NetApp Extends Virtualization Guarantee

NetApp Extends Virtualization Guarantee to include EMC, IBM, HP, and HDS Storage Systems

Now Customers Can Confidently Improve Efficiency of Existing Third-Party Storage Environments with NetApp V-Series

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – 24 February, 2009 - In an effort to help customers maximise the value of their existing storage investments, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced the industry’s first-ever Guarantee* Program for installed third-party storage. As an addition to NetApp’s existing Virtualization Guarantee Program, which was introduced in September 2008, NetApp is offering a guarantee that customers will decrease their non-NetApp primary storage capacity for virtual server environments by 35% using NetApp® V-Series and deduplication technology.

Now customers have more ways to save with NetApp’s Virtualization Guarantee Program. Customers can take advantage of NetApp’s guarantee that they will use 50% less storage in their VMware®, Citrix, and Microsoft® virtual environments with NetApp storage compared to traditional storage arrays. Alternatively, for customers that already own EMC, IBM, HP, or HDS storage systems, NetApp will reduce redundant copies of their primary data by at least 35% with NetApp V-Series.\

“Customers are stretching their budgets and looking to lower their overall infrastructure costs while minimising the risk of their IT investments,” said Jay Kidd, chief marketing officer of NetApp. “While server virtualization is a way for customers to achieve greater efficiency in the data centre, NetApp further fulfils this promise with our storage efficiency capabilities that help not only save space and cost but also minimise risk of their storage investments. Now we’re assuring customers that they can realise efficiencies with our competitors' storage using NetApp V-Series. No other storage vendor is willing or able to match this guarantee.”

Scott Morris, Director of Partner Sales, NetApp A/NZ, said, “From a local perspective, this new virtualization guarantee benefits both our channel partners and our customers, during difficult economic conditions. It allows our partners to differentiate themselves by building new skill sets and offering customers a better quality of service, via guaranteed savings. Partners can use this opportunity to increase their revenue, while providing customers with a healthier bottom line and a more efficient storage environment.”

Now NetApp customers can achieve greater storage capacity utilisation on inefficient systems that they already purchased and deployed and tap into the unrealised potential of their existing storage infrastructures. NetApp provides the most complete storage efficiency technologies for virtual server environments so that customers can improve protection of their data assets, buy less storage, and reduce their overall power, space, and cooling costs in their data centres.

NetApp V-Series is an open storage controller that unifies NetApp and non-NetApp storage under a common storage architecture. V-Series enables customers to take full advantage of the benefits of the powerful features of Data ONTAP® such as deduplication, thin provisioning, and Snapshot™ technology, to improve storage efficiency and dramatically simplify data management. NetApp deduplication has become one of the fastest growing technologies in the company's history, with more than 28,000 systems deployed across all tiers of data, including primary, backup, and archival.

_Availability and Requirements

Customers anywhere in the world who purchase a new V-Series system for their virtual desktop and server environment, including Citrix XenServer, VMware ESX, and Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V™, can take advantage of this program. If customers don't improve their storage capacity on competitive storage systems by at least 35% with NetApp V-Series and deduplication (and after following established best practices implemented by NetApp Professional Services), NetApp will provide the additional storage capacity needed to meet customers’ shortfall, valued up to 35% of the original controller purchased, at no additional charge*. Qualifying service delivery is available from NetApp Global Services or participating Authorised Professional Service Partners in networked storage for virtualized platforms.

For more information, visit www.netapp.com/guarantee, where you can access program details including FAQs, technical resources, best practices, and the new NetApp Storage Efficiency Calculator to evaluate your current environment and learn how NetApp storage efficiency technologies can lead to higher storage utilisation.

Also, listen to the podcast titled “Use 50% Less Storage with NetApp—Guaranteed,” with Jim Sangster, senior director of Marketing at NetApp, on ways to manage your company’s exponential data growth in a virtualized environment while minimising your storage investment.

To learn more about the latest in NetApp and industry deduplication news, visit NetApp’s Dr. Dedupe Blog at http://blogs.netapp.com/drdedupe/.

Discuss this news in the NetApp Community, where you can exchange thoughts and ideas on a variety of topics with our community members. Collaborate with our company, engage in conversation with NetApp leaders and employees, and participate in our passion to go further, faster. Join now at www.netapp.com/us/communities/.

About NetApp

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

*This guarantee and related Program are limited to the terms set forth in www.netapp.com/guarantee applicable only to prospective orders placed after the Program effective date and are dependent upon your compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in this document and any of the instruction sets and specifications set forth in the referenced documents. NetApp’s sole and exclusive liability and your sole and exclusive remedy associated with the terms of this guarantee and related Program is the provision by NetApp of the additional storage capacity as set forth in this guarantee and related Program.

Disclaimer - Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. NetApp advises readers that these potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: potential fluctuations in operating results; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the company's products; the company’s dependence on a limited number of customers; fluctuations and variances in customers’ overall products, product architectures, and internal configurations; variations in product availability; fluctuations and variations in the virtualization product markets; fluctuations in software development and release schedules, customers’ demand for products and services, changes in partner, channel and vendor relationships, international economic, regulatory, political, and other risks and uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations. More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect the company's operating and financial results is described in NetApp’s Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and other reports filed, or to be filed, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NetApp urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the business and other risks that the company faces. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and the company does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

###

NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster, Data ONTAP, and Snapshot are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Hyper-V is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.

ENDS

© Scoop Media