Azure Files vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP comparison

Microsoft and NetApp are both solutions in the Cloud Storage category. Microsoft is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0, while NetApp is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.3. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Azure Files

Read 2 Azure Files reviews

399 Views
323 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Read 64 NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP reviews

8,174 Views
2,943 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Azure Files

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure Files and NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Cloud Storage solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

June 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Azure Files

Ranking in Cloud Storage

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (21st)

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Ranking in Cloud Storage

7th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (2nd), Cloud Backup (29th), Public Cloud Storage Services (12th), Cloud Software Defined Storage (2nd)

Featured Reviews

Yogesh Autade

Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited

Centralized file sharing has improved security and compliance but still needs better analytics

From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns. We would also prefer more streamlined management for large-scale development deployments, better monitoring of SMB and NFS performance issues, and deeper integration of storage analytics to help identify bottlenecks and optimize cost efficiency. Another area where Azure Files could improve is the administrative experience for hybrid environments. More intuitive troubleshooting for authentication, SMB connectivity, and synchronization-related issues would help reduce operational efforts. Enhanced reporting, proactive recommendations, and clearer root cause analysis and diagnostics would also be valuable for storage and infrastructure teams managing large deployments.

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Punit Waghela

Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited

Offers advanced features with notable emphasis on innovation

The best features of NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP include deduplication, compaction, and autonomous ransomware technology that native cloud storage solutions in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud do not support. Moreover, NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP allows the use of multiple protocols including NFS, CIFS, and iSCSI, whereas native options may only support NFS and iSCSI. Customers already using on-premises NetApp storage such as FAS, AFF, or ASA can experience the same functionality on the cloud with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, which adds significant value. For data protection, customers can take advantage of the Snapshot technology available with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP. This technology facilitates data recovery by allowing snapshots to be stored either on the same storage or on a disaster recovery (DR) storage. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP helps us to take snapshots and store them on the same storage, with options for migration or replication of those snapshots to different storage, including on-premises DR storage or other cloud storage, providing excellent disaster recovery capabilities.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"If we need to migrate data, Azure Files allows a seamless data migration."

"We see a clear return on investment with Azure Files, primarily through reduced infrastructure management effort and improved operational efficiency."

"The tool's most valuable features are the SnapLock and SnapMirror features. If something goes wrong with the data, we can restore it. This isn't a mirror; we store data in different locations. If there's an issue on the primary site, we can retrieve data from the secondary site."

"With NetApp, you can integrate malware scanning or malware protection. This is something valuable that is not offered in SaaS solutions typically."

"The good thing about NetApp is the features that are available on the cloud are also available on-premises."

"We previously used HPE 3PAR and we switched because of the complexity we had with HPE, as it was easier with NetApp."

"Its scalability is very good."

"It functions and I think in the future it will be a reasonable method of getting NFS in the cloud."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of file storage."

"The support is its most valuable feature as they provide on-call support, respond to issues in a timely fashion, and also offer disaster recovery."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pros

Cons

"I think if Azure Files could integrate migration using Storage Mover, that would be an improvement."

"From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns."

"I would want more visibility and data analytics where we can see anomalies within the shares within the GUI."

"The automated deployment was a bit complex using the public APIs. When we had to deploy Cloud Volumes ONTAP on a regular basis using automation, It could be a bit of a challenge."

"It needs better reporting. Right now, we had to put everything one to the other just to figure out what could be the issue."

"They definitely need to stay more on top of security vulnerabilities."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see the Azure NetApp Files have the capability of doing SnapMirrors."

"Multipathing for iSCSI LUNs is difficult to deal with from the client-side and I'd love to see a single entry point that can be moved around within the cluster to simplify the client configuration."

"Their support and development teams can collaborate better to resolve an issue."

"I would like to see more aggressive management of the aggregate space. On the Cloud Volumes ONTAP that we use for offsite backup copies, most of the data sits in S3. There are also the EBS volumes on the Cloud Volumes ONTAP itself. Sometimes what happens is that the aggregate size just stays the same. If it allocates 8 terabytes initially, it just stays at 8 terabytes for a long time, even though we're only using 20 percent of that 8 terabytes. NetApp could undersize that more aggressively."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It is not a cheap solution because we need to pay for the license and pay for Azure resources as well."

"I know the licensing is a bit on the high-end. That's when we had to downsize our MetroCluster disks and just migrate to disks that were half used. We migrated into those just to reduce maintenance costs."

"The cost is quite high."

