NetApp Insight 2026 is just around the corner, and the cloud storage giant faces a battle to calm customer cost concerns and to differentiate itself in an increasingly uniformed market.

In recent years, the company has sharpened its focus on data management capabilities for customers. Its ‘intelligent data infrastructure’ approach includes a range of analytics tools designed to help enterprises monitor and maximize the use of data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

It’s a common recurring theme we’ve seen in this domain over the last three years. Providers such as Dell Technologies have ramped up capabilities on this front while Everpure has gone all-in on data management.

With customers shifting their attention to agentic AI and contending with the significant infrastructure-related pressures associated with the technology, I expect we’ll see much more on this front at the annual conference In Las Vegas next week.

Tokenomics and inference-related concerns continue to plague enterprises, and NetApp will be keen to emphasize the importance of its intelligent data infrastructure strategy and tools such as the NetApp AI Data Engine and ONTAP unified storage capabilities.

NetApp’s July acquisition of data infrastructure firm DataPelago will also feature heavily on this front. The California-based firm’s specialized data processing technology was designed specifically to tackle performance bottlenecks for large-scale analytics projects and AI workloads.

At the time, NetApp said this will deliver marked benefits for customers in terms of infrastructure costs and will give them “full command” of their data. How the company has integrated DataPelago's flagship Nucleus engine, and how this will complement NetApp customers’ agentic strategies will certainly be a key talking point.

Storage costs in the spotlight

That’s only one part of the equation for NetApp, however. As with counterparts in the industry, the storage giant could be facing some frank discussions over rising infrastructure costs.

2026 has been fraught with rising concerns over AI and storage-related costs. As I reported in June, competitor Everpure apologized to customers over price hikes and thanked them for “sticking with us” during the crisis.

NetApp, it seems, finds itself in a similar predicament, having raised prices over the last year. CEO George Kurian acknowledged the issue during its Q2 FY2026 earnings report in February during the height of the crunch, warning that the company will “do so again as needed”.

Kurian noted that closer collaboration with channel partners and candid communication with customers on this front was a key focus for the company.

A key advantage for NetApp lies in its hardware diversification, however. Unlike some all-flash competitors, the company has a broader portfolio that insulates from cost crunches to some extent.

I expect Kurian and NetApp at large to drive home the messaging on this front at the annual event.

Striking while the iron is hot

While calming customer concerns over hardware prices will be a big talking point, I expect NetApp will be keen to strike while the iron is hot on this front. From a financial perspective, the company is performing very well and Kurian will be keen to highlight this performance as a signal of its appeal over competitors.

NetApp recorded record figures in its Q4 and FY2026 earnings report in early September, posting record all-flash revenue of $1.2 billion for Q4 and marking an 18% year-over-year increase.

Public cloud net revenue also reached $182 million for the fourth quarter, marking an 11% year-over-year increase – the latter of these will most certainly be a key talking point for the storage giant.

NetApp has consistently highlighted its deep integration with hyperscalers as a key differentiator in the market. With close ties to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, the company will be eager to emphasize the importance of these relationships for multi-cloud customers.

I will be live on the ground in Las Vegas for NetApp Insight 2026, from 28-30 September. Keep tabs on all of our news, views, and analysis from the conference on our website or by subscribing to our newsletter.