Latest news with #NetApp
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
US leads global AI race, usage a challenge: Report
BENGALURU: The global artificial intelligence (AI) innovation race is intensifying, but so are internal gaps between business ambition and technological execution. According to NetApp's 2025 AI Space Race report, while 81% of global organisations are piloting or scaling AI and 88% consider themselves ready for transformation, regional disparities and internal misalignments may decide the eventual winners. The study, based on a survey of 800 CEOs and IT leaders across the US, China, UK, and India, found the US to be the most synchronised on AI ambition and execution. In the US, 86% of IT executives and 77% of CEOs reported active AI deployment. In contrast, China, while bullish at the leadership level, revealed a sharp internal disconnect. Around 92% of Chinese CEOs said they had active AI initiatives, but only 74% of their IT counterparts agreed with them. A similar gap emerged in perceived AI readiness, with 68% of Chinese CEOs believing their firms were ready, while only 58% of IT leaders felt the same. "This divergence in perception may weaken execution, particularly in regions that are prioritising speed over infrastructure," the report noted. India and the UK trail the US and China in current AI leadership, but both countries show stronger alignment between leadership and tech functions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Interestingly, respondents in India (40%) and the UK (34%) over-indexed on belief in their region's future AI leadership, well above their global peer averages of 16% and 19%, respectively. The report identified intelligent data infrastructure as the primary determinant of AI success. While integration with core systems was seen as crucial in the US, UK, and India, China uniquely prioritised scalability, with 35% of respondents citing it as the most critical capability, 11 percentage points above the global average. "Winning organisations will be those that invest in secure, scalable data architecture that removes friction from AI deployment," said Russell Fishman, senior director, product management at NetApp. Despite widespread optimism, 79% of global leaders remain concerned that weak data and cloud strategies could lead to AI failures, ranging from broken models to security breaches. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
NetApp report highlights fierce competition in Global AI leadership
NetApp , the intelligent data infrastructure company, today released its new report, The AI Space Race , examining which countries are leading the fierce global competition to become the world leader in AI innovation. While some countries are further ahead than others, this survey of CEOs and IT executives in the US, China, the UK, and India found that every player has the potential to thrive in the global race for AI dominance. AI is no longer optional for business, and the region that leads the world in AI innovation will be well-positioned to be a technological superpower, and drive potential benefits such as economic growth, improved quality of life, and global political influence in the years to come. Successfully fuelling AI innovation requires organisations to prepare their data to make it accessible, secure, and scalable—wherever it lives—to produce trusted and valuable outcomes. 'In the 'Space Race' of the 1960s, world powers rushed to accelerate scientific innovation for the sake of national pride. The outcomes of the ' AI Space Race ' will shape the world for decades to come,' said Gabie Boko, CMO at NetApp . 'The companies and regions that can get their data ready for AI will be able to generate differentiating business insights and unlock operational efficiencies that launch them ahead of their rivals. Intelligent, scalable, secure data infrastructure is a decisive factor as the global competition drives businesses to solidify their AI ambitions and understand how they translate into a true, lasting advantage.' The AI Space Race is Still Anyone's Game When asked which region is best positioned to lead AI innovation in the long term, respondents from every country overwhelmingly pointed to the US (43 percent). However, everyone sees themselves as AI-ready, and every region views itself as competitive in the global AI innovation race. The report shows that 81 percent of global respondents are currently piloting or scaling AI, while 88 percent view their organisation as mostly or completely ready to sustain AI transformation. The massive investment in AI innovation around the globe shows that everyone is working to become the world leader in AI innovation. However, some countries are working harder than others, with respondents from India (29%) and the UK (32%) reporting that they feel extra pressure to compete as China and the US are seen as clear leaders. With all this fierce rivalry and active investment, the field is wide open for any country to achieve that goal. Driving the global differences in the state of AI innovation are diverging priorities in how it is implemented. Respondents in China place a much greater focus on scalability with 35 percent ranking it as a top capability—11 percent higher than the global average—suggesting a focus on rapid deployment to make an early