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it_user834939 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Architect, Cloud Computing at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It is very stable and never crashes. However, it doesn't scale horizontally.
Pros and Cons
  • "If you lose connectivity, it has one-sided redundant connectivity on the back-end for shelves, which is good."
  • "There is a faster release cycle now. Also, they are doing all types of cool stuff in their cloud volumes, replication, and tiering."
  • "It doesn't scale horizontally since there are a limited number of shelves."
  • "The lack of an API is a big thing for us that needs to be improved. It needs proper API support."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to manage storage for our customers. 

Our customers use it for mission-critical applications, such as backup circuits.

How has it helped my organization?

We use ONTAP as a managed storage for customers. It helps our customers with all its features.

What is most valuable?

There is a faster release cycle now. Also, they are doing all types of cool stuff in their cloud volumes, replication, and tiering.

The fabric pools in the newer version is cool, though we don't use it yet. It provides tiering to cloud and fabric pools.

What needs improvement?

  • We would like full automation of deployment.
  • The ability to scale out.
  • The lack of an API is a big thing for us that needs to be improved. It needs proper API support.
Buyer's Guide
NetApp ONTAP
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about NetApp ONTAP. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
870,697 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable and never crashes. During maintenance, it's easy to do. If you lose connectivity, it has one-sided redundant connectivity on the back-end for shelves, which is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It doesn't scale horizontally since there are a limited number of shelves. Other NetApp solutions are way better at scaling. This needs improvement since the future is in scaling horizontally, similar to what SolidFire does.

How are customer service and support?

NetApp's technical support is always perfect. They go above and beyond when trying to help.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We generally upgrade when a solution is end of life or moving out of support.

How was the initial setup?

With older versions, it was a little complex at some point, but this was back in the day. It's still a bit challenging, but when you have the right versions, it's straightforward. 

We're trying to automate the deployment process, and as far as I know, you cannot do that with ONTAP systems today. This may not be true with the newest 9.4 or 9.5 systems. 

What makes it complicated, there is no API available to automate a task. Now, they have released a lot of Ansible playbooks to automate a deployment, which might have significantly improved it, but I have not had a chance to try them.

What about the implementation team?

We did the deployment ourselves.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend ONTAP, because I like the platform. With the most recent stuff, like the fabric pools which blow my mind, it is a really good solution.

There is something interesting stuff coming out in the future, like NVMe over Fabric, which has a different rate over Fiber Channel.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Engineer at Alliant Credit Union
Real User
It's more intuitive to use as they are moving away from command line into more graphical interfaces, but they need to improve stability
Pros and Cons
  • "It's more intuitive to use as they are moving away from command line into more graphical interfaces, which are somewhat easier to use."
  • "There is room for improvement in the stability. They have been trying to become simpler, and as a result, there have been road bumps along the way. I have personally experienced this."

What is our primary use case?

It's our enterprise storage solution where we keep 95 percent of our data.

We use it for our mission-critical applications: All our SQL, Exchange, data warehousing, and anything with heaving I/O processing.

How has it helped my organization?

Our company has grown so fast, we spend more in the process. At the same time, we have been able to shrink due to technologies, such as deduplication and compression.

We've been able to keep up with the demands of our business in terms of both performance and storage. Whenever the business needs something, we add it right away. Whenever they say, "Hey, we're gonna throw some big load at you guys. Can you this handle it?" We say, "Yeah, the system can handle it."

What is most valuable?

It's more intuitive to use as they are moving away from command line into more graphical interfaces, which are somewhat easier to use.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in the stability. They have been trying to become simpler, and as a result, there have been road bumps along the way. I have personally experienced this.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have experience a number of bugs recently. The company has also gone through recent changes which has affected stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It scales pretty well. It has a cluster interface connection with multiple systems clustering across the board. 

How are customer service and technical support?

They are pretty good when it comes to critical support. Technical support is something they're still working on, but the critical support is good. The critical support will get back to you quickly and stay with you, so you always know who you are dealing with.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The performance was really bad on our previous solution. When we did an analysis with our tools, we saw how bad the storage performance was. It was a ten-year-old system. It was meant to run for a small company. It was never meant for where we were at the time.

