NetApp has introduced a next-generation data infrastructure platform called NetApp AFX, designed to support AI-driven enterprises. It is an all-flash, disaggregated storage system that separates performance from capacity, enabling linear scalability and enterprise-grade resilience. Built on the reliable NetApp ONTAP operating system, AFX delivers exabyte-scale performance and intelligent data management with granular, policy-based security that ensures AI systems access only the intended data.
AFX arrives as AI workloads move from experimentation to production, putting unprecedented pressure on legacy storage architectures. “With the new NetApp AFX systems, customers now have a trusted, proven choice in on-premises enterprise storage built on a comprehensive data platform to rapidly propel AI innovation forward,” said Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp.
Disaggregated Architecture Built for AI Scale
The core innovation of NetApp AFX is its disaggregated architecture, which separates the compute layer responsible for I/O and data management from the high-performance NVMe Flash storage layer. This separation enables enterprises to scale performance and capacity independently. Customers can add storage controllers to boost performance and storage enclosures to expand capacity, achieving linear gains as workloads grow.
Enterprises can add AFX 1K or NX224 NVMe enclosures to expand capacity, enabling linear scalability without downtime. Supporting this foundation is the DX50 data compute node, a GPU-powered metadata engine that continuously indexes and manages datasets using SQL queries. Together, these components allow real-time data discovery and management without affecting production workloads, bridging the gap between AI model pipelines and operational data.
AFX connects directly with NetApp AI Data Engine (AIDE). AIDE is a unified platform that manages end-to-end data pipelines using NetApp ONTAP resources. Operating natively within the AFX cluster, AIDE keeps all data synchronized, policy-driven, and ready for AI applications. When used through NetApp Keystone STaaS, organizations access options like AI-optimized performance, pay-as-you-go pricing, and cyber-resilient data protection.
A Unified Platform for Secure, AI-Ready Data
AFX further strengthens NetApp’s established expertise in hybrid cloud integration by providing native ONTAP connections to all major public clouds and seamless data replication through SnapMirror. Support for standard file and object protocols, including NFS (pNFS) and AWS S3 compatibility, enables applications to access AFX without needing proprietary clients. The ONTAP connections are designed to simplify operations and ensure compatibility with SAP environments and other enterprise systems.
From a security standpoint, AFX enhances ONTAP’s advanced data protection and compliance features. It offers multi-factor administrator access, in-flight and data-at-rest encryption, and AI-driven Autonomous Ransomware Protection for continuous monitoring and anomaly detection.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
AI data infrastructure is becoming a key competitive advantage for SAP enterprises. Organizations running SAP S/4HANA or SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) can benefit from high-performance, disaggregated storage architectures that better support AI-driven analytics and automation workloads. Companies like NVIDIA and Omdia have observed early adopters using AFX to unify their data estate for training and inference, enabling faster data access and improved governance across hybrid environments. For SAP professionals, this translates to quicker insights and reduced infrastructure management complexity.
Evaluation criteria now center on scalability, data governance, and interoperability. When assessing AI-ready storage, SAP leaders should prioritize architectures that separate performance from capacity and support industry-standard protocols to reduce integration risk. NetApp’s design, featuring parallel NFS and S3 compatibility, reflects this approach by enabling broad compatibility across enterprise environments. Enterprises adopting such architectures will be better positioned to scale AI workloads while maintaining compliance and observability.
Operational simplicity and security shape the next stage of AI adoption. As AI-driven workloads become embedded in daily SAP operations, the need for unified data management continues to grow. Companies adopting AFX-like architectures are streamlining data curation and compliance processes through automation, reducing reliance on manual oversight and minimizing data silos. For SAPinsiders, this shift means spending less time on routine data handling and more time leveraging AI-ready data to drive strategic business outcomes.
