When executives from the data management and storage company NetApp Inc. meet with customers, some common themes usually emerge. Companies are trying to modernize existing infrastructure, looking to build the next-generation data center, or they want to harness the power of the cloud. But behind these goals lies an undercurrent of unease, fueled by uncertainties about future technology and the growing complexity of enterprise IT.

“Customers are very fearful of lock-in and they’re very fearful of making decisions today that they can’t unmake in the future,” said David Richard (pictured, left), vice president of solutions engineering, Americas, at NetApp. “There’s almost this ‘consumerization’ of IT [information technology], with expectations that things really should be that easy. Things are still complex.”

Richard visited the set of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, and spoke with host John Furrier (@furrier) and guest host Keith Townsend (@CTOAdvisor) during the recent NetApp Insight conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was joined by James Whitemore (pictured, right), vice president of brand and demand marketing at NetApp. They discussed what they’ve been hearing from customers and how recent partnership and product announcements are designed to address enterprise needs. (* Disclosure below.)

During the first day of NetApp Insight, a number of company officials met with customers in an executive forum. And the message they heard from customers was loud and clear. “It was, ‘Help us, this is complicated!’” Whitemore recalled.

Evolving partnership with Microsoft

Mindful of customer concerns, NetApp made several recent announcements designed to enhance speed, strengthen data availability and smooth transition to the cloud. One of the key pieces of news involved the company’s evolving partnership with Microsoft.

NetApp announced that NFS storage will become an available service inside Azure, and it will be based on the NetApp ONTAP operating system. “What you’re seeing is the maturation of the relationship we announced with [Microsoft] about six months ago,” Richard explained. “We think it’s important that as customers start moving to the cloud, they can bring their toolsets and expectations.”

The company also announced that NetApp Cloud Control for Microsoft’s Office 365 would support Azure storage and issued a new release for its Data Fabric product designed to improve data management for customers across the hybrid cloud.

“Looking at data holistically across all different types of platforms is exactly what they want,” Whitemore said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of NetApp Insight 2017. (* Disclosure: NetApp Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither NetApp nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE