Sovereign, air‑gapped cloud deal

NetApp said on April 15 it signed a four-year expansion with Google Cloud to supply storage for Google Distributed Cloud air-gapped systems. (netapp.com) The companies said the deal targets governments and regulated industries that need computing systems kept physically disconnected from the internet and kept under local control. Google says its air-gapped version of Google Distributed Cloud is built for strict data residency, security, and sovereignty requirements. (netapp.com) (cloud.google.com) An air-gapped cloud is a private cloud that runs without an external network connection. Google’s documentation says customers can still run virtual machines, containers, managed services, and some artificial intelligence tools inside that isolated setup. (docs.cloud.google.com 1) (docs.cloud.google.com 2) NetApp’s role is the storage layer: the systems that hold files, databases, and backups for those disconnected environments. The company said its hardware and software will be embedded into Google Distributed Cloud to support what it called “enterprise-grade AI” in sovereign and air-gapped deployments. (netapp.com) Google has been building out this market beyond standard public cloud. Its product pages describe Google Distributed Cloud air-gapped as part of its Sovereign Cloud portfolio, and say deployments can be operated by Google, a partner, or a hybrid model with controls such as operator citizenship and clearances. (cloud.google.com 1) (cloud.google.com 2) NetApp and Google Cloud were already expanding their partnership before this deal. NetApp announced new Google Cloud NetApp Volumes capabilities on April 9, 2025, and a broader collaboration update on Oct. 14, 2025, both aimed at enterprise cloud and artificial intelligence workloads. (investors.netapp.com 1) (investors.netapp.com 2) The pitch lands as cloud vendors try to win workloads that cannot move onto shared, internet-connected infrastructure. Google’s air-gapped documentation says the platform is designed for compliance-heavy settings, while a separate Google page describes a smaller appliance version for tactical edge and field use outside data centers. (docs.cloud.google.com) (docs.cloud.google.com) The deal does not disclose financial terms, customer names, or deployment volumes. What it does show is that the cloud fight is moving deeper into storage, control, and physical isolation for customers that cannot accept ordinary cloud connectivity. (netapp.com)