NetApp Keystone Storage as a Service (STaaS) is a subscription-based way to consume file, block, and object storage along with data management services. Instead of buying and managing storage hardware yourself, you subscribe to the capacity and performance you need and let NetApp (or a NetApp partner) handle the underlying infrastructure.

Key points about how it works:

• Flexible deployment: Use it fully on premises or as a hybrid cloud service that combines on-premises storage with Cloud Volumes ONTAP.
• Service types: Support for block, file, and object storage. Unified (file and block) and Block Optimized storage run on NetApp ONTAP AFF, FAS, or ONTAP ASA platforms; object storage runs on NetApp StorageGRID.
• Built-in data management: Includes ONTAP One or StorageGRID features for data protection and management, plus options like MetroCluster IP and data tiering to supported non-NetApp targets.
• Operational offload: NetApp owns and deploys the subscription products at your site and provides monitoring, service management, support, updates, and deinstallation.
• Customer control: You retain control over access, security, and administration of the storage environment.

By shifting to Keystone STaaS, organizations can rethink storage from a capital-intensive asset purchase to an operational, subscription-based model that’s easier to scale and align with changing business needs.

NetApp Keystone STaaS is designed to give you flexibility in how you subscribe and pay for storage, so you can better align costs with usage and budgets.

Subscription models

• On-Premises Service: Storage delivered at your site on NetApp platforms, with terms of up to 5 years.
• Hybrid Cloud Service: Combines on-premises storage with Cloud Volumes ONTAP, with terms of up to 3 years. This supports cloud bursting, data protection, and cloud migration.

Invoicing options

• For On-Premises subscriptions, you can choose:
  • Monthly, in arrears
  • Quarterly, in advance
  • Semi-annual, in advance
  • Annual, in advance
• For Hybrid subscriptions, invoicing is monthly, in arrears.

Capacity commitments and burst

• You commit to a minimum capacity per performance service level, with the ability to increase or decrease committed capacity over time (subject to terms and conditions).
• You can add 20%, 40%, or 60% pay-per-use burst capacity on top of your committed capacity to handle spikes in demand.
• In Hybrid deployments, on-premises spend can be reallocated to Cloud Volumes ONTAP (CVO) spend, giving you more flexibility as workloads move.

This mix of term options, invoicing choices, and adjustable capacity helps you reimagine storage as a predictable, service-based cost structure rather than a series of large, upfront hardware purchases.

NetApp Keystone STaaS provides defined service levels so you know what to expect in terms of performance, availability, and support.

Performance service levels

• Multiple performance tiers (such as Extreme, Premium, Standard, Value, Archive) are available for different workloads, including AI/ML, HPC, in-memory databases, analytics, IoT, containers, SAP HANA, Oracle, MS SQL Server, backup, and archive.
• Each tier has target metrics like 90th percentile latency, maximum IOPS, and maximum GBps. These are based on reference tests (for example, ONTAP 9.16.1 with specific protocol, block size, and read/write ratios).
• Committed capacity is tied to a performance level, and you can select burst capacity to handle short-term peaks.

Availability

• For Unified and Block Optimized storage types, Keystone targets 99.999% availability, helping you keep critical applications online.

Support and operations

• Technical support response times:
  • P1: 30 minutes
  • P2: 2 hours
  • P3: 8 hours
  • P4: 24 hours
• Service parts delivery and on-site replacement with a 4-hour target where available.
• Included monitoring, reporting, capacity/health/performance management, and hardware and software updates.
• Options such as U.S. citizen support (USCS), non-returnable drives (NRD), and advanced data protection (for example, MetroCluster IP).

Together, these capabilities help you reshape how you deliver storage services internally—shifting from day-to-day infrastructure management to focusing on application and business outcomes.