NetApp Scales Storage for AI Pipelines with StorageGRID 12.1

NetApp has introduced StorageGRID 12.1, an update to its intelligent data infrastructure platform designed to support massive-scale AI and modern data pipelines. The release introduces a federated global namespace that allows organizations to manage up to 10 Exabytes of data across globally distributed environments, simplifying data management without the need for extensive architectural reconfigurations.

The update delivers up to 400 percent higher throughput compared to the previous 12.0 version, enabling data transfer rates of up to 12 TB/s for AI factories. By optimizing the management of unstructured data and object-based applications, StorageGRID 12.1 addresses common bottlenecks in AI data lakes. These enhancements focus on reducing compute costs and improving the efficiency of batch operations across billions of objects.

NetApp’s move to support AI-native storage comes as organizations increasingly require robust infrastructure to handle distributed and regulated object estates. The company was recently recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave for Object Storage Solutions in Q2 2026. As firms look to extract value from unstructured data, this upgrade provides the scalability and governance features necessary for deploying complex, AI-driven workloads in hybrid and multicloud environments.