NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era | Derek Elbert | World Wide Technology

theCUBE.net

Clips
News
More from NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era

Derek Elbert

Technical Solutions Architect

World Wide Technology

Mastering AI data management: How World Wide Technology, NetApp and Nvidia drive enterprise success

Enterprises must excel in artificial intelligence data management to stay competitive, navigating complex, disparate data across various platforms.To help enterprises compete, World Wide Technology LLC integrates solutions in modern data centers, cloud platforms, AI and data strategies in partnership with NetApp Inc. Customers can bring their workload to World Wide Technology to test their hardware, with a focus on AI and Nvidia Corp., Derek Elbert (pictured), technical solutions architect at World Wide Technology, explained.Derek Elbert, technical solutions architect at World Wide Technology, talking to theCUBE about AI data management

play_circle_outline WWT's role as a solutions integrator and its focus on modern data centers and cloud platforms

play_circle_outline Unlocking the Potential: WWT's Advanced Technology Center's AI Partnership with NetApp and NVIDIA

play_circle_outline Success stories of traditional and generative AI solutions

Info

Derek Elbert | World Wide Technology

Derek Elbert

Technical Solutions Architect World Wide Technology

search

>> Good afternoon everyone, and welcome back to theCUBE's live coverage of NetApp Converge here in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm your host, Rebecca Knight, sitting alongside my co-host and analyst, Rob Strechay. Rob, one thing that is so clear about the conversations that we've been having here today on theCUBE is that NetApp has such a strong culture and it really brings that culture to its relationships with its partners and customers too.

>> Absolutely. And I think that is the basis of a lot of what NetApp has been about for decades now, is the fact that it's built with the partners, and going to market with the partners, and really focusing in on that. Which is why it's great to be talking about this afternoon.

>> Speaking of partnerships, we have another new guest here joining us. He's Derek Elbert, he's a technical solutions architect at World Wide Technology. Thank you so much for coming on theCUBE, Derek.

>> Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

>> So let's start, for the unanointed, tell our viewers a little bit about WWT, what you're all about.

>> Yeah, so WWT, if you think about what they're written as is a solutions integrator, but we're honestly a lot more. If you look at how we go to market, there's really seven main solution areas that we go to market, and NetApp plays in a large majority of those. We're talking about modern data centers, so normal compute, storage, networking, and then also in the cloud platform arena with all the cloud providers, plus the AI and data strategy solution area as well. So that's where we've actually been spending quite a bit of time is in that AI and data strategy solution area inside WWT with NetApp.

>> Yeah, let's dig in a little bit deeper in that because I think, again, I've known WWT, having worked with them, like yourself, many times as being at NetApp and other places. And what I always really liked was the innovation that you build a solution with NetApp. It's not just about, "Hey, I'm going to ship you a box. Good luck." It's about how you bring a solution. Let's talk and kind of unpack a little bit that AI solution.

>> So we have something in St. Louis that a lot of other partners or solutions integrators don't have, and that's a Advanced Technology Center. And we've been talking about it for a really long time, but it's a real facility. So we have five data centers in St. Louis. We also connect to all the public cloud providers through Equinix. So we have that co-location facility as well. But that's where we bring in all of the technologies from all of the vendors, right? NetApp has a very large footprint there. There's about 70 NetApp systems there, and that's where we can actually provide a place for customers to come bring their workload to us, allow us to spin that up on our hardware that they are leasing out or renting out in terms of getting the POC off the ground, and then they can actually prove out that the workload that they want to run on their NetApp system, or whatever the system is, will actually run.

>> Yeah. And you were saying that, again, AI is so hot and it's a little bit confusing to some people. We were kind of reflecting on RAG and RAG architecture retrieval, augmented generation for those who don't know what RAG stands for. You guys are really diving into that kind of solution as well with one of the partners who's actually going to be on later today, NVIDIA.

