Rubrik and NetApp have teamed up to integrate Rubrik’s Cloud Data Management platform with NetApp’s enterprise-grade storage platform, StorageGRID, bundling backup software and storage that is purpose-built for cloud.

The partnership will offer NetApp customers protection of their network-attached storage (NAS) environments, leveraging Rubrik to replicate their NAS data to other NetApp end targets including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. It aims to provide customers with policy-driven automation, hybrid cloud flexibility, and data accessibility.

"NetApp is a strategic partner for Rubrik, and we believe this scalable solution will reduce complexities around data protection as data volumes continue to grow,” said Ramesh Chitor, senior director of strategic alliances at Rubrik in an email to SDxCentral. “The combination of Rubrik’s Cloud Data Management platform with StorageGRID simplifies all aspects of data management from backup to recovery, providing customers with the ultimate peace of mind.”

The NetApp partnership follows the release of Rubrik’s Andes 5.1 update, which expanded the data management provider’s offerings to include data governance, disaster recovery orchestration, and continuous data protection by way of two new (beta) additions to its platform: Polaris Sonar software-as-a-service (SaaS) and Polaris AppFlow.

Rubrik has been a leader in cloud data management since entering the space five years ago. Earlier this year it scored a lucrative Series E funding round that raked in $261 million and pushed its valuation to $3.3 billion.

Rubrik for NetApp StorageGRID aims to simplify data lifecycle management on cloud-scale architectures through policy-based automation, linear scalability, and cloud mobility. 

“Customers want simple, efficient solutions that enable them to protect and manage their data,” Chitor explained.

Users can set policies to automate lifecycle management for optimal performance, latency, cost, and compliance. Linear scalability enables customers to ingest rapid data growth. And cloud mobility provides IT teams an unobstructed pathway to migrate data to their cloud provider of choice and migrate petabyte-scale NAS shares directly to NetApp StorageGRID. 

“Altogether, Rubrik Cloud Data Management for StorageGRID addresses pain points for IT juggling management of infrastructure with management of applications – while helping to optimize IT investments in a compliant way,” Chitor said. 

According to a Gartner report, by 2020 more than 40% of data warehousing tasks will be automated, resulting in increased productivity. 

“Enterprises are embracing this trend and are asking for more granular levels of simplicity facilitating broader usage and adoption,” Chitor said.

The demand for software-defined storage is booming with Commvault, Veeam, Rubrik, and Cohesity leading the sector, according to the Forrester Wave: Data Resiliency Solutions, Q3 2019 report.  “Commvault suits companies that plan to consolidate their backup and recovery tools,” the report says. Meanwhile "Rubrik suits firms aiming to simplify, modernize, and consolidate data resiliency," and "Cohesity addresses data sprawl challenges and helps firms leverage secondary data." Finally, "Veeam serves complex, heterogeneous environments — not just virtual ones.” 

Chitor believes that companies are looking for solutions that address the exploding complexity and cost of managing data in the datacenter and cloud. Rubrik's competitors, he added, are “bringing greater awareness to the solution we provide.”