impact. By contrast, leaders in the US, UK, and India put greater emphasis on integration with existing systems. This long-term strategy to enable sustained AI growth may result in greater business value in the future, though the short-term approach may drive more immediate results. Aligning Business Ambitions and Technology Reality While organisations are focused on turbocharging AI innovation, CEOs and IT leaders need to be aligned on the state of their technology environments and plans to drive long-term success and leadership. In China, the survey indicates there is a critical misalignment between Chinese CEOs and IT leaders on both AI readiness and actual deployment, which could hinder its long-term leadership potential: 92 percent of Chinese CEOs report active AI projects, compared to just 74 percent of Chinese IT leaders. In the United States, alignment is stronger—77 percent of CEOs and 86 percent of IT leaders say the same. Perceptions of AI readiness are also misaligned. While 68 percent of Chinese CEOs consider their organisations AI-ready (versus 62 percent globally), only 58 percent of their IT counterparts agree (versus 72 percent globally). In the United States, CEO and IT readiness is more closely aligned at 60 percent and 61 percent, respectively. These differences suggest that internal alignment—not just ambition—may shape how AI strategies are executed, depending on region and role. However, concerns about the quality of results from AI projects have the potential to slow down innovation if they are not addressed. Globally, 79 percent of respondents reported a fear of broken models and biased insights resulting from poor data and cloud strategies. Businesses that want to tap into the opportunity of AI innovation will need strong data governance strategies to serve as the foundation for their digital transformation. 'One of the most significant success factors in the AI Space Race will be data infrastructure and data management, supported by cloud solutions that are agile, secure and scalable,' said Russell Fishman, Senior Director, Product Management at NetApp . 'Winning organisations will be those that recognise they require an intelligent data infrastructure in place to ensure unfettered AI innovation. This is critical no matter the company size, industry or geography. As organisations around the world embrace AI at scale, NetApp is there to help them extract maximum value from their data by creating an AI-ready data infrastructure that unifies, manages and harnesses their data for optimal AI outcomes.' The AI Space Race is just getting started, but the organisations that can move the fastest will lead in AI innovation. The fierce competition highlighted by this report shows that businesses need to find an edge that will help them leverage AI securely and efficiently to stay a step ahead of their peers, no matter how fast the race evolves. Adopting an intelligent data infrastructure offers organisations unparalleled flexibility and agility to move into the cloud when needed, scale AI workloads seamlessly, reduce costs, and quickly adapt to evolving business needs. As AI increasingly moves from generating content to taking action, businesses need security that starts with the data itself. Only an intelligent data infrastructure delivers a full chain of trust, empowering enterprises to move fast, without compromising control.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
NetApp appoints disruptive innovator Syam Nair as CPO, underscoring its commitment to bold product vision
NetApp , the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced the appointment of Syam Nair as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO), effective Monday, 7 July 2025. Nair succeeds Harv Bhela, who concluded his tenure in June following a successful chapter of product leadership. Nair is a former Salesforce and Microsoft executive renowned as a maverick innovator in the industry, bringing over 25 years of experience in scaling cloud platforms and driving hyper-growth. In his new role, Nair will lead NetApp's product and engineering teams to accelerate innovation in hybrid cloud and AI offerings, and advance NetApp's strategic vision for data-driven business growth. 'I am thrilled to welcome Syam to NetApp's leadership team. He joins us at a time when our customers are looking to NetApp to help them deliver data-enabled growth and productivity: not only must they innovate to stay ahead, but they must also simplify to improve productivity and agility. This is a balance Syam has mastered throughout his career,' said George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer at NetApp. 'Syam's proven track record – from building planet-scale Azure data services at Microsoft to spearheading hyper-scale platforms like Salesforce Data Cloud – is exactly what we need as we sharpen our focus on high-growth markets. Importantly, he's not only a brilliant technologist but also a people-first leader who builds teams grounded in integrity and a growth mindset. Under Syam's product leadership, I'm confident NetApp will deliver even more innovation and value for customers, strengthen our position as a cloud, data and AI leader, and remain at the forefront of what's next.' Syam Nair joins NetApp from Zscaler, where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development. Nair brings more than two decades of engineering and product development leadership, with expertise in incubating new technologies from the ground up and leading large teams through transformations at scale. During his tenure at Microsoft, Nair was part of the leadership team that built and expanded globally distributed Azure data services. At Salesforce, his leadership pioneered industry-defining innovations including Salesforce Data Cloud, the next-generation Agentic platform that significantly advanced the company's AI-powered customer engagement capabilities. 