>> Yeah, so good point. So earlier this year, WWT committed a $500 million over five year investment, specifically around AI and NVIDIA. And so with that, inside the Advanced Technology Center, we've carved out what we are calling the AI proving ground. So we've taken what we've already done with the Advanced Technology Center and built it specifically for AI. So all the DGXs that are in there, there's all the storage vendors, network equipment, all of the platforms that make up that entire AI stack. But more importantly, I think NetApp's in a unique position because we have a dedicated environment that has NetApp A800, AFF A800, plus a DGX, and it is all cloud connected, meaning it is connected through BlueXP to FSx for ONTAP and AWS, Azure NetApp Files and Microsoft, and Google Cloud NetApp Volumes. So we've already done all the connection for the customers. And on top of that, we've taken NVIDIA's NeMo framework, carved out a RAG architecture inside of that framework and allowed customers a platform, a chatbot interface to come and test out with enterprise data sources to help augment and make that large language model more authoritative.

>> So what are you hearing from customers? As you said earlier, having this facility really sets you apart. What are they taking away from their experiences?

>> So we find ourselves in a unique position where everybody's talking about AI, and I think there's a small percentage that actually know how to do it or what to do with it. So we have this place where they can come. If they're more advanced, they can actually bring their workload and run it on our hardware and actually test the use case. But usually where we find customers is they are still trying to identify and prioritize what these use cases are. So that's where we have to take a step back and go more into the consultative business solution aspect of WWT and help them actually map out, okay, here's a list of, let's say, 70 use cases. We map them based off complexity and value, and obviously the ones that are of higher value and lower complexity are the ones that the customers should be implementing because they're the ones that they're going to see the most value in. And we've actually done that internally with our own set of tools and use cases. And all of ours are based around employee experience. But we showcase them to our customers and they go, "Oh, I think we can do that as well. So teach me how you did it." So it's really about us proving out to ourselves that we can have these use cases and do it, and then show it to the customers that are still trying to identify the use cases, and make sure that they can build them out as well and actually help them do that.

>> So again, WWT and NetApp have had a long-standing relationship. How are you using NetApp's, I would say features and tools and platforms, to really address some of your joint customers challenges? How are you using BlueXP and other things?

>> Good point. So I mentioned that we're all cloud-connected through BlueXP, but I think where that plays a big piece is, so NetApp has a lot of out-of-the-box security features built into ONTAP, whether it's autonomous ransomware protection, snapshots, the ability to replicate to another ONTAP system, whether that's in the cloud or in another data center. So all those things we can showcase the customers in order to add a layer of data protection and security, or cyber resiliency, to their data. So when they're in a scenario where they're using a chatbot and they have RAG with enterprise data sources, they can actually ensure that those enterprise data sources are secure, number one. And then with the other portfolio products inside BlueXP, such as classification, they can actually look at that individual volume that they're ingesting into RAG and make sure that the data that's in there has no PII or no PSI, and that the data is governed and compliant, and meets all the standards that the customer needs to ensure that their RAG environment is secure and compliant. And we can showcase all of that with everything that we have built out. That's a unique position.

>> You really describe that this is such a journey for so many different customers who are at various points in terms of where they are with AI. How are you working with them to determine exactly... I mean, as you described, using the use cases, are there some success stories that you want to share about customers saying, "Oh, yeah, that's going to work and that's really going to make a difference"?

>> Yeah. So we have a lot of success stories already. So WWT's been doing AI for about maybe a little over a decade. And most of the use cases that we have are traditional applied AI, not the newer generative AI solutions. But we have started evolving the solutions on industry specifics, whether it's global financials or healthcare and life sciences, or whether it's retail. There's a story that we can help them tell. And part of that is because we have such a good relationship, not just with NetApp, but also with NVIDIA, that we can go in as a trio and present to the customer a full solution where we are providing the consultative business value of the actual hardware and software stack that NetApp and NVIDIA bring to bear, but we can actually show that to the customer and take it to market.

>> No, I think that, to me, is one of the keys. So just to kind of bring it home, there was a lot of announcements today. How do you foresee these announcements being applied as you go back home and get with the rest of the crew at... Because you guys had probably seen these before, but as a roadmap. And now they're here and you're going to go and apply these for customers.

>> So the biggest thing with the new AFF, ASA, and the unified platform, is performance. And that was one piece of, if you start talking SuperPOD and performant workloads for AI, there was always kind of a question mark, right? Like, yeah, NetApp has performance solutions, but are they as performant as X competitor? Whatever that competitor may be. And now I think with the new announcements, they put themselves a step-up in that category so that not only can NetApp talk about the ability to secure, provide a layer of compliance to the data, to manage the data, and the mobility of that data, that whole data management layer, but now let's talk about performance too with the new systems, because that's entirely what they're built for.

