Many in the business world are still struggling to monetize data. What’s more, the looming General Data Protection Regulation from the European Union requires that companies master data sovereignty and privacy rules as well. No wonder some tech companies are rebranding themselves as data specialists. Storage vendor NetApp Inc., for instance, now bills itself as data management. Are its claims legit, and can it steer customers through the data morass?

“A lot of things have to happen over the course of the next few years for executives and rank-and-file folks to comprehend the characteristics of the nature of these changes,” said Peter Burris (@plburris, pictured, right), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio.

The changes Burris refers to include adapting to both potential challenges and rewards of working with data daily. The ideal data-driven company would not wait in a defensive crouch for data issues to rear their heads. It would instead seize on data proactively as a boon and a market differentiator.

Who will lead the way to this future? Burris looked at contenders with co-host Rebecca Knight (@knightrm, pictured, left) during the NetApp Insight event in Berlin, Germany. (* Disclosure below.)

NetApp evolves with evolving industry demands

Not many tech companies take the market pulse precisely and serve customers just what they ask for, according to Burris. Amazon Web Services Inc. is a notable exception; many others stubbornly oversell products with little sensitivity to shifts in customer needs. NetApp is not AWS’ equal in this regard, but it’s made earnest efforts to change with its customers, and they’ve been fruitful, Burris added.

“It’s putting them in a position to play in the next round, so to speak, of competition in the industry,” Burris said. “In an industry that’s changing this fast, that all by itself is a pretty good position to be in.”

NetApp’s growth revolves mainly around data management. The company still offers storage standards like all-flash and hyperconverged infrastructure. But, “Increasingly, they’re positioning those products not in terms of price or performance, but in terms of applications to the business based on the practical realities of data,” Burris said.

In everyone’s favorite practical data reality — GDPR — NetApp is going the extra mile to mark itself a thought leader. Sheila FitzPatrick, chief privacy officer at NetApp, has made a bold move to advance ahead.

“The decision that she drove was to not just have NetApp do GDPR here in Europe, but to do GDPR across the entire company,” Burris said. This might compel companies quaking at the thought of GDPR’s hefty fines to turn to NetApp for guidance.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of NetApp Insight Berlin. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the NetApp Insight Berlin event. Neither NetApp Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE