Azure NetApp Files vs NetApp ONTAP comparison

The compared Azure NetApp Files and NetApp ONTAP solutions aren't in the same category. Azure NetApp Files is ranked #7 in CM , with an average rating of 7.3, and holds a 15.5% mindshare in the category. NetApp ONTAP is ranked #1 in SS , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 41.7% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Azure NetApp Files users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of NetApp ONTAP users who would recommend it.

Azure NetApp Files

Read 17 Azure NetApp Files reviews

1,170 Views
70 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

NetApp ONTAP

Read 90 NetApp ONTAP reviews

874 Views
248 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Azure NetApp Files

NetApp ONTAP

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Executive Summary

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

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Buyer's Guide

Cloud Migration

June 2025

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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 NetApp Files

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (7th), Cloud Storage (8th), Public Cloud Storage Services (9th)

NetApp ONTAP

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Storage Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

Azure NetApp Files and NetApp ONTAP aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Azure NetApp Files is designed for Cloud Migration and holds a mindshare of 15.5%, down 18.2% compared to last year.
NetApp ONTAP, on the other hand, focuses on Storage Software, holds 41.7% mindshare, down 42.6% since last year.

Cloud Migration

Storage Software

Q&A Highlights

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Nov 01, 2021

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 the cloud. Azure NetApp Files provides high-performance computing at high-speed and is SAP and HIPAA certified. Azure NetApp Files helps for cloud-based workloads that need low latency and high performance. When you need to access a large volume of data, other features we like are its elasticity and the support for multiple protocols. One downside of Azure NetApp Files is that it is not available in the Azure Free tier. Also, it is relatively more expensive than other Azure options like file storage. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is an enterprise-level storage management solution. NetApp gives you not only storage management but data protection too. NetApp ONTAP supports multiple use cases, like block-level storage serving NAS and SAN, backup, archive, DevOps, databases, and disaster recovery. We like having the same consistent storage experience on Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. Other features we like from ONTAP are the dynamic mapping of storage devices and the central management of storage components. The solution provides compression and deduplication. NetApp Cloud Volumes enables our administrators to design, configure, and deploy storage in a hybrid cloud environment. You can also scale the issues easily. Integration with third-party tools is limited, though. Migrating storage workloads between cloud service providers can also be a hassle. From the three major providers, its integration with AWS is the best. The documentation is a bit poor. You can not manage storage across hybrid and multiple cloud environments. ONTAP is more suited for organizations with large storage volumes or that need high performance for their cloud environment. Conclusions It will depend on the use case. Cloud Volumes ONTAP is specifically designed to manage large storage volumes. If you can afford the extra cost, Azure NetApp Files can provide a more comprehensive solution for smaller organizations.

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Featured Reviews

AjayKumar13

Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Fast, reliable, and helps meet our SLAs

The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes. It is faster. It is quicker. It is reliable. You don't need to take the snapshot. Snapshots are compressed. It doesn't take storage from the back end. It takes three minutes to do sixty terabytes of the database. You don't have to go to the tape and store it outside, which takes hours and hours. It also uses a lot less of the storage. It's very easy to restore or copy the snapshots to other locations for disaster recovery. There are a lot of benefits. In terms of the snapshot's rapid restore capability, we were testing the load of performance testing, and we needed to rebuild the DR site. If I need to rebuild the DR for a standby database, it takes sixty terabytes to copy onto the another site, which will take at least a day. Now, the snapshot is easy. We just copy the snapshots, and then we do the cross-region application. The snapshots came along with that, and that's where we were able to build the DR site within a few hours rather than days. All together, instead of a four-day process, instead of a day.

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Naveen Radhwani

Head IT at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Provides good performance, stability, and complete data security

Our upcoming investments would be prioritized around a hybrid cloud solution because we ourselves promote the cloud in the market. We are the premium service provider for AWS, so we have that inclination toward cloud computing. From the experience that we had during the pandemic, we are looking for some kind of hybrid solution for our environment. NetApp should focus on a hybrid cloud solution because none of the media houses are opting for cloud storage. The files are quite heavy, and it becomes quite difficult to maintain them on the cloud. If NetApp can provide such technology and fill the gap of storing media files in the cloud, it would give them an advantage.

