Ace storage vendor NetApp Inc. (NTAP) announced that it inked two back-to-back deals, last week. Financial details of those deals were not made public.
NetApp was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to get a comprehensive storage foundation for its yet-to-be-operational supercomputer. Sequoia. The supercomputer is slated for deployment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California by 2012. Sequoia will help scientists in complex calculations related to the DoE’s nuclear security mission.
This high-performance computer will be required to perform each task with utmost speed and security. This would, in turn, require a scalable, secure, reliable and efficient data storage infrastructure. That is why the DoE has opted for NetApp’s E-series storage solution, which will transfer 1 Terabyte (1000 Gigabyte) of data in a second.
Apart from the DoE, many educational institutions have relied upon NetApp’s storage platform to fight the complexities of managing large volumes of data.
The University of San Diego and the Art Center College of Design are reportedly transforming their IT infrastructures to gain greater flexibility and efficiency with NetApp’s storage foundations. The storage platform will also help them to optimize costs related to additional storage, maintenance and supervision.
Both deals show the growing need for storage these days. Keeping in view the requirement, we believe that the growing demand for storage platforms could outweigh the fed budget cuts.
NetApp delivered mediocre first quarter 2012 results with the bottom line marginally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Management has guided its next quarter cautiously, keeping in mind the ongoing macro uncertainty caused by the European debt crisis and federal budget cuts.
But we believe NetApp will be able to sustain its growth story and will remain a key player in the virtualization and network storage market based on new product launches and strategic acquisitions.
NetApp is performing impressively, despite macro concerns and stiff competition from industrial heavyweights like International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and EMC Corporation (EMC).
NetApp currently carries a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold recommendation).