Compared to what we had in the past, ONTAP has given us both visibility into performance, as well as, adapted to different changes. Where as before, we had a system that we couldn't do much with.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex compared to what we had, since it does more. When we bought it a couple of years ago, it was more complex. Now, they are trying to become simpler at the setup.

The initial setup took a lot of steps. You had to know a lot of what had happened throughout the process. There were a lot of steps involved, where as now, they're condensing the amount of steps involved. Plus, its more graphically-driven now rather than being mostly command line.

What about the implementation team?

We used two different consultants: 

  1. We had one vendor for the architecture of the high-level stuff.
  2. The other consultant was more to come in and fix it up or do the hardware physical stuff. 

We picked the best out of both.

What was our ROI?

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

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It pays to get the Cadillac. That's what we call ours.

Don't undersize it. We undersized our first one and ended up having to get rid of it, then buying a new one. We lost money in the process. We should have paid for more than what we needed at the beginning.

What other advice do I have?

NVMe over Fabric is considered the next generation of storage in terms of how fast things move.

Our company chose this solution because they've known it from the past.

We are still looking into machine learning, AI, and real-time analytics.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
NetApp ONTAP
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about NetApp ONTAP. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
870,697 professionals have used our research since 2012.
SysEng5d16 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
It allows us to scale and grow as needed and also be flexible in the way we operate
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to failover and failback"
  • "ONTAP allows us to scale and grow as needed and also be flexible in the way we operate."
  • "It should be easier to put in tech support cases. They should streamline the online support and chat."
  • "They should make the storage arrays more easily tied to your accounts."

What is our primary use case?

We are a storage provider for a government entity. We serve data to profilers and other government entities.

How has it helped my organization?

ONTAP allows us to scale and grow as needed and also be flexible in the way we operate.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are:

  • It's scalable.
  • It's easy to failover and failback.
  • There's no downtime.

What needs improvement?

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

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable, and definitely become more stable over time. When Clustered Data ONTAP first came out, there were quite a few bugs. However, with the latest releases, we have been pretty happy.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. We're happy with it.

How are customer service and technical support?

It should be easier to put in tech support cases. For example, sometimes you have to call in for a bad disk. You have to stay on the phone for 20 minutes to speak to a person just to get a new disk. They should streamline the online support and chat. 

Most people wouldn't have this problem, but we have multiple site numbers we have to deal with. A lot of times it's just easier to go through the 20-minute conversation than trying to find for them the specific storage problem.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Over time, systems age and the amount of FAS that you could fit into a rack three years ago was a lot different than what you can now. We needed to find something flexible which allows us to customize solutions as we go.

How was the initial setup?

NetApp is typically more complex than normal storage systems. I like it though. There's a lot more granularity and you can configure it the way you want it. 

What about the implementation team?

We used Professional Services, and we do it on our own as well. So far, our experience with Professional Services has been great. We're still in the process. They give us guidance. We have our own way that we like to deploy, but it's nice to have their input and information. Just having them there to be able to bounce an idea off of is helpful.

What was our ROI?

We have seen ROI as we can fit a lot more storage in one rack.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We use multiple different vendors for different scenarios.

What other advice do I have?

I'm pretty happy with ONTAP.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SeniorDi6143 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It is able to store a lot of data and can be managed with fewer people
Pros and Cons
  • "It is able to store a lot of data, and we can manage it with fewer people."
  • "Technical support has gone down in my perspective. When getting to the root cause of issues, they need to respond faster."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for storing unstructured data.

How has it helped my organization?

It is able to store a lot of data, and we can manage it with fewer people.

What is most valuable?

  • Snapshot
  • Availability
  • Performance

What needs improvement?

Generally, their products are good when they come out of the gate. However, what would be good is when we uncover new issues, if those could be addressed quickly. 

We would like to see SnapMirror encryption in the next release and have better access to feature development.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is generally very stable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support has gone down in my perspective. When getting to the root cause of issues, they need to respond faster. Also, they need to respond quicker to bug fixes.

