Azure Files vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP comparison

Microsoft and NetApp are both solutions in the Cloud Storage category. Microsoft is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while NetApp is ranked #9 with an average rating of 9.5. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Azure Files

Read 2 Azure Files reviews

592 Views
474 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Read 64 NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP reviews

9,473 Views
3,316 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Azure Files

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure Files and NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Cloud Storage solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

August 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Azure Files

Ranking in Cloud Storage

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (24th)

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Ranking in Cloud Storage

9th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (3rd), Cloud Backup (27th), Public Cloud Storage Services (11th), Cloud Software Defined Storage (2nd)

Featured Reviews

Yogesh Autade

Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited

Centralized file sharing has improved security and compliance but still needs better analytics

From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns. We would also prefer more streamlined management for large-scale development deployments, better monitoring of SMB and NFS performance issues, and deeper integration of storage analytics to help identify bottlenecks and optimize cost efficiency. Another area where Azure Files could improve is the administrative experience for hybrid environments. More intuitive troubleshooting for authentication, SMB connectivity, and synchronization-related issues would help reduce operational efforts. Enhanced reporting, proactive recommendations, and clearer root cause analysis and diagnostics would also be valuable for storage and infrastructure teams managing large deployments.

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reviewer5948293

Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Offers performance control and cloud integration while supporting data management with granular flexibility

The scalability of NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is interesting. We have thought about it, but we haven't used it. I think the scalability is something you scale up rather than respond to peak demand. It wouldn't help with outages either; the scaling is manual, and there are no processes we've used to automate that for unexpected scenarios. We like the scalability; it's enough for what we're planning to use, but we haven't used any advanced features. The standard platform is NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, which is their cloud service. In fact, that's probably the most experience I have with NetApp. I've experienced it on-premise, but kind of secondhand.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"If we need to migrate data, Azure Files allows a seamless data migration."

"We see a clear return on investment with Azure Files, primarily through reduced infrastructure management effort and improved operational efficiency."

"It offers ease of use and a comprehensive suite of applications, including features like SnapMirror, SnapVault, and unified snapshot management, all bundled into a single product."

"I like how you can easily pair on-prem with the cloud and the cloud backup feature. I like the whole integration with on-prem and the cloud for SnapMirror relationships."

"The solution’s unified file and block-storage access across our infrastructure is invaluable. Without it, we can't do what we do."

"Snapshots are one valuable feature within ONTAP, but CVO's appeal is that it acts just like the on-prem solution. It's the same OS, but in the cloud. We can continue to use ONTAP as we did on-premise."

"If your organization is looking for cost savings, NetApp is the way to go."

"Multiprotocol is the most valuable because Amazon was not able to provide us with access to the same data from Linux and from Windows clients. That was our value proposition for CVO, Cloud Volumes ONTAP."

"I would recommend NetApp any day, at any time, because there's so much hard work in it."

"It's very easy to set up, and within 40 minutes, you can apply storage notes in Azure."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pros

Cons

"I think if Azure Files could integrate migration using Storage Mover, that would be an improvement."

"From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns."

"I would like some more performance matrices to know what it is doing. It has some matrices inherent to the Cloud Volumes ONTAP. But inside Cloud Manager, it would also be nice to see. You can have a little Snapshot, then drill down if you go a little deeper."

"NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP needs to have customizable pricing options such as 10 TB increments. They seem to have only two options: 10 TB or 250 TB."

"The support is good in general but the initial, frontline support could be improved."

"The only area for improvement would be some guidance in terms of the future products that NetApp is planning on releasing. I would like to see communication around that or advice such as, "Hey, the world is moving towards this particular trend, and NetApp can help you do that." I do get promotional emails from NetApp, but customer-specific advice would be helpful, based on our use cases."

"I think the challenge now is more in terms of keeping an air gap. The notion that it is in the cloud, easy to break, etc. The challenge now is mostly about the air gap and how we can protect that in the cloud."

"I have used technical support and it's mediocre."

"Cloud Volumes ONTAP's interface could use an overhaul. Sometimes you have to dig around in Cloud Manager a little bit to find certain things. The layout could be more intuitive."

"NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP does have a bit of initial complexity for users who are new to the system."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"They give us a good price for CVO licenses. It is one of the reasons that we went with the product."

"They have a very good price which keeps our customers happy."

"Cost is a big factor, because a lot of companies can't afford enterprise grade equipment all the time. They skimp where they can. I would recommend that they improve the cost."

