NetApp, a hybrid cloud provider has acquired StackPointCloud, a leader in multi-cloud Kubernetes as-a-service and a contributor to the Kubernetes project. The acquisition will launch NetApp Kubernetes Service, the industry's first complete Kubernetes platform for multi-cloud deployments. It will be a platform that will work across Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and NetApp hyper-converged infrastructure. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"This acquisition will benefit customers looking to simplify the delivery of data and applications in clouds, across clouds and hybrid clouds. The StackPointCloud Kubernetes-as-a-service platform combined with NetApp's Cloud Data Services creates a complete DevOps solution, so customers can focus on innovation, not administration,” said Anthony Lye, senior vice president & general manager of NetApp's Cloud Data Services business unit.
The acquisition will expand NetApp’s multi-cloud management tools. NetApp will use the StackPointCloud platform to support application orchestration capabilities of its Data Fabric. According to NetApp, it will integrate with NetApp Cloud Volumes and Trident, enabling multi-cloud application orchestration with persistent storage for stateful applications that use file-based protocols. The company claims that the new NetApp Kubernetes Service will be the simplest way to deploy a Kubernetes cluster to the clouds.
StackPointCloud explained in a blog post announcing the deal, “Stackpoint.io is the tip of the spear. We’ll now be working to tie together all of NetApp’s cloud service products into a single-pane of glass — integrating Trident, Cloud Volumes, and Cloud Volumes ONTAP to solve Cloud Native workload and infrastructure management, and data gravity challenges.”
NetApp Kubernetes Service is immediately available at cloud.netapp.com for customers to deploy and manage clusters and applications across the clouds. NetApp guarantees that the customers will be able to more easily manage data and applications in the cloud and across clouds, they can put the data where it needs to be. The company charges a small percentage of what customers deploy. There will not be upfront license costs or multi-month or annual contracts.