>> Excellent. Well, Derek Elbert, thank you so much for coming on theCUBE. A great conversation.

>> Yeah, thanks for having me.

>> I'm Rebecca Knight. For Rob Strechay, stay tuned for more of theCUBE's live coverage of NetApp Converge. You're watching theCUBE, the leader in technology enterprise news and analysis.

Derek Elbert | World Wide Technology

search

>> Good afternoon everyone, and welcome back to theCUBE's live coverage of NetApp Converge here in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm your host, Rebecca Knight, sitting alongside my co-host and analyst, Rob Strechay. Rob, one thing that is so clear about the conversations that we've been having here today on theCUBE is that NetApp has such a strong culture and it really brings that culture to its relationships with its partners and customers too.

>> Absolutely. And I think that is the basis of a lot of what NetApp has been about for decades now, is the fact that it's built with the partners, and going to market with the partners, and really focusing in on that. Which is why it's great to be talking about this afternoon.

>> Speaking of partnerships, we have another new guest here joining us. He's Derek Elbert, he's a technical solutions architect at World Wide Technology. Thank you so much for coming on theCUBE, Derek.

>> Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

>> So let's start, for the unanointed, tell our viewers a little bit about WWT, what you're all about.

>> Yeah, so WWT, if you think about what they're written as is a solutions integrator, but we're honestly a lot more. If you look at how we go to market, there's really seven main solution areas that we go to market, and NetApp plays in a large majority of those. We're talking about modern data centers, so normal compute, storage, networking, and then also in the cloud platform arena with all the cloud providers, plus the AI and data strategy solution area as well. So that's where we've actually been spending quite a bit of time is in that AI and data strategy solution area inside WWT with NetApp.

>> Yeah, let's dig in a little bit deeper in that because I think, again, I've known WWT, having worked with them, like yourself, many times as being at NetApp and other places. And what I always really liked was the innovation that you build a solution with NetApp. It's not just about, "Hey, I'm going to ship you a box. Good luck." It's about how you bring a solution. Let's talk and kind of unpack a little bit that AI solution.

>> So we have something in St. Louis that a lot of other partners or solutions integrators don't have, and that's a Advanced Technology Center. And we've been talking about it for a really long time, but it's a real facility. So we have five data centers in St. Louis. We also connect to all the public cloud providers through Equinix. So we have that co-location facility as well. But that's where we bring in all of the technologies from all of the vendors, right? NetApp has a very large footprint there. There's about 70 NetApp systems there, and that's where we can actually provide a place for customers to come bring their workload to us, allow us to spin that up on our hardware that they are leasing out or renting out in terms of getting the POC off the ground, and then they can actually prove out that the workload that they want to run on their NetApp system, or whatever the system is, will actually run.

>> Yeah. And you were saying that, again, AI is so hot and it's a little bit confusing to some people. We were kind of reflecting on RAG and RAG architecture retrieval, augmented generation for those who don't know what RAG stands for. You guys are really diving into that kind of solution as well with one of the partners who's actually going to be on later today, NVIDIA.

>> Yeah, so good point. So earlier this year, WWT committed a $500 million over five year investment, specifically around AI and NVIDIA. And so with that, inside the Advanced Technology Center, we've carved out what we are calling the AI proving ground. So we've taken what we've already done with the Advanced Technology Center and built it specifically for AI. So all the DGXs that are in there, there's all the storage vendors, network equipment, all of the platforms that make up that entire AI stack. But more importantly, I think NetApp's in a unique position because we have a dedicated environment that has NetApp A800, AFF A800, plus a DGX, and it is all cloud connected, meaning it is connected through BlueXP to FSx for ONTAP and AWS, Azure NetApp Files and Microsoft, and Google Cloud NetApp Volumes. So we've already done all the connection for the customers. And on top of that, we've taken NVIDIA's NeMo framework, carved out a RAG architecture inside of that framework and allowed customers a platform, a chatbot interface to come and test out with enterprise data sources to help augment and make that large language model more authoritative.

