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Azure NetApp Files vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Azure NetApp Files provides high performance and flexibility, enabling significant cost savings and improved IT management despite initial costs.
Sentiment score
5.1
Microsoft Azure Object Storage offers scalable, cost-effective solutions, enhancing business ROI and efficiency through flexible payment models.
I have seen a return on investment as it saves both time and money with this agile technology.
Chief Technical Officer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft and NetApp provide Azure NetApp Files with varying support quality, appreciated for complex issues despite regional inconsistencies.
Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Azure Object Storage support is effective but varies in responsiveness, with premium plans and regions affecting user satisfaction.
Microsoft has limitations with Azure Files, which do not support disaster recovery, so they approached NetApp for help based on their experience in on-premises and cloud storage.
Cloud Architect at IBM
They have top-notch people.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
If I want to change something on my resources or directly access it via the portal, there is not a service level agreement of 100%, and sometimes it's quite difficult to access.
Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint
The customer support for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is not good.
Chief Technical Officer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Technical support from Microsoft is good.
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Azure NetApp Files offers flexible scaling and cost efficiency for large deployments, despite regional and minimum storage limitations.
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Azure Object Storage is praised for robust scalability, handling extensive data needs, though some report performance issues.
Scalability is high. I would say it's probably around nine because it's quite a robust solution that can scale up to maybe even five hundred terabytes of data.
Cloud Architect at IBM
The storage is very scalable, so you can effortlessly scale it.
Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint
The downloading of high volume data and scalability processes face performance issues related to high data volumes.
Senior Solutions Architect at Think Power Solutions
Most of the time, it fits the requirement, but for drastic demands, we may need to provide quotas and other requirements to Microsoft for them to manage forecast and capacity planning.
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Azure NetApp Files is highly stable, offering reliable performance, seamless migrations, and no downtime, even under increased loads.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Azure Object Storage is generally stable, but reliability can vary based on implementation partners and compliance standards.
In terms of storage stability, I believe it's robust and stable, with a high level of redundancy in the cloud backend.
Cloud Architect at IBM
The downloading of high volume data and scalability processes face performance issues related to high data volumes.
Senior Solutions Architect at Think Power Solutions
From a security standpoint, there is a question mark due to past cyber attacks.
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
 

Room For Improvement

Azure NetApp Files needs enhanced disaster recovery, cost-effective pricing, improved support, and broader regional availability to boost user adoption.
Microsoft Azure Object Storage needs improvements in performance, cost, UI, integration, and security to meet user expectations.
If they bring the cost a little bit closer to what Azure Files offers, it can be a great product in the market and bring a lot of business to NetApp.
Cloud Architect at IBM
I would like for them to have more compression so that it can avoid using more storage.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
When using Data Lakes for analytics and frequently pulling data from our source database to Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, there should be faster methods to download large data from Microsoft Azure Storage Blob to different locations.
Senior Solutions Architect at Think Power Solutions
They need enhancement in security aspects. Security alerts and integrations could be improved as part of lifecycle management, especially for archives and restoration requirements.
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
The improvement needed for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is to reduce the transactional charges, as these read and write operation charges are higher.
senior partner at Niyocon
 

Setup Cost

Azure NetApp Files is costly with a four-terabyte minimum, but its premium features compete with Oracle and Amazon.
Microsoft Azure's flexible pricing appeals with pay-as-you-go and discounts, despite concerns over complexity and high usage costs.
It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
It's highly priced, and there's no cost reservation option available compared to Azure Files.
Cloud Architect at IBM
It's a pay-per-use solution and a good idea for proof of concept and value.
Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint
The licensing cost of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is cheaper compared to other competitors, such as Google or third-party solutions, which easily engages customers.
senior partner at Niyocon
Regarding pricing for Microsoft Azure Object Storage, I find it reasonable.
Sr. Manager IT Datacentre Cloud and Network at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Azure NetApp Files excels in performance, integration, and scalability, providing high redundancy, data protection, and efficient storage solutions.
Microsoft Azure Object Storage provides scalable, reliable, and secure data management with strong features for integration, backup, and compliance.
The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
I think the most valuable feature is using the cross-region replication because this feature was not available in Azure Files, and this was the differentiator.
Cloud Architect at IBM
Since I work mostly with AI/ML, data piping, data integrations, and ETL tools, these features are valuable.
Senior Solutions Architect at Think Power Solutions
When talking about storage accounts, customers utilize Azure file as a replica of the file server, allowing them to access file shares or storage accounts from their systems, making it easy to use while automatically syncing data with the cloud.
senior partner at Niyocon
The ability to store everything inside Blob or Object storage and use it for archiving data is beneficial.
Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure NetApp Files
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (9th), Cloud Storage (12th)
Microsoft Azure Object Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 3.7%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is 3.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure Object Storage3.3%
Azure NetApp Files3.7%
Other93.0%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

Rajat Wadhwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at IBM
Cross-region replication has delivered seamless disaster recovery for enterprise storage needs
In terms of improvement, I would say cost reservation; the cost is a bit high. If we compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files, I know that customers are using less of Azure NetApp due to the cost. If they bring the cost a little bit closer to what Azure Files offers, it can be a great product in the market and bring a lot of business to NetApp. Backup is quite critical. As of now, Azure NetApp Files requires you to use Azure NetApp Backup solution, which is in public preview at the moment. I would definitely expect NetApp to come up with that solution so that customers can start using it because they do not have confidence in backup as it is still in preview. They are still doing some testing and research on that product, which is not officially released for use by multiple customers.
PS
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
Has supported hybrid deployments but needs stronger security features and improved handling of sudden storage spikes
For areas of improvement, they have all the features from Azure Monitor and Azure Cost Manager, which provide insights into consumption, and the policies are already taken care of, but it needs enhancement in security aspects. Security alerts and integrations could be improved as part of lifecycle management, especially for archives and restoration requirements, along with automations that we can plan. For GRS, they should offer it by default because many providers are entering the market and providing similar features, making it quite competitive from a price point of view. There are some limitations related to quotas and storage requirements. For drastic demands, we may need to provide quotas and other requirements to Microsoft for them to manage forecast and capacity planning. If there are sudden ad hoc needs that involve petabytes, there should be storage availability in the data center hosting that storage. This relates to temporary spikes in storage needs; for example, if storage is needed for a week with huge requirements, Microsoft should adapt to these requirements effectively.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
6%
Marketing Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?
Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure NetApp Files?
On pricing, I would rate it around eight. It's highly priced, and there's no cost reservation option available compared to Azure Files. If NetApp could bring that kind of model for customers to sav...
What needs improvement with Azure NetApp Files?
In terms of improvement, I would say cost reservation; the cost is a bit high. If we compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files, I know that customers are using less of Azure NetApp due to the cost...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Object Storage?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is very good.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Object Storage?
The customer support for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is not good. If a good engineer is assigned, then it functions well. However, every time we are doing troubleshooting, it is not Microsoft.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Azure Object Storage?
I have used Microsoft Azure Object Storage, which is a blob storage service. Our customers use the services that we provide for blob storage. Our customers use applications, and Microsoft Azure Obj...
 

Also Known As

NetApp ANF, ANF
Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, Azure Object Storage, MS Azure Object Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SAP, Restaurant Magic
Umbraco, Xbox, Radioshack, 343 Industries, McKesson
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure NetApp Files vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.