NetApp Enhances Support for Large-Scale AI Workloads

This is a translated summary of a press release announced on June 23 (Tue) in California, USA.

NetApp K.K. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Executive Officer: Chiharu Saito) – NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), an intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced the release of StorageGRID 12.1, designed to help scale AI and modern workloads. This new version introduces a federated global namespace, improving how data is accessed, processed, and managed across distributed environments, and delivering capabilities to support AI data pipelines, data lakes, and modern object-based applications.

Enterprises face rapidly growing unstructured data to support AI workloads, requiring management of that data across widely distributed hybrid environments. According to Forrester's "Object Storage Solutions Landscape, Q1 2026" report, the rise of generative AI is expanding the role of object storage beyond traditional use cases such as storing unstructured data, media, and backups, positioning it increasingly as an AI-optimized data platform. This StorageGRID update addresses these new use cases, enabling organizations to leverage object data for data-intensive workloads like AI while simplifying operations, improving performance, and reducing costs.

"As enterprises strive to extract insights and actions from rapidly growing and distributed unstructured data, they need infrastructure that makes data 'intelligent, accessible, and AI-ready,'" said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Platforms at NetApp. "With StorageGRID 12.1, NetApp further extends the value of our data platform, enabling large-scale data management through a globally unified namespace, while accelerating AI and analytics workloads and maximizing data value."

Key New Features of StorageGRID 12.1

StorageGRID 12.1 enables scaling of AI and modern workloads across globally distributed environments through the following new capabilities:

Global Federated Namespace Enables large-scale operations without redesigning applications or workflows. Multiple StorageGRID systems can be managed as a single namespace, scaling up to 10 exabytes.

Significant Improvements in Performance, Efficiency, and Data Management Delivers up to 400% higher throughput compared to version 12.0, depending on workload and object size. For AI factories, it provides up to 12TB/sec of throughput. Batch processing simplifies operations across billions of objects, and a new feature enables AI agents to track changes since the last scan, enabling the construction of more advanced AI data pipelines.

Enhanced Security and Governance Features Provides robust controls for regulated environments. Multi-admin verification supports both data protection and innovation.

NetApp has been named a Leader in The Forrester WaveTM: Object Storage Solutions, Q2 2026. The report recognized NetApp for having "a compelling vision for enterprise data infrastructure optimized for hybrid, multi-cloud, and data sovereignty use cases," and noted it is "well-suited for large enterprises that need AI-native storage services while managing distributed and highly regulated object data, and maintaining governance and consistency across hybrid environments." This marks Forrester's first Wave evaluation of the object storage market.

Related Information

StorageGRID: Optimizing data with modern object storage

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About NetApp

For over 30 years, NetApp has helped the world's leading enterprises navigate change—from the rise of enterprise storage to the intelligent era defined by data and AI. Today, NetApp is an intelligent data infrastructure company that transforms data into the driving force for innovation, resilience, and growth.

At the core is the NetApp Data Platform—a unified, enterprise-grade intelligent foundation that connects, protects, and activates data across any cloud, workload, and environment. Built on the proven foundation of NetApp ONTAP, the industry-leading data management software/OS, it delivers scalable observability, resilience, and intelligence with automation capabilities through AI Data Engine and AFX.

The NetApp Data Platform separates storage, services, and control in its design, enabling enterprises to modernize faster, scale efficiently, and accelerate innovation without lock-in. As the only enterprise storage platform natively integrated with the world's largest clouds, it provides the freedom to run any workload anywhere with consistent performance, governance, and protection.

NetApp is always preparing data—prepared to defend against threats, to power AI, and to drive the next breakthrough. That's why the world's most advanced enterprises trust NetApp as the partner that turns intelligence into advantage.

For more information, visit https://www.netapp.com/ja/. NetApp K.K. is the Japanese subsidiary of NetApp. Follow NetApp on X, Facebook, and Instagram. NetApp, the NetApp logo, and marks listed at www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.