NetApp Joins Commission of Experts to Provide U.S. Government With Road Map to the Cloud

Cloud Technology Is Fundamental to America's Continued Growth and Success; Many Government Organizations Already Leveraging NetApp as Foundation for the Cloud

| Source: NetApp, Inc. NetApp, Inc.

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 28, 2011) - The pathway to the cloud for the U.S. government is critical to America's continued growth and ability to provide new opportunities for government organizations, businesses, and citizens alike. Earlier this week, Greg Gardner, NetApp's chief architect for government solutions, joined a select group of experts from the commercial and public sectors to deliver the highly anticipated report from the Commission on the Leadership Opportunity in U.S. Deployment of the Cloud (CLOUD2). The report, which was organized by the TechAmerica Foundation, provides detailed recommendations to help the U.S. government adopt cloud computing technologies and take the necessary policy steps to keep the U.S. at the forefront of innovation to foster economic growth and enable America to remain competitive within today's global economy. The CLOUD2 Commission was created in an effort to further the Obama Administrations' Cloud First Policy.

"The CLOUD2 report helps government policy makers clarify what cloud computing is and how it can best be leveraged for both public and private sector value. The report provides very finite and prescriptive recommendations," said Gardner. "It addresses the ubiquity of a cloud computing solution, the value of moving to the cloud, the fact that cloud computing is not for everyone, and specific security concerns. Continued innovation and leadership from IT vendors like NetApp are critical to accelerating cloud adoption at all levels of government and enable our country to take full advantage of the efficiencies and benefits cloud technology provides."

NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today is already at the forefront of the government's transition to the cloud and is considered an innovation leader within the IT sector. Many government organizations have turned to NetApp to help them make the transition to a flexible and efficient shared IT infrastructure, which is the foundation for cloud computing. Furthermore, Forbes magazine recently named NetApp one of the world's most innovative companies, and NetApp was the only major storage vendor to make the list. Through its leadership and experience in the federal space and partnerships with leading global service providers and federal system integrators, NetApp is ideally positioned to help simplify the transition and enable the government to more quickly and effectively take advantage of cloud technology.

"Cloud computing represents a tremendous opportunity for the federal government to ensure that America remains a global innovation leader," said Mark Weber, president, NetApp U. S. Public Sector. "NetApp is in lockstep with the recommendations set forth in the report. We are committed to continuing to work with the U.S. government to provide the technology, solutions, services, and education to remain a trusted advisor to enable the government to transition to the cloud with confidence."

Key recommendations and highlights from the report include:

  • CLOUD2 recommends that industry and government leaders provide long-term security and assurance frameworks.
    • NetApp has developed the industry's first secure multi-tenant solution that is integrated, validated, and tested in collaboration with best-in-class partners Cisco and VMware. The solution enables government organizations to host multiple tenants on a shared infrastructure and dynamically scale up or down to meet changing demand, all while keeping information secure and isolated. This solution has already been integrated into the Lockheed Martin BlackCloud™ solution, which was made publicly available to government organizations in June 2011.
    • NetApp partners with best-in-class service providers who focus on the most stringent security and data protection needs of the U.S. government.
    • NetApp also helps government organizations protect against data loss with enterprise-class data protection and high-availability technologies.
  • CLOUD2 recommends that industry and government organizations embrace the modernization of broadband infrastructure and the current move to IPv6.
    • In 2010, NetApp was the first storage vendor to declare conformity with the host profile for U.S. government acquisition of Internet Protocol version 6 (USGv6). IPv6 enables computers to more effectively communicate with one another via the Internet, which is fundamental to a successful cloud environment. By becoming the first storage vendor to declare conformity with the profile and incorporate the technology into subsequent products and solutions, NetApp continues to demonstrate leadership and commitment to enabling government cloud adoption.
  • CLOUD2 recommends that cloud service providers publicly disclose information about relevant operational aspects of their services, including performance, security, interoperability, and reliability.
    • NetApp supports and provides the storage foundation for its global service provider partners who build cloud services based on best-in-class technologies and standards, providing government organizations with industry-leading and reliable cloud technologies and services. NetApp does not endorse proprietary cloud services as many of its competitors do.
  • CLOUD2 recommends that government and industry IT personnel provide education and training on technical, business, and policy issues around acquisition, deployment, and operation of cloud services.
    • NetApp University provides curricula, learning resources, and certification credentials that quickly and effectively prepare end users to administer the most innovative and advanced cloud products and solutions. In fact, NetApp University provides courses in enabling storage virtualization, a necessary first step in making the transition to the cloud, for both military personnel and government civilians at the U.S. Army's School of Information Technology at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
    • The NetApp Academic Alliances Program helps universities and colleges develop courses and curricula to address the future of IT, including cloud computing and virtualization, to enable a future generation of cloud experts.

Additional Resources

About NetApp
NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions that accelerate business breakthroughs and deliver outstanding cost efficiency. Discover NetApp's passion for helping companies around the world go further, faster at www.netapp.com.

NetApp, the NetApp logo and Go further, faster are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. Use of the term "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership between NetApp and any other company.

Contact Information:

Press Contact:
Ryan Lowry
NetApp
(408) 822-7544
ryan.lowry@netapp.com

Tags

NetApp NTAP NetApp Data Storage NetApp Virtualization NetApp Storage Efficiency

Related Links