'I'm excited to join NetApp at such a pivotal time in the industry. Enterprises are embracing cloud and AI to transform their operations, and NetApp is uniquely positioned to help them succeed with its rich portfolio and talent,' said Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp. 'I've spent my career tackling complex technological challenges and leading teams through transformations for hyper-growth. I'm thrilled to bring that experience to NetApp. We will set a bold vision for the future of hybrid cloud data services and execute with a growth mindset and relentless focus on customer success. NetApp has an inspiring mission and a values-driven culture and I'm honoured to be part of the team and eager to drive the next wave of innovation for our customers and partners.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Impact Of Data Infrastructure On Global AI Leadership
NetApp NetApp recently released findings from its 2025 AI Space Race report, a global research initiative designed to benchmark AI readiness across executive leadership and IT teams. The dataset comprises feedback from 800 executives, evenly split between CEOs and IT leaders, from the United States, United Kingdom, China, and India. The research captures a pivotal moment in the adoption of enterprise AI. With generative AI deployments accelerating within the enterprise, the gap between aspiration and execution is becoming increasingly consequential. NetApp's report sheds light on where organizations stand, where internal misalignments persist, and what infrastructure foundations matter most as enterprises transition from pilot projects to production AI systems. The AI Business Imperative A central insight from the survey is that AI success hinges less on vision and more on operational readiness. Across geographies, most organizations, 88%, report themselves as 'mostly or fully ready' for AI, with 81% piloting or scaling AI initiatives. Despite this apparent momentum, the research identified critical gaps between CEO expectations and IT capabilities that threaten to derail these efforts. The study indicates that many organizations lack deep investments in foundational infrastructure, such as secure, scalable data platforms. This can undermine their ability to scale from proof-of-concept to full production deployments effectively. The Global Competitive Landscape When executives were asked which region will lead AI innovation over the next five years, 43% pointed to the United States as the likely winner. Nearly two-thirds of American respondents backed their own country, while Chinese executives showed a similar home-country bias, suggesting that these perceptions may be influenced by nationalistic confidence. Unsurprisingly, China emerges as America's primary challenger for AI dominance, with 43% of Chinese respondents predicting their nation will lead in AI development. This confidence stems from massive infrastructure investments and aggressive scaling strategies. However, the report reveals a critical weakness in China's approach: a dangerous misalignment between CEO ambitions and IT execution capabilities. Even here, a readiness gap exists. While 92% of Chinese CEOs claim their companies have active AI projects, only 74% of their IT leaders agree. This 18-point gap suggests Chinese executives are overcounting their AI progress, creating unrealistic expectations that will limit long-term competitiveness. By contrast, American companies exhibit a much stronger alignment, with CEO and IT assessments matching closely at 77% and 86%, respectively. India and the United Kingdom acknowledge their underdog status, with nearly one-third of executives in both countries reporting additional pressure to compete against the perceived leaders of the United States and China. This recognition drives focused investment strategies that position these markets as potential disruptors in specific AI verticals. The Impact of Data Infrastructure NetApp's research identifies the adoption of an intelligent data infrastructure as a decisive factor separating AI leaders from AI followers. Enterprises need data systems that are accessible, secure, and scalable to generate trusted outcomes from their AI investments. Without this foundation, even the most ambitious AI strategies can fail to deliver results. That's not to say that there's only one correct approach. The report indicates that the deployment of AI infrastructure frequently follows divergent competitive philosophies across various regions. Chinese respondents, for example, prioritize scalability above all else, with 35% ranking it as their top capability, compared to just 24% globally. This reflects a sprint strategy focused on immediate market impact. American, British, and