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SAN JOSE, Calif. - NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP), a prominent player in the Technology Hardware industry with a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, announced a collaboration with Cisco to enhance their converged infrastructure offerings, building on their 20-year partnership. The company’s NetApp AFX architecture now integrates with Cisco Nexus switches for intra-cluster connectivity, with plans to extend to FlexPod AI. According to InvestingPro data, NetApp maintains a robust gross profit margin of 70%, positioning it well for this strategic expansion.
The integration pairs NetApp’s disaggregated ONTAP storage operating system with Cisco Nexus 400G switches to deliver high-bandwidth, low-latency networking capabilities designed for AI workloads. The companies aim to provide enterprise-grade reliability while meeting the performance demands of AI applications. This strategic move comes as NetApp demonstrates strong market momentum, with InvestingPro showing an impressive 44% price return over the past six months. Subscribers can access 12 additional exclusive ProTips about NetApp’s market position and future potential.
"By working with Cisco, NetApp is delivering a unified solution for AI-ready data centers," said Dallas Olson, Chief Commercial Officer at NetApp, according to the press release.
Murali Gandluru, Vice President of Data Center Networking at Cisco, stated that customers are seeking simplicity without compromising performance or security, necessitating collaboration between the two companies.
The partnership will soon expand to include FlexPod AI, which will combine NetApp AFX storage systems, Cisco Unified Computing System, and Cisco Nexus data center switching. This solution will offer centralized management through Cisco Intersight, allowing organizations to customize their infrastructure for specific AI workload requirements.
NetApp will showcase these developments at NetApp INSIGHT 2025 in Las Vegas, taking place Tuesday through Thursday this week.
The announcement represents the latest development in the companies’ long-standing partnership focused on providing enterprise data infrastructure solutions. The integration aims to address growing demand for AI-capable networking and storage systems in enterprise environments. With an overall financial health score of "GOOD" from InvestingPro, NetApp appears well-positioned to execute this strategic initiative. For detailed insights into NetApp’s valuation and growth prospects, investors can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report, available exclusively to InvestingPro subscribers.
In other recent news, NetApp reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.55, slightly surpassing the forecast of $1.54. The company also reported revenue of $1.56 billion, exceeding the anticipated $1.54 billion. Additionally, UBS raised its price target for NetApp to $114.00 from $108.00, maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock. The revenue reported matched UBS estimates, and when adjusted for the sale of the ’Spot’ asset last year, NetApp’s year-over-year revenue growth was approximately 3%.
Moreover, NetApp announced an expansion of its collaboration with Google Cloud, introducing new block storage capabilities in Google Cloud NetApp Volumes to enhance unified storage for enterprise workloads. The expanded service now supports both Network Attached Storage (NAS) protocols and Storage Area Network (SAN) protocols through iSCSI. This development allows customers to run virtualized environments and self-managed databases more effectively in Google Cloud. These block storage capabilities are generally available to customers upon request.
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