After two years in the work, a new e-commerce platform for Lao agriculture products has finally been launched to promote both domestic trade and across borders.
Laos Launches New E-commerce Platform for Agricultural Products, Supported by Chinese Government

Laos-Thailand Railway Prepares for Official Opening with Trial Runs
Laos and Thailand have commenced a trial run of the new cross-border railway service before its official launch, which is expected to be announced within the upcoming few months.
Shopee Guarantees Risk-Free Shopping with 15 Days Free Returns
Enjoy ‘Change of Mind’ Returns and Multiple Return Options for Maximum Convenience
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan, has recently enhanced its user experience with the launch of the ‘15 Days Free Returns’ program. This initiative, introduced on 19 March 2024, offers maximum flexibility and fosters greater trust in online shopping. With this program, users have the freedom to return eligible items across all product categories, including Fashion, Lifestyle, Electronics, and FMCG, for free within the 15-day guarantee period, allowing a full refund for ‘Change of Mind’ return reason with No Questions Asked*.

“At Shopee, we believe online shopping should be enjoyable and convenient for everyone,” said Ming Kit Tan, Head of Marketing and Business Intelligence at Shopee Malaysia. “The 15 Days Free Returns program reflects this commitment. We understand that shopping preferences can evolve, and this program empowers users by allowing returns within the 15-day Shopee Guarantee period, whether due to unmet expectations, evolving needs, or simply a change of mind. It eliminates product suitability anxieties and fosters a risk-free environment, allowing users to shop with confidence on Shopee.”
Shopee recognises the importance of a seamless returns policy alongside competitive pricing and attractive promotions, aligning with insights from the ‘The Future of Shopping: Engaging Generation Z Shoppers in the Digital Era’ market study**. This study found that 83% of Gen Z respondents prioritise value maximisation in their purchases. In other words, factors like free shipping, competitive pricing, and attractive deals are crucial motivators for them. By offering a hassle-free return option alongside these features, Shopee caters to the value-conscious nature of all shoppers and fosters a more trustworthy shopping experience.
To ensure maximum convenience with the 15 Days Free Returns program, Shopee offers multiple return options at no extra cost. Users can opt for hassle-free return pick-up from their doorsteps through partnerships with reliable third-party logistics providers under Shopee Supported Logistics (SSL) or choose to drop off returns at any SPX Express, J&T or Pos Laju outlets nationwide. Additionally, the program allows for self-arranged returns using preferred couriers, providing maximum flexibility.
Since its app-wide implementation on 19 March 2024, the program has garnered widespread positive feedback from both buyers and sellers alike. A long-time Shopee user, by the username Dee Library, praised the free return policy, stating, “The convenience of the free return policy has significantly enhanced my shopping experience. Previously, I often struggled when items didn’t meet my expectations or if I had a change of mind, leading to regrettable purchases. Now, it’s as simple as ensuring the original packaging is intact and dropping off the parcel at a SPX Express drop-off point. No more regrets!”
Echoing similar sentiments, tulipindah93 (Nurul Amira), a Shopee Affiliate Livestreamer, expressed delight, saying, “As a buyer, I can now shop without overthinking – it’s incredibly straightforward and enjoyable! Even if I accidentally purchase the wrong size, I have no worries. In the past, I had to find someone to sell my preloved items to, but not anymore! I can simply return them without any questions asked, get my money back, and purchase a new item that suits me. Who wouldn’t be thrilled with this initiative? Happy shopping indeed!”
Meanwhile, Mohd Shafrizal Bin Abdul Ghani, Managing Director of Inhanna, a local fashion brand, embrace the extended return policy from the perspective of a seller, stating, “As a seller, I welcome this newly extended return policy because I firmly believe that when customers feel confident in their purchases, it not only encourages them to explore our new products but also fosters trust in my shop and the Shopee platform as a whole. By prioritising customer satisfaction and offering extended returns, we not only boost buyer confidence but also cultivate enhanced customer loyalty. Ultimately, it’s about fostering a positive brand perception that leads to repeat business and long-term success.”
For more information about the 15 Days Free Returns – No Questions Asked* program, visit https://shopee.com.my/m/free-returns
**The “The Future of Shopping: Engaging Generation Z Shoppers in the Digital Era” survey was conducted by Kantar’s Profile division, between 31 January and 5 February 2024. Voluntary feedback was obtained from 400 Malaysians.
Hashtag: #ShopeeMY
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Shopee
Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan. Shopee promotes an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem by enabling businesses to digitalise and grow their online presence, helping more people access and benefit from digital services, and uplifting local communities.
Shopee offers an easy, secure, and engaging experience that is enjoyed by millions of people daily. Shopee is also a key contributor to the region’s digital economy with a firm commitment to helping homegrown brands and entrepreneurs succeed in e-commerce.
Shopee is part of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), a leading global consumer internet company. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology through its three core businesses: Shopee, Garena and SeaMoney.
Canopy Sands Development Triumphs at Cambodia Real Estate Award 2024, Solidifying Leadership in Township Development

