TechONTAPPodcast

AI success starts with data.

As organizations race to deploy AI initiatives, many discover that the biggest challenges aren't GPUs or models—they're data governance, data quality, compliance, and managing information across hybrid environments.

In this episode of the Tech ONTAP Podcast, Justin Parisi is joined by Ahmed Al-Nabhani, Senior Solutions Engineer at NetApp, to discuss how enterprises across the GCC region are modernizing their data infrastructure to support AI at scale.

In this episode, Arindam Banerjee and Jeff Baxter join us to discuss disaggregated ONTAP, also known as AFX.

We discuss how disaggregated ONTAP separates storage compute from storage capacity, allowing customers to scale performance and capacity independently. This architecture is designed for modern workloads such as AI, machine learning, EDA, media and entertainment, and large-scale unstructured data environments.

Backup isn’t just about copies anymore—it’s about resilience, efficiency, and simplicity at scale. From ransomware concerns to long-term retention and multi-cloud complexity, traditional backup approaches are struggling to keep up.

In this episode of the Tech ONTAP Podcast, host Justin Parisi is joined by Manohar Kulkarni and Ebin Kadavy to explore how NetApp Backup and Recovery is redefining data protection with a modern, SaaS-based approach.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• 🔐 How NetApp delivers secure 3-2-1 backup with long-term retention for databases, VMs, and NAS workloads
• ☁️ Why a fully managed service eliminates upgrade headaches and reduces operational risk
• ⚡ How snapshot-based backups provide faster RPO/RTO, space efficiency, and near-instant recovery
• 🛡️ How security is built in with encryption, outbound-only connectivity, and ransomware-ready architecture
• 📊 What visibility you get with dashboards, efficiency metrics, and scaling to 20,000+ VMs per agent
• 🔄 How to migrate from SnapCenter with a seamless, one-click transition
Whether you’re protecting enterprise databases, virtualized environments, or planning for long-term compliance, this episode breaks down how to simplify backup while improving performance and security.

When moving data into or out of the cloud, the real cost isn’t storage, but latency, egress fees, and lost flexibility. For instance, if you spin up AI workloads in one cloud and inference in another, what happens when your data can’t move fast enough to keep GPUs busy? What’s the cost?

These are the challenges enterprises are running into right now as hybrid, multi-cloud, and AI architectures collide.

On the latest Tech ONTAP Podcast, Justin Parisi is joined by Glenn Dekheyser (Equinix) to unpack why private interconnectivity and data movement are now as critical as storage and compute.

As artificial intelligence reshapes cybersecurity, organizations are being forced to rethink data sovereignty, trust, and resilience. In this episode, we sit down with Adam Gale, Field CTO for Cybersecurity and AI at NetApp, to explore how AI, security, and geopolitics are colliding in today’s digital infrastructure.

This conversation goes beyond theory to discuss real-world challenges and decisions organizations are facing right now.

\In this episode, we cover:
• How AI is being used in modern cybersecurity
• Why “human in the loop” still matters for critical decisions
• What data sovereignty really means—and why it’s not one-size-fits-all
• The role of encryption and key ownership in protecting data
• Real-world examples of dark sites, resilience, and infrastructure disruptions
• Why trust and transparency are essential in security platforms

With AI accelerating and regulations evolving worldwide, data sovereignty is no longer just a compliance issue—it’s becoming a strategic and board-level concern.