"They allow a special price if you are working closely with them. Since we have a lot of NetApp systems, we got some kind of discount. That's something they do for other customers, not just for us. The price was fair. In addition to the licensing fees, you're paying Amazon for your usage..."

"Our licensing is based on a yearly subscription. That is an additional cost, but because of the storage efficiencies that the NetApp gives, even with the additional cost of the NetApp license, you still end up saving money versus straight Azure native for storage. It's definitely worth it."

"We purchased the product directly from NetApp."

"For enterprise customers, it's a very cost effective. But in the SMB segment, yeah, pricing is a little bit challenge for your time."

"Cost is a big factor, because a lot of companies can't afford enterprise grade equipment all the time. They skimp where they can. I would recommend that they improve the cost."

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

13%

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	53

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Azure Files?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Files?

Our primary use case for Azure Files is centralized file sharing, application data storage, and replacing traditional on-premises file servers with cloud-based SMB and NFS shares. From an infrastru...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Azure Files?

I would recommend this product without hesitation. I would also recommend starting with a pilot workload to validate SMB, NFS performance, and user access patterns. I recommend using Active Directo...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is actually quite reasonable in price compared to other native cloud storage options. For example, a customer using 100 TB of AWS storage would not benefit from deduplica...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

It would be nice to see technology supporting the Elastic Fabric Adapter on Amazon AWS, therefore getting RDMA technology for more low-latency connections.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP?

I use NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP mostly in customer companies.

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Workspace vs Azure Files

Compared 41% of the time

Everpure Evergreen One vs Azure Files

Compared 32% of the time

Box vs Azure Files

Compared 9% of the time

Dropbox Business - Enterprise vs Azure Files

Compared 8% of the time

More Azure Files Competitors

Amazon S3 vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 7% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 5% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon FSx vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 4% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Compared 4% of the time

More NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Storage

May 2026

Download Azure Files product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

June 2026

Download NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP product report

Also Known As

No data available

ONTAP Cloud, CVO, NetApp CVO

Overview

Azure Files offers scalable, fully-managed cloud file shares accessible over SMB and NFS protocols. Ideal for sharing files and resources in the cloud, it simplifies data access across various applications and services, enhancing collaboration.

Azure Files provides a seamless solution for organizations requiring cloud-based file storage that integrates easily with on-premises environments. Its ability to support both SMB and NFS protocols makes it versatile for a wide range of applications. Integration with Azure services ensures enhanced security and efficient management, while its scalability supports growing data demands without complexity.

What are the key features of Azure Files?

SMB and NFS Protocol Support: Ensures compatibility with existing file-serving workloads.
On-Premises Integration: Facilitates hybrid cloud deployments with sync capabilities.
Secure Access Control: Uses Azure Active Directory for managing permissions.
Scalability and Redundancy: Supports rapid data growth with high availability through geo-redundant storage.
Backup and Recovery: Provides built-in integration with Azure Backup for data protection.

What benefits should users expect from Azure Files?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce costs with pay-as-you-go pricing and minimized on-premises infrastructure.
Enhanced Collaboration: Improved productivity with easy file sharing across teams.
Seamless Integration: Streamlined operations with integration into existing IT environments.
Data Security: Safeguard data with encryption and compliance features.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Azure Files is implemented for reliable data storage and compliance requirements. Retail sectors leverage it for seamless collaboration and data sharing, driving enhanced operational efficiencies. By supporting multiple protocols, it is versatile for companies managing a high volume of data across platforms.

Microsoft

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is an efficient storage management solution for managing and storing data in the cloud. It offers seamless integration with cloud providers, advanced data replication capabilities, and high data protection. With reliable performance, it is ideal for industries like healthcare and finance.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

1. Accenture 2. Acer 3. Adidas 4. Aetna 5. AIG 6. Apple 7. Bank of America 8. Barclays 9. Bayer 10. Berkshire Hathaway 11. BNP Paribas 12. Cisco 13. Coca-Cola 14. Comcast 15.ConocoPhillips 16. CVS Health 17. Dell 18. Deutsche Bank 19. eBay 20. Eli Lilly 21. FedEx 22. Ford 23. Freescale Semiconductor 24. General Electric 25. Google 26. Honeywell 27. IBM 28. Intel 29. Intuit 30. JPMorgan Chase 31. Kellogg's 32. KeyCorp 33. Liberty Mutual 34. L'Oréal 35. Mastercard

Buyer's Guide

Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

June 2026

Free Report: Azure Files vs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP

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