>> So what are you hearing from customers? As you said earlier, having this facility really sets you apart. What are they taking away from their experiences?

>> So we find ourselves in a unique position where everybody's talking about AI, and I think there's a small percentage that actually know how to do it or what to do with it. So we have this place where they can come. If they're more advanced, they can actually bring their workload and run it on our hardware and actually test the use case. But usually where we find customers is they are still trying to identify and prioritize what these use cases are. So that's where we have to take a step back and go more into the consultative business solution aspect of WWT and help them actually map out, okay, here's a list of, let's say, 70 use cases. We map them based off complexity and value, and obviously the ones that are of higher value and lower complexity are the ones that the customers should be implementing because they're the ones that they're going to see the most value in. And we've actually done that internally with our own set of tools and use cases. And all of ours are based around employee experience. But we showcase them to our customers and they go, "Oh, I think we can do that as well. So teach me how you did it." So it's really about us proving out to ourselves that we can have these use cases and do it, and then show it to the customers that are still trying to identify the use cases, and make sure that they can build them out as well and actually help them do that.

>> So again, WWT and NetApp have had a long-standing relationship. How are you using NetApp's, I would say features and tools and platforms, to really address some of your joint customers challenges? How are you using BlueXP and other things?

>> Good point. So I mentioned that we're all cloud-connected through BlueXP, but I think where that plays a big piece is, so NetApp has a lot of out-of-the-box security features built into ONTAP, whether it's autonomous ransomware protection, snapshots, the ability to replicate to another ONTAP system, whether that's in the cloud or in another data center. So all those things we can showcase the customers in order to add a layer of data protection and security, or cyber resiliency, to their data. So when they're in a scenario where they're using a chatbot and they have RAG with enterprise data sources, they can actually ensure that those enterprise data sources are secure, number one. And then with the other portfolio products inside BlueXP, such as classification, they can actually look at that individual volume that they're ingesting into RAG and make sure that the data that's in there has no PII or no PSI, and that the data is governed and compliant, and meets all the standards that the customer needs to ensure that their RAG environment is secure and compliant. And we can showcase all of that with everything that we have built out. That's a unique position.

>> You really describe that this is such a journey for so many different customers who are at various points in terms of where they are with AI. How are you working with them to determine exactly... I mean, as you described, using the use cases, are there some success stories that you want to share about customers saying, "Oh, yeah, that's going to work and that's really going to make a difference"?

>> Yeah. So we have a lot of success stories already. So WWT's been doing AI for about maybe a little over a decade. And most of the use cases that we have are traditional applied AI, not the newer generative AI solutions. But we have started evolving the solutions on industry specifics, whether it's global financials or healthcare and life sciences, or whether it's retail. There's a story that we can help them tell. And part of that is because we have such a good relationship, not just with NetApp, but also with NVIDIA, that we can go in as a trio and present to the customer a full solution where we are providing the consultative business value of the actual hardware and software stack that NetApp and NVIDIA bring to bear, but we can actually show that to the customer and take it to market.

>> No, I think that, to me, is one of the keys. So just to kind of bring it home, there was a lot of announcements today. How do you foresee these announcements being applied as you go back home and get with the rest of the crew at... Because you guys had probably seen these before, but as a roadmap. And now they're here and you're going to go and apply these for customers.

>> So the biggest thing with the new AFF, ASA, and the unified platform, is performance. And that was one piece of, if you start talking SuperPOD and performant workloads for AI, there was always kind of a question mark, right? Like, yeah, NetApp has performance solutions, but are they as performant as X competitor? Whatever that competitor may be. And now I think with the new announcements, they put themselves a step-up in that category so that not only can NetApp talk about the ability to secure, provide a layer of compliance to the data, to manage the data, and the mobility of that data, that whole data management layer, but now let's talk about performance too with the new systems, because that's entirely what they're built for.

>> Excellent. Well, Derek Elbert, thank you so much for coming on theCUBE. A great conversation.

>> Yeah, thanks for having me.

>> I'm Rebecca Knight. For Rob Strechay, stay tuned for more of theCUBE's live coverage of NetApp Converge. You're watching theCUBE, the leader in technology enterprise news and analysis.