Case Study: Databricks Integration

Introduction to NetApp’s Cloud and Hybrid Solutions

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape of 2025, businesses face the challenge of managing vast datasets across on-premises, private, and public cloud environments while ensuring agility, security, and cost efficiency. NetApp, a global leader in intelligent data infrastructure, addresses these challenges through its robust cloud and hybrid solutions, particularly its first-party services on AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. By offering native integrations like Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, Azure NetApp Files, and Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, NetApp delivers a unified, secure, and agile data infrastructure. This analysis, inspired by insights from a NetApp community blog on Databricks integration (NetApp Blog) and broader research, explores NetApp’s value proposition in cloud and hybrid spaces.

This Blog highlights NetApp’s value proposition, drawing from a specific blog post on integrating Databricks with NetApp ONTAP FSxN on AWS and broader insights into its hybrid cloud offerings.

NetApp’s Data Fabric: A Unified Approach

NetApp’s Data Fabric vision provides a cohesive framework for managing data across hybrid and multicloud environments. This architecture ensures seamless data movement and interoperability, eliminating silos and simplifying operations. Key components include:

• NetApp ONTAP: A versatile data management system that powers first-party services across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, ensuring consistency and performance.
• Cloud Volumes ONTAP: Extends ONTAP capabilities to the cloud, optimizing storage costs and enhancing data protection (Cloud Volumes ONTAP).
• NetApp BlueXP: A SaaS control plane for deploying and automating hybrid multicloud infrastructures, providing a single pane of glass for management.

This unified approach enables businesses to run workloads where they perform best, whether on-premises or in the cloud, without complex data conversions or application refactoring.

Case Study: Databricks Integration

A notable example is NetApp’s integration with Databricks using ONTAP FSxN on AWS. This setup allows direct data access without movement, reducing costs and enhancing security, particularly for analytics like ETL/ELT and AI/ML, demonstrating practical benefits in hybrid clouds.

The integration of Databricks with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP on AWS highlights NetApp’s practical value in hybrid cloud analytics (NetApp Blog). Key benefits include:

• Direct Data Access: Databricks users can access data stored on FSx for ONTAP using simple connection strings (e.g., s3a://<ontap-bucket-name>/), eliminating data movement and reducing costs.
• Cost Efficiency: By avoiding I/O and network transfer costs, businesses save on cloud expenses without additional storage contracts.
• Security: NetApp’s trusted storage platform prevents data leaks and ensures compliance, critical for sensitive analytics workloads.
• Use Cases: Supports ETL/ELT, AI/ML, RAG LLMs, and exploratory data analysis, enabling data-driven decisions without engineering overhead.

This integration demonstrates how NetApp’s first-party services enhance cloud analytics, making it easier for businesses to derive insights while maintaining efficiency and security.

Key Citations:

• https://community.netapp.com/t5/Tech-ONTAP-Blogs/Modern-Data-platform-Databricks-with-NetApp-ONTAP-FSxN-AWS/ba-p/461261
• NetApp and AWS Partnership
• Azure NetApp Files on Microsoft Azure
• Cloud Volumes ONTAP for Optimized Data Storage