integration teams while using hybrid cloud capabilities to drive new services and business growth across regulated industries.

The company deployed NetApp NPS with FAS8020 storage running clustered Data ONTAP in an Equinix colocation facility and connected it to Azure via ExpressRoute. This architecture accelerated SAP dev/test and consulting engagements, enabled new revenue streams (including dev/test and disaster recovery), improved operational agility without heavy capex, and provided a differentiated, data-controlled cloud option that meets strict industry policies and positions the firm for future multicloud expansion.