Indian companies, on the other hand, take a different approach, emphasizing integration with existing systems to build sustainable long-term advantages. These strategic differences have real consequences. The survey found that 79% of executives fear their AI initiatives will produce broken models and biased insights due to poor data foundations. Companies that shortcut infrastructure development to accelerate AI deployment often discover their rushed approach creates more problems than solutions. The Data Infrastructure Arms Race The AI infrastructure market is a battlefield where no established technology supplier can afford to fall behind. NetApp chief marketing officer Gabie Boko told me that it's precisely for this reason that NetApp commissions surveys like this one. It's one of the ways it understands the challenges its customers face. NetApp approaches this market with its Intelligent Data Infrastructure, which enables scalable, secure, and operationally efficient AI and data-driven workloads. Unlike legacy storage architectures or ad hoc cloud deployments, NetApp integrates data management, governance, and observability directly into its hybrid cloud platform. The NetApp Intelligent Data Infrastructure supports AI-native patterns, like model training, fine-tuning, and inference, by providing consistent performance, global data access, and real-time visibility across edge, core, and cloud environments. NetApp's approach emphasizes integration over layered complexity across the full spectrum of enterprise data needs, not just AI. It's a strong play. NetApp isn't alone in this market. Dell Technologies, for example, offers its Dell AI Data Platform to support its Dell AI Factory offerings. Dell's solution combines its broad portfolio of storage solutions with Nvidia's AI Data Platform to address enterprise AI challenges. HPE and Pure Storage each take similar, if less opinionated, approaches. Beyond the traditional storage landscape, disruptors like VAST Data and WEKA are also players, taking a more targeted approach to addressing the problem. Innovations like its Augmented Memory Grid and the recently announced NeuralMesh microservices architecture give WEKA a compelling play for reliable, performant, and operational efficient AI infrastructure at scale. WEKA's is an AI-first solution, lacking some of the broader enterprise-focused capabilities found in general-purpose mainstream storage. VAST Data takes things even further, packaging several AI tools together into an opinionated hyper-converged AI stack that it calls the VAST AI OS. This HCAI approach makes VAST less of a direct competitor to the rest of the storage market and more of a competitor to full-stack AI solutions. It should be evaluated as such. The competitive intensity in this market illustrates a broader market reality and reinforces NetApp's findings: AI infrastructure is a critical battleground for long-term customer relationships. Companies that lose this race risk becoming irrelevant as AI becomes central to business operations. Analyst's Take: The Road Ahead NetApp's findings convey a clear message: successful AI implementation requires more than just cutting-edge technology. Organizations must achieve perfect alignment between executive vision and operational execution while building scalable infrastructure foundations. Companies that master this combination will establish lasting competitive advantages. The global nature of AI competition also has an impact, creating complex challenges for multinational organizations. Companies operating across regions must navigate different regulatory environments, talent markets, and customer expectations while maintaining consistent AI capabilities. Success requires adapting strategies to local conditions while preserving global coherence. The report says that 'one of the most significant success factors in the AI Space Race will be data infrastructure and data management, supported by cloud solutions that are agile, secure, and scalable. Successful organizations need an intelligent data infrastructure in place to ensure unfettered AI innovation." It's hard to disagree with that. NetApp's AI Space Race study reinforces its position in the enterprise data infrastructure market. By framing the readiness conversation around organizational alignment and data strategy, NetApp shifts the focus from compute horsepower to the broader challenge of holistically managing the enterprise data lifecycle. It's an approach aligned with current trends across the AI infrastructure ecosystem, where storage, observability, and data orchestration increasingly dictate scalability. NetApp's emphasis on full-stack integration, particularly within multi-cloud environments, differentiates it from infrastructure players that focus purely on on-premises or hyperscaler-native AI stacks. It's a compelling story. Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst, and NAND Research is an industry analyst firm, that engages in, or has engaged in, research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those named in this article: Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetApp, NVIDIA, Pure Storage, VAST Data, and WEKA. No company mentioned was involved in the writing of this article. Mr. McDowell does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned.
