Brian Kaplan

NetApp delivered a solid earnings beat w/ its $1.7B quater with growth across the board, but big growth in as-a-Service (~65% y/y). Unsurprisingly maintained strong profitability despite cost pressures. Still, some surprises: Financial highlights: • Revenue: $1.71B (+4% YoY; +6% ex-Spot) • EPS: $2.12 (+11% YoY), above guidance • Gross margin: 71.2% (+50 bps YoY); operating margin: 31.1% • All-flash revenue: $1B (+11% YoY) • Keystone STaaS: ~+65% YoY • Public cloud (ex-Spot): +17% YoY Non-financial highlights: • ~300 AI customer engagements in the quarter • AI Data Engine moving toward GA in Q4 • Continued competitive wins driven by cyber resilience capabilities Interesting Observations: • AI workloads still ~60% data prep vs ~40% production • Public cloud gross margin reached ~85% — highly accretive • Cloud AFX adoption beat internal expectations + already landed neocloud win • AFA revenue $1.0B implies a $4.2B annualized run rate Memory Crunch Impact: • George said they've already raised prices and will do so again if needed. • Giving customers ~90–120 days to adjust purchasing plans after price changes. • Not yet seeing supply shortages & aren't aware of imminent shortages Congratulations to George Kurian & the team. Nicely done. #NetApp #Earnings #Storage #AIInfrastructure #HybridCloud #Cloud #EnterpriseIT

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This is one of the big conference weeks in the tech calendar, and The Futurum Group will be across much of it. NetApp Insight is where I'm at, and will be looking to hear how it positions itself as the underlying storage technology in an era where data infrastructure efficiency will be critical to maximizing ROI in AI training, RAG, inferencing. Oracle AI World is just down the road here in Vegas, and some of the team are on site. Oracle has been among the most interesting of market movers so far in 2025, and while news from the summer will be hard to top I'm hearing about some interesting announcements that will occur this week. Salesforce Dreamforce is probably the biggest tech conference happening this week and the team there will no doubt be looking to see how Agentforce is landing in the market so far, and what additions will make it more appealing for those that have yet to go beyond pilots. At the Open Compute Project Foundation OCP Summit, we will be focused on the hardware revolution required for AI. We’ll be tracking discussions around liquid cooling, power distribution, and the open standards being developed to support the high-density infrastructure required for the next generation of AI data centers. We'll be at Cribl's CriblCon where I imagine the focus will be on the "Data Engine for IT and Security." We’ll be watching to see how the platform is enabling customers to simplify data routing, enhance visibility, and integrate AI to gain control and cost efficiency over their ever-growing telemetry data sprawl. At the Red Hat AI Summit, the story is all about where AI runs. The Futurum team is on the ground, looking for updates on how OpenShift AI, RHEL 10, and AI-enhanced Ansible automation are enabling enterprises to build, deploy, and scale models across the open hybrid cloud and down to the edge. Meanwhile there is also Dell Technologies Tech Summit (analyst only) which I'm sure will explore the company’s push into the "AI Factory" concept, the overall adoption of Enterprise AI, and a look at device momentum given Windows refresh and question marks on AI PCs. What a week! Here we go...

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Cyberattacks are up 37% and HALF now result in breaches. So what’s changing, and how can you stay ahead? NetApp SVP & GM Gagan Gulati sat down with cybersecurity expert Shira Rubinoff to talk through: - Why cyber resilience is now a boardroom priority - How ransomware is evolving and targeting data itself - The double-edged sword of AI in cybersecurity - Why clean, trusted data is your best defense Where others stop at detection, NetApp goes beyond detection, building resilience into your data itself. Get ahead of the threat. Watch the conversation: https://bit.ly/4aaW3TU

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Dell PowerStore differentiates itself from competitors like Pure Storage FlashArray, NetApp AFF, HPE Alletra, IBM FlashSystem, Hitachi, and others by offering a unique blend of architectural flexibility, operational simplicity, efficiency, and deep feature integration tailored for modern workloads. In practical terms, here are some key advantages of PowerStore: - Simplified upgrades and lifecycle management, eliminating the need for cumbersome controller swaps to scale up. - Recognized as the most user-friendly platform, reducing daily administrative tasks. - Achieving top competitive benchmarks in density, efficiency, and operational ease. - Providing a wide range of replication options for all workload types, ensuring strong business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. If you're considering storage solutions, exploring Dell PowerStore could be a valuable investment. Learn more here: [Link to Dell PowerStore](https://lnkd.in/g-fsnYnh)

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Most CSMs treat QBRs like a report card. I started treating them like a sales call, and my retention numbers never looked the same. At Commvault, I was managing 90+ enterprise accounts with $7M in ARR on the line. Early on I noticed something: customers who walked into QBRs already knowing the value we delivered were far easier to retain and expand. So I flipped the format. Instead of recapping the past quarter, I led with their business goals first, then showed exactly where our platform moved the needle toward those goals. The data came second. The story came first. That shift helped me hit 110% quota and land a 9 out of 10 NPS across a portfolio that size. It also changed how I think about every customer touchpoint. Every call is a chance to either strengthen the case for your product or quietly let a competitor make theirs. The QBR is not a formality. It is one of the highest-leverage moments a CSM has all quarter. Treating it like a check-in is leaving retention and expansion revenue on the table. How do you structure your QBRs to drive business outcomes, not just report on activity? #CustomerSuccess #QBR #SaaS #RetentionStrategy #CSM #EnterpriseCS #CustomerExperience #RevenueGrowth

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Still managing your channel on "vibes"? 📉 Most vendors look at "Total Sales" and call it a day. But the pros? They’re looking at: 1️⃣ Certification-to-Revenue Ratio: Who is trained but not selling? 2️⃣ Lead Velocity: How fast are partners moving on your MDF leads? 3️⃣ Churn Predictors: Which partners haven't logged into the portal in 30 days? Data is the only way to see the fire before the house burns down. 🏠🔥 #DataDriven #ChannelMetrics #PartnerOps

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