KUALA LUMPUR: NetApp has launched a new generation of its EF-Series storage systems, as organisations face rising demand for infrastructure capable of supporting artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and data-heavy enterprise workloads.
The new EF50 and EF80 models are aimed at enterprises and neocloud providers that require stronger performance for workloads such as AI model training, inferencing and transactional databases, including newer use cases such as sovereign AI clouds and AI-powered manufacturing.
NetApp said the latest EF-Series systems deliver more than 110GBps of read throughput and 55GBps of write throughput, representing a 250% improvement over previous generations. The systems also offer up to 1.5PB of storage in a 2U form factor and power efficiency of 63.7GBps per kW.
The company said these capabilities are intended to help organisations handle high-throughput, low-latency workloads more effectively while reducing data centre footprint and operational overhead.
NetApp senior vice president and general manager of enterprise storage Sandeep Singh said that the rapid growth of AI and other performance-intensive applications is increasing the need for infrastructure that can deliver speed and scale without unnecessary complexity.
“As businesses contend with ever-increasing data volumes and performance-intensive applications such as AI model training, AI inferencing and high-performance computing, they need infrastructure that delivers speed, scalability and efficiency without added complexity,” he said.
He added that NetApp’s portfolio is designed to support every stage of the AI data pipeline, from data collection and preparation through to feeding generative AI models that generate business insights.
“With the new EF-Series systems, purpose-built for extreme performance, we’re enabling customers to deploy and scale high-throughput, low-latency workloads quickly and efficiently, while reducing data centre footprint and operational overhead,” said Singh.
NetApp said the EF50 and EF80 can also be paired with parallel file systems such as Lustre and BeeGFS, allowing organisations to accelerate HPC simulations and provide high-performance scratch space to keep GPUs fully utilised.
This, it said, could benefit a broad range of users, from neocloud providers supporting AI innovation to media and entertainment companies managing large-scale digital content libraries.
Industry players said the launch reflects growing market demand for raw performance as businesses seek to extract more value from data in the AI era.
CDW senior solution architect Clayton Vipond said the refreshed EF-Series gives businesses the throughput and capacity needed to scale high-powered workloads that turn data into insights and outcomes.
Teradata chief product officer Sumeet Arora said the improved models could help reduce infrastructure complexity while supporting AI and data modernisation initiatives. Omdiaprincipal analyst Simon Robinson meanwhile said AI workloads now require levels of performance beyond those of mainstream business applications.
NetApp said the updated EF-Series builds on decades of durability and reliability, with more than one million installations worldwide.
