NetApp + Google for secure AI

NetApp and Google Cloud said on April 15 they are extending their partnership to put NetApp storage inside Google Distributed Cloud for artificial intelligence workloads that must stay isolated. (netapp.com) The companies said the setup is aimed at sovereign and air-gapped deployments, where data has to remain in a specific country or on systems cut off from the public internet. Google says its air-gapped version of Google Distributed Cloud is built for organizations with strict residency and security rules. (netapp.com) (cloud.google.com) In practice, NetApp is supplying its “secure-by-design” storage systems as part of Google Distributed Cloud, so customers can run accredited enterprise AI closer to where sensitive data already sits. The announcement came from NetApp, and Google’s sovereign-cloud pages describe the same product family as offering residency, administrative controls, and local operating options. (netapp.com) (cloud.google.com) An air gap is the simplest version of the problem: a network physically separated from the internet so outside connections cannot reach it. Sovereign cloud is the policy version: cloud services configured so data location, operator access, and legal control stay inside defined national or regional boundaries. (cloud.google.com 1) (cloud.google.com 2) That combination has become a bigger enterprise issue as companies try to use generative AI on internal records, medical files, financial data, and government information without moving those datasets into standard public-cloud environments. Google says its sovereign AI offerings are designed around data residency and administrative access controls, especially for governments and regulated industries. (cloud.google.com 1) (cloud.google.com 2) The two companies were already expanding their cloud-storage tie-up before this move. NetApp announced new Google Cloud NetApp Volumes capabilities on April 9, 2025, and in October 2025 said those services were adding caching and Gemini-related integrations for enterprise AI workflows. (netapp.com 1) (netapp.com 2) Google has also been widening its sovereign-cloud pitch. In 2025 and 2026, the company said it was expanding its Sovereign Cloud portfolio and pointed to public-sector and regulated customers that want cloud features, including AI, without giving up local control over data and operations. (cloud.google.com) (cloud.google.com) The immediate result is not a new consumer AI product but a more formal path for enterprises that need both modern AI tools and tighter control over where data lives and who can touch it. For NetApp and Google Cloud, the pitch is that those customers no longer have to choose one or the other. (netapp.com) (cloud.google.com)