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – Canopy Sands Development continues to establish itself as a leading force in the real estate industry by securing three prestigious awards — Township Development of the Year, Lifestyle Developer of the Year, and Development of the Year — at the Cambodia Real Estate Awards (CREA) 2024 for its premier project, the Bay of Lights. This marks the second consecutive year the project has been recognized, solidifying Canopy Sands Development’s standing as a frontrunner in township development.
Spanning 934 hectares, the Bay of Lights aims to transform Sihanoukville into a vibrant business and tourism hub, bringing substantial economic and social benefits. Recognized by a judging panel of leading real estate industry experts, these awards underscore the project’s ongoing impact and vision.
“This recognition didn’t come overnight,” said Jimmy He, spokesperson for Canopy Sands Development. “The awards are the culmination of our progress over the past two years, reflecting our strategic planning and reinforcing our vision for the future.”
Jimmy further added, “The Bay of Lights extends beyond the traditional concept of a city; it is a comprehensive urban ecosystem designed to foster a sustainable and enriched way of life. We are deeply honored by these awards that acknowledge our innovative vision, and we remain committed to spearheading developments that promise economically sustainable and vibrant urban living.”
The master plan for the Bay of Lights is built on visionary urban design principles aimed at creating a modern, efficient, and progressive township. This includes unique recreation and accommodation offerings, a safe and widely accessible infrastructure network, smart mobility, and sustainable waste, energy, and water management systems.
This planning is also complemented by a comprehensive development strategy designed to attract international investors and tourists, thereby boosting Sihanoukville’s tourism and local economy. This approach has not only stimulated immediate economic activity but also established long-term growth and enhanced the global relevance of Cambodia’s market.
Since its inception in 2019, the Bay of Lights has achieved significant milestones including the launch of the Summer Bay Beach Club & Cabins by Preference (now managed by Ascott Group), the groundbreaking of a premiere USGA-certified 18+1 hole waterfront golf course designed by the legendary Greg Norman, as well as the introduction of a one-stop leisure hub featuring Nitro Kart Circuit go-kart, Splash watersports, and Fly Max reverse bungee.
As it progresses, the Bay of Lights project promises to transform Sihanoukville into a premier global destination, setting the standard for sustainable development and community building, making it a benchmark for innovative urban planning in Cambodia.
Hashtag: #CanopySandsDevelopment
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Canopy Sands Development
Canopy Sands Development is a pioneering real estate development company, established in 2019 and headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Led by a dynamic team of highly experienced professionals, both local and international, Canopy Sands Development is committed to laying the foundations that catalyze economic opportunities. With each project, it aims to create a significant economic, social, and educational impact, delivering sustainable and lasting benefits to Cambodian communities.
Bay of Lights
Bay of Lights is a pioneering development reshaping the skyline of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. With investment of USD 16 billion, this sprawling 934-hectare beachfront project has been meticulously master-planned to feature nine distinctive districts supporting the initiative’s six core pillars: Financial Services, Tourism, Education, Entertainment & Lifestyle, Health & Wellness, as well as Art & Culture. Driven by a vision to create a world-class financial and tourism hub, Bay of Lights design encourages a sense of connectivity between diverse sectors and stimulating economic growth.
Eq8 Capital Rebrands with Greater Accessibility to Its Exchanged Traded Fund

