NetApp Walks the AI Talk with Google

NetApp has followed the experiences of its customers and adopted Google Gemini Enterprise across the organisation. This is an extension of its existing work with Google. The company says this is about adopting AI-driven operations. Its sales and product teams are the first to make this change, turning themselves into a test case. That means they will have the same experience as customers.

Cesar Cernuda, President at NetApp, said, “AI is an imperative for enterprise success, and NetApp is committed to leading by example.

“Adopting Gemini Enterprise to help accelerate internal sales and development workflows builds on our leadership in enabling enterprise AI innovation. Customers can rely on our expertise and experience as they adopt or build AI to achieve their own goals.” 

Boosting productivity

The goal here for NetApp is productivity. Applying Gemini Enterprise allows it to get the same gains as its customers are reporting. The first, as mentioned, is to apply the technology to its own processes and then use that as an example for customers.

It has already seen its sales ramp time reduced by an estimated month. For both NetApp and its customers, that is significant. The company says, “teams are building intelligent agents that match customers to the right solutions faster and streamline onboarding.”

But it raises questions. Who is saving the month? Is this across all sales teams or specific segments? What does “estimated” actually mean here? Are these agents transferable? Where are the teams getting the training to build these agents? Is there a continuous training process in place for the agents so that they are refined after each deployment? How much of this is specific to each customer?

What makes those questions important is the phrase “onboarding”. It implies that this is about a very specific business case and not a wider productivity gain. For sales, this makes sense. What we don’t know, and the company hasn’t said, is how this impacts product development. That is a more complex area, and the areas for productivity will be different. Hopefully, we will hear more about that later.

There is also a security angle here. NetApp is using Google Security Operations for threat detection and prevention. It is using the platform’s advanced AI-driven automation to speed up response times.

While this is good practice, it means NetApp’s security posture is now tied to Google Cloud’s capabilities. If Gemini Enterprise or Security Operations underperforms, NetApp will also suffer. It would be interesting to know what resilience level NetApp has with other tools in the security space.

Enterprise Times: What does this mean

Vendor credibility in AI is still fragile. Too many companies are pushing AI solutions they haven’t tested internally. NetApp’s move signals something different: we built this, we use it, and it works. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with customers.

Every company talks about dogfooding its own products, but in this case, it is about more than just NetApp’s solutions. Will customers see NetApp’s experiences as valid? How will NetApp use this with its implementation teams? What additional integration points are going to be needed to make this effective?

Partnering with Google for Gemini Enterprise sends a message to customers that NetApp understand their challenges. It also says that no single vendor has all the answers, even with AI. Will customers see this as a positive? It is likely that many will, and they will expect a higher level of knowledge from NetApp teams. That puts pressure on NetApp around continuous education of its own teams and AI development.

Organisations are now moving towards the first generation of AI maturity. Projects are moving from development to production, and teams are beginning to better understand what is happening. The C-Suite wants to see those production systems deliver a measurable ROI. With NetApp saying this is about productivity across their own teams, customers will look to see how that transfers to their business.

There will be one last area that customers will be looking at. No product adoption or migration goes smoothly. Customers will be looking to see what NetApp learns when working with Gemini Enterprise. Importantly, they will then expect NetApp to help them avoid any pitfalls or problems. That is a real ROI and productivity gain for customers.

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