There have been some changes internally at NetApp. Currently, we are moving to a different level of support which will hopefully fix our issues with it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use NetApp products. If we switch products, it is because the product does not perform or is not keeping up with its competitors in terms of cost.

What about the implementation team?

We did the deployment ourselves. Deployments are easy, but NetApp could make it easier.

What was our ROI?

Return on investment has been good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are specific workloads where some vendors provide better value, but in general, NetApp has done a far better on price than other vendors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have used Hitachi and Dell EMC, but we use NetApp the most.

What other advice do I have?

It is a good, market-leading product.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Infrastr6375 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
new release has a lot of features that save us space and costs
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very fast, NetApp is always dependable, so if we have an issue, they're very responsive."
  • "They could lower prices so my management doesn't complain about cost"

What is our primary use case?

I work for an oil and gas company. We go out to the field and get oil from the ground. The primary use case is for development and preparation for production. 

How has it helped my organization?

We're able to gather information, and put it all together to find out where the best place to drill would be. Also, speed. Our databases work a lot faster, probably 18 or 20 percent faster than previously. The speed has increased the performance. 

My colleagues get their information files without bringing down SQL.

What is most valuable?

It's very fast, NetApp is always dependable, so if we have an issue, they're very responsive.

The new release has a lot of features that will save us space and therefore, money. The inline deduplication and compression are really nice. 

What needs improvement?

They could lower prices so my management doesn't complain about cost. Other than that, I'm always happy with the releases. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's 100 percent. We've never had any issues with it. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's 100 percent. It's easy to add additional storage disks. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate tech support at nine-plus out of ten. It's not a ten because I have to wait when I call. I can wait for 20, 30 minutes before I get to somebody who can actually help me. Normally NetApp identifies the issue before I get out of bed and has a solution already planned. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were coming to end-of-life with our old solution, and this was the next generation that was available, so we would have upgraded regardless. This was the best option.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. It's built on previous NetApp operating systems. I understood it without knowing the new generation. 

What about the implementation team?

We used NetApp Professional Services, and it was very good. I worked with them beforehand and gave them my plan. Any corrections were made beforehand. We've done it twice and it's been very good.

What was our ROI?

I know they have saved time, and time equals money. We also have more space in the data center. It's a smaller footprint by half a rack. That's a lot less money and a lot less cooling.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Dell EMC, but we would never go with them. They don't have good support and it's gotten worse over the years since Dell and EMC merged. Instead of two bad support systems, they have now combined it into one huge, bad support system. NetApp's technical support and proven stability are a lot better than them. We've been using NetApp for around 15 years and we've always had good results with it.

What other advice do I have?

It's an advance from what we used before, and a lot faster. It doesn't take a lot of learning to start using it.

Take a look at NetApp and get the Professional Services involved. If you're coming from a different vendor, they'll be able to assist with getting the data moved over. That would be my main point.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Pre Sales Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Efficiency Of This Solution Has Reduced The Amount Of Storage Our Customers Need
Pros and Cons
  • "They always have new solutions for their customers. They also have good integration with other partners like Microsoft, VMware, and Oracle."
  • "If the customer wants to integrate with another product they need deployment guides."

What is our primary use case?

We are a NetApp distributor. We offer assistance for banking solutions, energy companies, and companies that do retail.

How has it helped my organization?

We distribute Netapp as well as a variety of other products, like VMware, for example. We use all our products to provide our customers with a whole solution.

What is most valuable?

Efficiency. We have found that its efficiency has reduced the amount of storage that the customers need, while keeping the same amount of data. 

They constantly develop new features that provide the customers with ways they can better use the system.

What needs improvement?

Deployment guides. If the customer wants to integrate with another product they need deployment guides.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has almost 100% stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable. We have found that the ability to add other nodes to the online cluster during production has been really useful for customers.

How is customer service and technical support?

NetApp has very good technical support across all of their products. They have many ways to contact support and you receive support almost instantly.

The customers like the support as well. The customer has on-site support with a four-hour response. They always have support as they need it.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

I'm a presales engineer. The way that I help customers is by architecting their infrastructure which helps them to decide which is the best solution for them. I also help plan the future of their infrastructure, the way they're going to be expanding the systems or the way they're going to renew their systems.

