Bridging the gaps in AI: Domino + NetApp

Data access — providing authorized users with fast, secure, seamless connections to governed datasets — is one of the top challenges currently facing AI leaders. It was a hot topic at this year’s NVIDIA GTC AI Conference (check out the blog), and it sparked a valuable discussion between Ravit Jain of the widely followed The Ravit Show, Domino Data Lab CMO Thomas Been, and NetApp Director of Global Strategic Alliances Andy Sayare. Been and Sayare share insightful advice as the companies are going beyond the word “partnership” and putting viable results into operation.

Scaling AI without complexity

The three discussed the situation in depth and how Domino and NetApp partnered to provide a solution: AI at scale, with speed, and without complexity. BARC US CEO Shawn Rogers recently wrote about the alliance, “This collaboration is a step forward for AI and enterprise data management. It streamlines access to governed datasets, making data science workflows more efficient without compromising security or compliance. Removing traditional bottlenecks speeds up insights, optimizes infrastructure, and reduces costs. For enterprises navigating hybrid and multicloud environments, it offers the flexibility to innovate while staying in control.”

Key takeaways from the discussion

The companies have been working together for four years, jointly working with customers to unlock solutions and realize AI’s full potential. Some of the proof points in the talk include:

• Johnson & Johnson uses Domino Volumes for NetApp ONTAP (DVNO) to access clinical data for new cancer treatments that is stored, secured, and managed in NetApp. According to Sayare, “This life-changing use case is a good example of having the right data and the right way to work on it with AI.”
• In highly regulated industries, security and governance policies are set up within NetApp ONTAP to ensure the right data is getting to models and the wrong data, such as PII, is not.
• Sayare says, “Leaders tell me access to data is one of the biggest blockers in creating AI for the enterprise.” Ravit adds, “The most important challenges I hear from AI leaders are data quality and governance.”
• DVNO provides faster, seamless access to data to minimize GPU overhead. Gartner’s Carlie Idoine commented, “The integration of Domino with NetApp enhances data access performance, delivering speeds up to twice as fast as standard cloud solutions.” According to Been, “Governance plus seamless access in half the time is a game-changer.”
• With the Domino and NetApp solution, data scientists don’t have to wait on IT to provision environments, get data moved to the environment, secure the data, and perform other tasks. They get to work running models right away. Rogers added, “This collaboration streamlines access to governed datasets, making data science workflows more efficient without compromising security or compliance.”

Additional enterprise AI insights

Been and Sayare shared key advice for enterprise AI developers: build your platform, find the right partners such as Domino and NetApp, and build your own practices. The factors that will make the biggest difference are how quickly teams can create value and how fast they can adapt to new regulations, technologies, and data assets. “Enterprises have to go beyond experimentation and create value to transform their key business processes,” said Been. “They need the right foundation on which to build their own solutions.”

What's next?

Watch the video to see why Domino and NetApp are better together. Plus, check out our upcoming RevX conference series — May 8th in NYC, May 20th in Philadelphia, and June 24th in London. Register now to connect with industry leaders and like-minded peers to explore topics on enterprise AI.