SecurityBrief UK - Technology news for CISOs & cybersecurity decision-makers
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NetApp, Nvidia release AI-boosting infrastructure to counter threats
Thu, 7th Mar 2024

NetApp, an intelligent data infrastructure company, recently unveiled a high-performing, secure, and simplified infrastructure in collaboration with NVIDIA, thus promising to propel AI potential. The new infrastructure allows NetApp customers to leverage high-performance processing from NVIDIA in creating competitive Gen AI projects.

NetApp also holds the distinction of being the inaugural enterprise storage vendor to formally partner with NVIDIA on the NVIDIA OVX system solution, paving the way for enhanced data infrastructure capabilities. This partnership propels companies to optimise Gen AI, thereby improving operations and strategic decision-making.

Further cementing their innovative offerings in the AI sector, NetApp has also introduced new cyber-resilience capabilities, specifically designed to provide rapid response and recovery to cyber attacks. This innovation comes at a time when ransomware attacks are on the rise, with the UK Government estimating 2.39 million instances of these cyber crimes in 2023 alone. The escalating sophistication of cybercriminals, in part due to advancements in AI, necessitates in-built resilience at every stage. Hence, NetApp's integration of AI and Machine Learning (ML) into enterprise primary storage to address real-time ransomware attacks and to protect primary and secondary data becomes a significant solution for simpler recovery processes.

According to Arunkumar Gururajan, Vice President of Data Science & Research at NetApp, "Our unique approach to AI gives customers complete access and control over their data throughout the data pipeline, moving seamlessly between their public cloud and on-premises environments. By tiering object storage for each phase of the AI process, our customers can optimise both performance and costs exactly where they need them. Our unified approach delivers the performance, productivity, and protection customers need to quickly innovate with AI."

NetApp has announced a series of updates to buttress companies implementing Gen AI for enhancing operations and strategic decision-making. Various initiatives include the NetApp AIPod™, an AI-optimized convergent infrastructure for priority AI projects, new FlexPod for AI reference architectures, and validation for NVIDIA OVX systems. Added to this, NetApp also announces revolutionary new cyber-resilience capabilities, including AI/ML embedded in storage to combat ransomware.

NetApp’s cyber-resilience offerings also features the introduction of ONTAP Autonomous Ransomware Protection with Artificial Intelligence (ARP/AI), NetApp BlueXP Ransomware Protection, Application-Aware Ransomware Protection by way of NetApp SnapCenter 5.0, NetApp BlueXP Disaster Recovery, and the NetApp Keystone Ransomware Recovery Guarantee. These new capabilities illustrate NetApp’s commitment to provide security and resilience to AI-based systems and offer effective countermeasures against the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.

The advanced cyber-resilience updates from NetApp will enable organisations to address cybersecurity threats proactively within intricate hybrid and multicloud environments. It utilises AI to help identify threats and inhibit disruptions to their day-to-day operations. These strides underscore NetApp's commitment to safeguarding enterprises from cyber threats, thereby carving a niche for itself in the AI and data infrastructure domains.