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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

"You can change it non-disruptively. You can increase the size and decrease the size online, which is a huge benefit compared to Azure disks. It just works seamlessly. You don't need to stop the instances."

"The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes."

"It is faster. It is quicker. It is reliable."

"The critical features of this solution are SnapMirror for replication, data protection, and SnapLock."

"Azure NetApp Files has been stable."

"I think the easiest part is, when you do a comparison, it is the throughput versus the cost. And it's much easier to set up."

"Its security and ease of use are most valuable."

"Since we have NetApp's internally, we use the SnapMirror predominantly for this process in the cloud which is beneficial."

More Azure NetApp Files pros

"The MFS report is the best feature for us."

"The cluster version is flexible and easy to use."

"ONTAP has really reduced our costs because we learned that we could use our storage with fewer machines and drive down data center costs."

"NetApp ONTAP has absolutely been a game changer for our organization. We support and use different storage services, but this is the first time we have a service and storage that supports multiple protocols, such as SMB, NFS."

"Overall, for us, it's the stability, it has a solid infrastructure. It's easy to use, easy to rack and configure and start utilizing really quickly. It's been very stable, it works great, and it does everything we would want it to do."

"It's much easier and faster to deploy our storage with ONTAP than some of the other solutions that we have."

"The scalability is very good. It enables us to use different product lines within the same operating system."

"The initial setup and deployment were straightforward"

More NetApp ONTAP pros

Cons

"Azure NetApp Files is expensive."

"I don’t like the solution’s configuration and support."

"Reserved Instances for Azure NetApp Files would improve more use cases, making them more valuable in Azure as the cost would be reduced."

"The deployment process is somewhat complex compared to other storage solutions."

"We would like to see more paired regions for the replication."

"We would like to have backup functionality built-in so that we don't run into the issue where the replication process makes a copy of the corrupted data."

"Azure NetApp Files could improve by being more diverse to integrate better with other solutions, such as Splunk and the on-premise version. There are some use cases that are not covered natively by Azure. It is not the best solution because it is not external from the cloud which for me is the best type of solution."

"I would like to see multi-zone redundancy so that I don't have to worry about it. I just back up my data to that one SMB share and I know that it's replicated to a different region."

More Azure NetApp Files cons

"NetApp ONTAP has several limitations that we encounter, primarily related to large enterprise clients. They do not affect small clients that NetApp may have. While these limitations are clearly described, some issues require us to develop workarounds."

"They could maybe offer even better documentation."

"The aggregates, in our case, are capped at about 800 terabytes. A way to alleviate that is by using a FlexGroup volume, which can exceed 800 terabytes, but that opens up a whole new set of issues for the future."

"They should make the storage arrays more easily tied to your accounts."

"The lack of an API is a big thing for us that needs to be improved. It needs proper API support."

"In Africa, especially in West Africa, NetApp doesn't chat with their customers. Therefore, we always have to go through the local partners or vendors."

"They could lower prices so my management doesn't complain about cost"

"We would like to have additional cloud integration and the ability to Snapshot directly to Amazon. This would help us reduce costs, provide us additional disaster recovery, and give us a site that's not owned by us."

More NetApp ONTAP cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends on your scaling and consumption."

"Its price is double the price of the premium disks, which is the main reason why customers don't go for this solution in the end."

"The performance has improved by about 30 percent."

"We are currently on a pay-as-you-go model with the storage that we use."

"This solution is very expensive compared to the alternatives."

"The licensing fees for this solution vary, ranging from a single shelf to a full suite."

"The solution’s combination of the ease of use, simplicity, and reduction in IT management versus the cost has helped a lot. It is very fast to deploy. It's very easy to maintain. You don't have to do a lot in the cloud to maintain this thing, so it gives good performance. It's fast to deploy, easy to maintain, and it gives a better performance. These are the most basic three criteria for any application. This saves cost because the manpower you need to deploy is going down. You're getting better performance and not buying new resources. You have resources available in the cloud. It's just a couple of clicks, then you're good to go."

"It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage."

More Azure NetApp Files pricing and cost advice

"If you start narrowing down NetApp versus price point, then comparing it to the feature set and take away all the bloat that other companies will try to add on, there is no other option. It comes down to just NetApp."

"With other vendors, we need to buy a separate license for a third-party storage, but with NetApp, you don't need to buy a license, as it will come up with the storage."

"In the past, you didn't have to buy separate products. They were mostly included with the purchase. In the end, it's more expensive to buy it separate than together. If you are going to need it, one package at the beginning is cheaper."

"Depending on the licensing you choose the price varies. For our company and our needs, the cost is very fair."

"The price point is very competitive and inexpensive compared to what you receive from other vendors in the market."

"There are two consumption methods: pay as you go and subscription. Pay as you go... is a little expensive but worth it."

"With the duplication and compression, we have been about a one and half to two times savings since we are not running all-flash."

"We received a super deal for our new machine, so we were happy with the price."

More NetApp ONTAP pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

20%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Media Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure NetApp Files?

The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure NetApp Files?

It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage.

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp ONTAP?

We do not face any glitches or downtime.

See all answers

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

The pricing is high. That said, we received favorable pricing at Intel due to the company's large NetApp ONTAP deployment across different organizations. While we're not in the IT department (we're...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp ONTAP?

They could expand what is possible to do with automation as there are gaps in the Ansible module coverage they have. There is certain functionality that NetApp ONTAP offers that these modules are i...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 36% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 29% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon FSx vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 7% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 2% of the time

More Azure NetApp Files Competitors

DataCore SANsymphony vs NetApp ONTAP

Compared 37% of the time

Dell PowerPath vs NetApp ONTAP

Compared 28% of the time

Cloudian HyperStore vs NetApp ONTAP

Compared 11% of the time

StorONE Storage-as-a-Service vs NetApp ONTAP

Compared 8% of the time

More NetApp ONTAP Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure NetApp Files

June 2025

Download Azure NetApp Files product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp ONTAP

June 2025

Download NetApp ONTAP product report

Also Known As

NetApp ANF, ANF

No data available

Overview

Azure NetApp Files is designed for unstructured data, virtualized SAP systems, SQL backups, NFS and CIFS protocols, Azure Virtual Desktop storage, and optimizing file share services. It supports high performance and networking integration in Microsoft Azure.

Azure NetApp Files offers features such as SnapMirror for data protection, rapid provisioning, elastic scaling, and ultra-fast SQL backup and restore. It provides a seamless experience with fast snapshotting, high availability, security, and ease of setup. Users benefit from significant performance improvements and the ability to manage substantial workload migrations effortlessly. This service is ideal for environments like Azure Kubernetes Service and cloud EPM platforms, where speed, flexibility, and performance are crucial.

What are the key features?

Flexibility: Adaptable to diverse storage needs.
Rapid response time: Ensures quick data access and operations.
SnapMirror: Provides replication and data protection.
SEC compliance: SnapLock ensures regulatory adherence.
Ultra-fast SQL backup: Quicker backup and restore operations.
Elastic scaling: Easily adjusts resources based on demand.
Fast snapshotting: Enables quick data snapshots.
High availability: Ensures consistent data access.
Security: Robust measures for data protection.

What are the expected benefits and ROI?

Performance: Notable improvement in processing speeds.
Simplicity of setup: Easy deployment and configuration.
Scalable management: Handles significant workload migrations with ease.
Cost efficiency: Allows comparing throughput versus cost effectively.

Azure NetApp Files is implemented in various industries requiring robust file storage solutions, from educational environments where performance boosts are critical to businesses leveraging Azure Kubernetes Service for containerized applications. It supports high-demand environments, optimizing data management and improving efficiency.

NetApp

NetApp is the data authority for hybrid cloud. We provide a full range of hybrid cloud data services that simplify management of applications and data across cloud and on-premises environments to accelerate digital transformation. Together with our partners, we empower global organizations to unleash the full potential of their data to expand customer touchpoints, foster greater innovation and optimize their operations.

NetApp

Sample Customers

SAP, Restaurant Magic

1&1 IONOS, Acıbadem Healthcare Group, Adder Technologies, Aero Vodochody Aerospace

Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp, Zerto, Nasuni and others in Cloud Migration. Updated: June 2025.

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