Al Bawaba
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Bawaba
NetApp Report Highlights Fierce Competition in Global AI Leadership
NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today released its new report, The AI Space Race, examining which countries are leading the fierce global competition to become the world leader in AI innovation. While some countries are further ahead than others, this survey of CEOs and IT executives in the U.S., China, the U.K., and India found that every player has the potential to thrive in the global race for AI is no longer optional for business, and the region that leads the world in AI innovation will be well-positioned to be a technological superpower, and drive potential benefits like economic growth, improved quality of life, and global political influence in the years to come. Successfully fueling AI innovation requires organizations to prepare their data to make it accessible, secure, and scalable—wherever it lives—to produce trusted and valuable outcomes.'In the 'Space Race' of the 1960's, world powers rushed to accelerate scientific innovation for the sake of national pride. The outcomes of the 'AI Space Race' will shape the world for decades to come,' said Gabie Boko, CMO at NetApp. 'The companies and regions that can get their data ready for AI will be able to generate differentiating business insights and unlock operational efficiencies that launch them ahead of their rivals. Intelligent, scalable, secure data infrastructure is a decisive factor as the global competition drives businesses to solidify their AI ambitions and understand how they translate into a true, lasting advantage.'The AI Space Race is Still Anyone's GameWhen asked what region is best positioned to lead AI innovation in the long term, respondents from every country overwhelmingly pointed to the U.S. (43 percent).However, everyone sees themselves as AI ready, and every region views themselves as competitive in the global AI innovation race. The report shows that 81 percent of global respondents are currently piloting or scaling AI, while 88 percent view their organization as mostly or completely ready to sustain AI transformation. The massive investment in AI innovation around the globe shows that everyone is working to become the world leader in AI innovation. However, some countries are working harder than others, with respondents from India (29%) and UK (32%) reporting that they feel extra pressure to compete as China and US are seen as clear leaders. With all this fierce rivalry and active investment, the field is wide open for any country to achieve that the global differences in the state of AI innovation are diverging priorities in how it is implemented. Respondents in China put a much greater focus on scalability with 35 percent ranking it as a top capability—11 percent higher than the global average—suggesting a focus on rapid deployment to make an early impact. By contrast, leaders in the U.S., U.K., and India put a greater emphasis on integration with existing systems. This long-term strategy to enable sustained AI growth may result in greater business value in the future, though the short-term approach may drive more immediate Business Ambitions and Technology RealityWhile organizations are focused on turbocharging AI innovation, CEOs and IT leaders need to be aligned on the state of their technology environments and plans to drive long term success and China, the survey indicates there is a critical misalignment between Chinese CEOs and IT leaders on both AI readiness and actual deployment, which could hinder its long-term leadership potential: 92 percent of Chinese CEOs report active AI projects, compared to just 74 percent of Chinese IT leaders. In the United States, alignment is stronger—77 percent of CEOs and 86 percent of IT leaders say the same. Perceptions of AI readiness are also misaligned. While 68 percent of Chinese CEOs consider their organizations AI-ready (versus 62 percent globally), only 58 percent of their IT counterparts agree (versus 72 percent globally). In the United States, CEO and IT readiness is more closely aligned at 60 percent and 61 percent, respectively. These differences suggest that internal alignment—not just ambition—may shape how AI strategies are executed, depending on region and concerns about the quality of results from AI projects have the potential to slow down innovation if they are not addressed. Globally, 79 percent of respondents reported a fear of broken models and biased insights resulting from poor data and cloud strategies. Businesses that want to tap into the opportunity of AI innovation will need strong data governance strategies to serve as the foundation for their digital transformation.'One of the most significant success factors in the AI Space Race will be data infrastructure and data management, supported by cloud solutions that are agile, secure and scalable,' said Russell Fishman, Senior Director, Product Management at NetApp. 'Winning organizations will be those that recognize that they require an intelligent data infrastructure in place to ensure unfettered AI innovation. This is critical no matter the company size, industry or geography. As organizations around the world embrace AI at scale, NetApp is there to help them extract maximum value from their data by creating an AI ready data infrastructure that unifies, manages and harnesses their data for optimal AI outcomes.' The AI Space Race is just getting started, but the organizations that can move the fastest will lead in AI innovation. The fierce competition highlighted by this report shows that businesses need to find an edge that will help them leverage AI securely and efficiently to stay a step ahead of their peers, no matter how fast the race evolves. Adopting an intelligent data infrastructure offers organizations unparalleled flexibility and agility to move into the cloud when needed, scale AI workloads seamlessly, reduce costs, and quickly adapt to evolving business needs. As AI increasingly moves from generating content to taking action, businesses need security that starts with the data itself. Only an intelligent data infrastructure delivers a full chain of trust, empowering enterprises to move fast, without compromising control.
