Data services company NetApp Inc. is bringing its network-attached storage service to Google’s cloud, the latest step in an ongoing shift away from its old on-premises business model.

The company also announced what it calls the “world’s fastest enterprise all-flash array.” It’s a new cloud-connected hardware offering that NetApp says is designed to power artificial intelligence and other resource-heavy workloads. Also, the company is updating its StorageGRID data management product with new capabilities around compliance.

The announcements come at a crucial moment for NetApp, which is struggling to reassure investors as it attempts to stay relevant in the new hybrid cloud era of information technology. The company made its name building network-attached storage systems for on-premises data centers, but now finds itself trying to keep up with the times. With that in mind, its cloud strategy sees it focusing on storing data where it’s needed, protecting it and moving it efficiently across clouds, while also ensuring compliance with regulations and company rules.

It’s a tactic that seems to be paying dividends, if the company’s most recent earnings numbers are anything to go by, but NetApp clearly needs to do more to allay the concerns of its investors.

NetApp appears to hope that it new and strategically important partnership with Google Inc. will go some way towards snuffing out any more dissent. The company today announced NetApp Cloud Volumes on Google Cloud Platform, a new offering that pairs its wealth of data services with Google’s application development, data analytics and machine learning platforms.

NetApp Cloud Volumes on Google Cloud Platform is a “fully managed, cloud-native file storage service which speeds developer access to resources and simplifies management,” the company said. What NetApp wants to do is to feed data from a range of sources into and out of Google’s cloud platform as efficiently as possible in order to enable companies’ hybrid cloud strategies. This includes migrating workloads such as file services, DevOps, analytics and databases back and forth between different clouds and on-premises systems. NetApp already provides a similar service for Amazon Web Services Inc.’s public cloud.

“Companies are on different paths to the cloud, each with unique dependencies,” said Diane Greene, chief executive officer at Google Cloud. “Google Cloud and NetApp are committed to simplifying the journey, meeting customers where they are, and accelerating innovation. NetApp Cloud Volumes for Google Cloud Platform —a high-performance storage service with advanced management features—gives our customers the freedom to move to the cloud at their own pace.”

Mark Bregman, NetApp’s senior vice president and chief technology officer, spoke about the company’s strategic maneuverings during an appearance on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile TV studio, at last month’s IBM Think event in Las Vegas. “What’s changed now is branching out from just the NetApp system, to be able to carry that capability to the cloud and other places that people want to keep their data,” Bregman said. “We’ve continually evolved, and we’re doing it again.”

Here’s the full interview:

NetApp Cloud Volumes for Google Cloud Platform is currently available in private preview, and the company will announce details of a public preview later this year.

Meanwhile, NetApp’s new enterprise-grade AFF A800 all-flash storage array is designed to further help customers onboard data to the cloud when it’s needed for their most intensive workloads. The array is said to provide very low latency of less than 200 microseconds when moving data between applications and storage. It can also help companies to reduce their storage footprint thanks to its support for 30-terabyte solid-state drives. In addition, it boasts new “intelligent cloud services” that enable the automatic tiering of infrequently used data to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure where it’s more cost-efficient.

Finally, NetApp said it’s updating its StorageGRID service with new data retention capabilities. The company said customers can now retain and manage unlimited amounts of “rich media” data such as voice calls, scanned contracts and emails, while ensuring that data remains compliant with international regulations.

Image: NetApp/Facebook