"It is not a cheap solution because we need to pay for the license and pay for Azure resources as well."

"If a customer is only using, say, less than 10 terabytes, I don't think CVO would be a good option. A customer using at least 100 or 200 terabytes should get a reasonable price from NetApp."

"Overall, the pricing of NetApp is aggressive and the pricing becomes more aggressive as the amount of data increases. The cost for a given volume of data that you are storing becomes lower. The greater the volume of data, the cheaper the license."

"The cost is quite high."

"Cloud is cloud. It's still expensive. Any good solution comes with a price tag. That's where we are looking to see how well we can manage our data in the cloud by trying to optimize the costs."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	53

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Azure Files?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Files?

Our primary use case for Azure Files is centralized file sharing, application data storage, and replacing traditional on-premises file servers with cloud-based SMB and NFS shares. From an infrastru...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Azure Files?

I would recommend this product without hesitation. I would also recommend starting with a pilot workload to validate SMB, NFS performance, and user access patterns. I recommend using Active Directo...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is actually quite reasonable in price compared to other native cloud storage options. For example, a customer using 100 TB of AWS storage would not benefit from deduplica...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

It would be nice to see technology supporting the Elastic Fabric Adapter on Amazon AWS, therefore getting RDMA technology for more low-latency connections.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

I use NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP mostly in customer companies.

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Workspace vs Azure Files

Compared 38% of the time

Everpure Evergreen One vs Azure Files

Compared 32% of the time

Box vs Azure Files

Compared 9% of the time

Dropbox Business - Enterprise vs Azure Files

Compared 8% of the time

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform vs Azure Files

Compared 5% of the time

More Azure Files Competitors

Amazon S3 vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 7% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 5% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 4% of the time

Amazon FSx vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 4% of the time

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 3% of the time

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Storage

August 2026

Download Azure Files product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

July 2026

Download NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP product report

Also Known As

No data available

ONTAP Cloud, CVO, NetApp CVO

Overview

Azure Files offers scalable, fully-managed cloud file shares accessible over SMB and NFS protocols. Ideal for sharing files and resources in the cloud, it simplifies data access across various applications and services, enhancing collaboration.

Azure Files provides a seamless solution for organizations requiring cloud-based file storage that integrates easily with on-premises environments. Its ability to support both SMB and NFS protocols makes it versatile for a wide range of applications. Integration with Azure services ensures enhanced security and efficient management, while its scalability supports growing data demands without complexity.

What are the key features of Azure Files?

SMB and NFS Protocol Support: Ensures compatibility with existing file-serving workloads.
On-Premises Integration: Facilitates hybrid cloud deployments with sync capabilities.
Secure Access Control: Uses Azure Active Directory for managing permissions.
Scalability and Redundancy: Supports rapid data growth with high availability through geo-redundant storage.
Backup and Recovery: Provides built-in integration with Azure Backup for data protection.

What benefits should users expect from Azure Files?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce costs with pay-as-you-go pricing and minimized on-premises infrastructure.
Enhanced Collaboration: Improved productivity with easy file sharing across teams.
Seamless Integration: Streamlined operations with integration into existing IT environments.
Data Security: Safeguard data with encryption and compliance features.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Azure Files is implemented for reliable data storage and compliance requirements. Retail sectors leverage it for seamless collaboration and data sharing, driving enhanced operational efficiencies. By supporting multiple protocols, it is versatile for companies managing a high volume of data across platforms.

Microsoft

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is an efficient storage management solution for managing and storing data in the cloud. It offers seamless integration with cloud providers, advanced data replication capabilities, and high data protection. With reliable performance, it is ideal for industries like healthcare and finance.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

1. Accenture 2. Acer 3. Adidas 4. Aetna 5. AIG 6. Apple 7. Bank of America 8. Barclays 9. Bayer 10. Berkshire Hathaway 11. BNP Paribas 12. Cisco 13. Coca-Cola 14. Comcast 15.ConocoPhillips 16. CVS Health 17. Dell 18. Deutsche Bank 19. eBay 20. Eli Lilly 21. FedEx 22. Ford 23. Freescale Semiconductor 24. General Electric 25. Google 26. Honeywell 27. IBM 28. Intel 29. Intuit 30. JPMorgan Chase 31. Kellogg's 32. KeyCorp 33. Liberty Mutual 34. L'Oréal 35. Mastercard

Buyer's Guide

Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

August 2026

Free Report: Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

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