As a part of an overall strategy to secure its position as a leading innovator in big data, NetApp Inc. is working closely with information technology provider DARZ GmbH to enable protected, integrated data sourcing from multiple clouds for clients.

Alfred Manhart (pictured, left), senior director of channel and systems integrator, EMEA, at NetApp, and Lars Göbel (pictured, right), director of strategy and innovation at DARZ GmbH, see the move as an inevitable next step for businesses.

“Partnering at NetApp is the base of our strategy, not just an initiative. … The partner landscape has to change,” Manhart said. He sees this need for change on two fronts: existing partners must adapt to digital transformation, while new partners must also be sourced to make the complex, customer-oriented offering become a reality.

Manhart and Göbel spoke with Rebecca Knight (@knightrm) and Peter Burris (@plburris), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the NetApp Insight event in Berlin, Germany. They discussed NetApp’s work with DARZ and how partnerships are substantially increasing customer cloud benefits. (* Disclosure below.)

Changing the partner landscape

As a full IT service provider, DARZ stores and integrates data seamlessly for customers. The company provides colocation housing, private cloud hosting, and public cloud and hybrid cloud solutions. Though DARZ is supporting NetApp to provide data integrations, a data fabric is still essential to customer processes for full contextualization of data from all environments, according to Göbel.

NetApp’s goal is to foster multiple partnerships within businesses to optimize data processing and analysis. “Everywhere partnerships exist, the innovation is much higher. Today we talk of a new business model, innovation, scalability, flexibility … and also of the challenges the customers have. They need the best for every part of the solution,” Manhart said.

While many companies are still working against the challenge of managing their current data, Manhart and Göbel advise a strategic approach that emphasizes future outcomes.

“You have to consider what you want to do with data long term. It’s a challenge to balance out the short-term benefits with the long-term objectives you have,” Manhart concluded.

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