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Microsoft Azure Block Storage vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP 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
2.6
Microsoft Azure Block Storage optimizes expenses with 90% cost reduction, ease of management, and ensures data protection against issues.
Sentiment score
6.5
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP delivers cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved performance, reducing storage, maintenance, and power expenses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Azure Block Storage support varies; premium plans offer faster responses, while others face delays and inconsistent service.
Sentiment score
7.0
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP customer service is praised for expertise and responsiveness, with room for improvement in initial support.
Support quality is good, but the main issue is the delay in handling tickets.
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
I had contacted them before and they replied rapidly.
System vice president at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
Ours is a government enterprise organization, so we have a premium support agreement with Microsoft, and they give us the best support.
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.8
Microsoft Azure Block Storage is scalable, user-friendly, and suitable for all businesses, though scaling can increase costs.
Sentiment score
7.2
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP offers scalable growth, dynamic expansion, and flexibility, though large environments face data size limitations.
The ability to scale is well-supported.
Sr. Cloud Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is a significant advantage of the product.
Senior Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
We are on a premium plan, which should handle scalability automatically.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
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.
Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure Block Storage is highly rated for stability, despite occasional regional downtime and minor improvement suggestions.
Sentiment score
7.7
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP offers high stability and reliability, with users valuing performance and responsive support despite occasional minor issues.
I rate the stability as ten out of ten.
Lead DevOps and Release Engineer-L2 at ITWORX
It isn't as stable as sound storage systems in a premise environment.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
The stability of block storage could be rated as nine out of ten.
Senior Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Azure Block Storage users face pricing, interface, and integration challenges, with additional needs for better security and scalability.
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP users seek improved scalability, integration, ease of use, and features like security, monitoring, and cloud compatibility.
Its compatibility with various platforms could be enhanced to allow for a seamless operation across different cloud environments.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Maybe they can integrate with the AI solution; the Microsoft AI solution is upcoming, and once we are able to integrate with it, we can do many things.
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Enabling SFTP on Microsoft Azure Block Storage didn’t allow us to get the IP address, as Azure doesn’t support it.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
My opinion is that support is generally very good. There are instances where they take longer to respond or resolve issues, especially when customers have urgent needs, but ultimately, resolution is achieved.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
It would be nice to see technology supporting the Elastic Fabric Adapter on Amazon AWS, therefore getting RDMA technology for more low-latency connections.
Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Azure Block Storage pricing is generally higher than competitors, but offers discounted rates through enterprise agreements.
Enterprise users enjoy NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP for its features despite higher costs, with discounts available for extended commitments.
For medium-sized companies, especially when discussing cost and scalability, it can be quite expensive.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
The cost for Azure Data Factory, utilized for intensive data migration, was high but expected, as it's a one-time activity.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
It is reasonable, however, it can be cheaper.
Senior Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Azure Block Storage is reliable, scalable, secure, and affordable, with excellent data management and integration features.
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP offers reliable, flexible data protection, seamless integration, and optimized storage across diverse cloud environments.
The world is now directed toward a centralized data platform or Fabric to build a data lake house for data engineering, which keeps all data in a centralized place that's beneficial for the governance layer and unified governance.
System vice president at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
The tool allows me to download to my device, control access, and manage data with ease.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
The encryption feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is very good, and the security is excellent.
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
The granular ability to divide up the performance and the amount of storage you want is really fantastic.
Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure Block Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
13th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (2nd), Cloud Storage (3rd), Cloud Backup (27th), Cloud Software Defined Storage (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is 6.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Block Storage1.9%
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP6.6%
Other91.5%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

Ajai Jayakumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported secure file sharing and data automation with minimal setup effort
The encryption feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is very good, and the security is excellent. It is easy to map the storage to the virtual servers and user desktops, which is also very beneficial. I can perform automations on the data, such as moving hot data and cold data, and I can select storage based on performance. The security provided by Microsoft around Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The replication feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The analytic capabilities of Microsoft Azure Block Storage can help optimize resources. I usually work with a third-party tool; our data analytics team uses some custom-made tools for analytics data and dashboards, so we do not use the Microsoft dashboard; we are using a third-party dashboard. It is very easy to manage Microsoft Azure Block Storage. If you have good knowledge of it, it is very easy to manage. Microsoft Azure Block Storage service is a very good, 100% reliable service. It is highly scalable, and performance-wise and reliability-wise, it does not go down. It provides 99.9% uptime without downtime, so it is a very good feature. The backup and restoration efficiency of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is good.
Punit Waghela - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
Offers advanced features with notable emphasis on innovation
The best features of NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP include deduplication, compaction, and autonomous ransomware technology that native cloud storage solutions in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud do not support. Moreover, NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP allows the use of multiple protocols including NFS, CIFS, and iSCSI, whereas native options may only support NFS and iSCSI. Customers already using on-premises NetApp storage such as FAS, AFF, or ASA can experience the same functionality on the cloud with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, which adds significant value. For data protection, customers can take advantage of the Snapshot technology available with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP. This technology facilitates data recovery by allowing snapshots to be stored either on the same storage or on a disaster recovery (DR) storage. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP helps us to take snapshots and store them on the same storage, with options for migration or replication of those snapshots to different storage, including on-premises DR storage or other cloud storage, providing excellent disaster recovery capabilities.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Performing Arts
11%
Non Tech Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise53
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
We use the solution to develop SaaS platforms on Azure. We utilize various Microsoft components like block storage and databases for this purpose.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
Our experience with pricing has been positive. The budget for Microsoft Azure services has been within expectations for the last couple of months. The cost for Azure Data Factory ( /products/azure-...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
For improvement in Microsoft Azure Block Storage, they can provide tiered level storages, maybe low-cost storages for storing archive data, but it is already there. I do not think there is much to ...
What do you like most about NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?
So a lot of these licenses are at the rate that is required for capacity. So they're they're able to reduce the license consumption and also the consumption of the underlying cloud storage.
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...
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.
 

Also Known As

MS Azure Block Storage
ONTAP Cloud, CVO, NetApp CVO
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure Block Storage vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.