Azure NetApp Files

by
Jim Gaynor

by
Jim Gaynor

Jim leads the Directions on Microsoft editorial team and has been writing about technology since the early 1990s. Most recently... more

Azure NetApp Files is a cloud-based network-attached storage (NAS) service that runs on specialized hardware and software developed by NetApp and deployed in Microsoft’s Azure datacenters.

Product: Azure NetApp Files

Near Term (2026–2027)

NetApp Files continues to see a regular cadence of improvements. The standout is a new Elastic service level, in preview, which offers a zone-redundant storage tier designed to provide zero-data-loss resilience across Azure Availability Zones. Other recent notable enhancements, including some still in preview, include:

• A NetApp Files migration assistant (generally available), which leverages ONTAP’s built-in replication engine to help customers migrate from on-premises storage or Cloud Volumes ONTAP with reduced network transfer costs and a shorter cutover/downtime window.
• Cache volumes (generally available), which are cloud-based caches of the most active data on a volume to reduce WAN latency and lower bandwidth costs.