What was our ROI?

With the efficiencies of NetApp, the customer is going to be able to reduce the amount of storage they need. This is the way that the customer assesses the amount of money they invest in the solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I think because of the integration with the other products we sell, like VMware, for example, that's why they have us use NetApp as a storage solution. We sell a lot of security products that have integration with NetApp and we also have integration with Microsoft and VMware which have integration with NetApp.

What other advice do I have?

It's an excellent product. They always have new solutions for their customers. They also have good integration with other partners like Microsoft, VMware, and Oracle.

Compared with their competitors, NetApp has a good advantage with their new development and new functionalities. The new platforms are competitive with other storage solutions. NetApp has better integration with all their solutions. They have only one interface for all their products as well as the same operating system. It's really easy for the customer to handle and to administer the solution.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
ITManage5bab - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a non-tech company
Real User
The disks are stable and our data is safe
Pros and Cons
  • "If we want to change things in models, such as add, replace, and adjust to another client, it is very easy."
  • "They have very good tech support who always answers our questions and troubleshoots our issues. They're great."
  • "I would like more security against the malwares, spyware, and ransomware. I feel like ONTAP is a bit lacking in this area."

What is our primary use case?

It is the easiest way to backup, restore data, and access data along with keep it secure. It has an easy interface to manage all the data.

How has it helped my organization?

It has made it easy to deal with the scalability in our organization along with the mass increase of data. We avoid loss of important data and can recover it completely. NetApp has made this challenge for us easy.

What is most valuable?

  • Saving data and backing up it, up to the minute.
  • 100% guarantee restoring data. 
  • Saving money because of the dedupe technologies.

What needs improvement?

I would like more security against the malwares, spyware, and ransomware. I feel like ONTAP is a bit lacking in this area.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. You can trust NetApp almost 100% that it will work fine. The disks are stable and our data is safe with NetApp.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If we want to change things in models, such as add, replace, and adjust to another client, it is very easy. This is a good thing.

How are customer service and technical support?

They have very good tech support who always answers our questions and troubleshoots our issues. They're great. It is easy to escalate, and they have friendly people. They will help you all the time, every hour in a day.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

NetApp was our first storage solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We used Encore Technology Group. Our experience was not very good as they lost data, which was a critical mistake for us. They also did not respond in time.

What was our ROI?

Because of the dedupe technologies and Data ONTAP servers, we have saved 20% on hardware. This is a lot of money for us.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

While it is going to cost a lot of money, their technologies is worth it.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also considered HPE and IBM, but NetApp was the cheapest, friendliest, and most accessible.

What other advice do I have?

It is friendly to use and manage. They are very good in backup and restoring 100% of things up to the minute. It's very easy for regular users. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SAN Engineer at American Express
Real User
It is easy to migrate data from one storage array to another storage array using SnapMirror technologies
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to migrate data from one storage array to another storage array using SnapMirror technologies."
  • "If they could come up with some more automation, this would be helpful."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for the cloud and storage: NAS and SAN.

What is most valuable?

  • SnapVault
  • Snapshot
  • Deduplication
  • The replication progress
  • It is easy to migrate data from one storage array to another storage array using SnapMirror technologies.

What needs improvement?

If they could come up with some more automation, this would be helpful.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never had an outage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. You can expand the storage with disks, which is good.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't had to contact technical support, but their support is 24/7 if I needed it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were previously using NetApp MetroClusters. We have tested in the lab, NetApp MetroClusters, and have run into issues. I have come up with tie breakers, which are like witnesses our virtual storage arrays. One storage fails and another storage array will be active all the time. In this case, if a tie breaker is down, NetApp doesn't know how to deal with the data. It gets confused. NetApp should come up with a solution for this, such as a physical witness.

How was the initial setup?

It's very easy. It's not complex.

What about the implementation team?

We used NetApp for the deployment. They know how to deal with issues and follow best practices. It's always better to have them install the storage.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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. 

What other advice do I have?

I can recommend NetApp. If you need a solution, use NetApp.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user