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – Eq8 Capital Sdn Bhd (“Eq8”), (formerly known as i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd), Malaysia’s leading equity Exchanged Traded Fund (“ETF”) manager and a wholly owned subsidiary of Kenanga Investors Berhad, unveils its new corporate identity with greater access to its best performing ETF, Eq8 Dow Jones US Titans 50 ETF (“EQ8US50”) through a strategic collaboration with Phillip Capital Management Sdn Bhd (“PhillipCapital”).
Synergising PhillipCapital’s position as an Authorised Fund Management Institution under the Employee Provident Fund’s (EPF) Members Investment Scheme, with Eq8’s EQ8US50 which has been outperforming the S&P500 by 45% and delivering over 116% growth over the last five years, investors can now access this investment option via the Phillip PMART ETF Eq8 US Titans 50 Shariah Aggressive Portfolio (“PMART Eq8 ETF”), on EPF’s i-Invest portal.
With EQ8US50 as its underlying asset, the PMART Eq8 ETF is a shariah compliant managed portfolio that effectively tracks and taps the performance of the top 50 largest companies in the United States such as Tesla, NVIDIA, Apple and Amazon.
“Incorporating ETFs into our offerings in 2020 has enhanced portfolio performance and provided new investment opportunities, empowering investors to tailor their strategies effectively. Eq8’s evolution signifies our commitment to refreshing our image and promoting financial empowerment and inclusivity. Read as “Equate”, we aim to foster equality, simplicity, and transparency in financial markets through our ETFs, providing investors with access to various global markets through a single instrument,” says Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kenanga Investors Berhad, Datuk Wira Ismitz Matthew De Alwis.
“The timing of this rebranding, coupled with the collaborative venture, underscores Eq8’s proactive approach in forging strategic alliances within the financial realm. This collaboration expands upon existing partnerships, wherein our ETF serves as an underlying fund for an insurer’s investment-linked product, aiming for broad market exposure. With EQ8US50’s passive strategies, investors gain an avenue to navigate market volatility, alleviating the challenges of selecting winning stocks over the medium to long term,” says Umar Alhadad, Executive Director of Eq8.
This strategic move is expected to contribute to the growth of the ETF market by attracting new investors who are unfamiliar with trading ETFs on the exchange, through the simple and well-guided digital interface of EPF’s i-Invest.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Eq8, which offers more investment options for our platform users. We anticipate a surge in inflows facilitated by the newly established channel, thanks to the seamless investment experience offered on EPF’s i-Invest. Together, we are confident in leveraging our respective strengths and expertise to explore innovative solutions that address the needs of investors,” says Group Chairperson of PhillipCapital Malaysia, Datin Hajjah Nona Salleh.
With the rebranding, all ETFs under Eq8 has now transitioned to carry the ‘Eq8’ prefixes, from the previous ‘MyETF’.
For more information about Eq8, please visit www.eq8.com.my
Hashtag: #Eq8
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Eq8 Capital Sdn Bhd 20070103439 (792968-D)
Eq8 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kenanga Investors Berhad and was incorporated on 25 October 2007. Eq8 holds a Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL) for fund management in relation to portfolio management which was issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Its principal business activity is the provision of Shariah-compliant investment management services.
Eq8 Dow Jones US Titans 50 ETF is Asia’s first US dollar Shariah ETF that is listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities. Its primary objective is to provide investors with immediate access to the top 50 largest Shariah-compliant companies listed on various United States exchanges.
Eq8 manages four equity Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) that are listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities with an asset under management of RM324 million as at 30 April 2024.
Siam Piwat Group celebrates Pride Month with “The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign, solidifying ‘Pride Festival Destination’

BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – In celebration of Pride Month and Thailand’s move towards legalizing same-sex marriage, Siam Piwat Group, leading world-class retail and real estate developer and the owner and operator of Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and a joint-venture partner of ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, reinforces its steadfast commitment to promote Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at a press conference to announce the company’s “The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign.

Ms. Saruntorn Asaves, Head of Shopping Center Business Division, Siam Piwat Group said “Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are values deeply rooted in Siam Piwat company culture. Physically, our properties embody the Universal Design where each space has been meticulously designed around people, regardless of their age, gender, ability or disability. Symbolically, our properties have long served as platform for all communities, including the LGBTQAI+ communities in Thailand, where their voices can be heard and their rights can be seen. We offer our spaces to all communities that wish to enhance their presence and make their messages heard globally. Siam Center, most especially, continues to work hand-in-hand with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thailand, a global organization dedicated to the holistic development of people’s lives based on ethical principles, to raise awareness of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion.”

For the fast-approaching Pride Month, recognized and celebrated in major cities worldwide, Bangkok undoubtedly will serve as key Pride destination. Bangkok is considered one of the most welcoming and inclusive cities in the world, and the annual Pride celebrations here are some of the most anticipated. This year’s Pride celebrations, like the years before, will help contribute significantly to Thailand’s tourism industry and economy.”
In 2023, Siam Piwat worked closely with Bangkok Naruemit Pride to host Bangkok Pride, a grand event during Pride Month that brought together government agencies, private sectors, NGOs, and various associations. The event was a tremendous success, drawing over 50,000 attendees. This year, another significant event is planned to celebrate Thailand’s LGBTQAI+ communities and their allies, as the nation inches closer to legalizing same-sex marriage. Siam Piwat Group will host “The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign, featuring a series of events and festivities from May 31 through June 2024.
Siam Piwat sets to be a ‘Pride Festival Destination,’ hosting world-class events to celebrate Pride Month
Solidifying their stance as ‘global destinations’ that continue to attract both locals and international travelers from across the world, Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and ICONSIAM are co-hosting Bangkok Pride, under the campaign “The Celebration: Right to Love“. The main events include the Bangkok Pride Parade, a celebration of Pride Month bringing together the LGBTQIA+ communities from Thailand and beyond on June 1, 2024.
Siam Paragon will co-host The Bangkok Pride Forum 2024, a crucial platform welcoming delegates from local and international LGBTQIA+ and women’s rights organizations, featuring over 20 panel discussions covering topics from human rights, education to same-sex marriage, from May 31 to June 4, 2024, at SCBX Next Tech, 4th Floor, Siam Paragon. Additionally, the property will host Thailand’s and Asia’s first Drag Bangkok Festival 2024, showcasing over 500 drag artists, at Parc Paragon, Siam Paragon from May 31 to June 4, 2024.
Under “The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign, Siam Center is collaborating with WildBrain to bring world-renowned characters, Teletubbies, to Thailand. The beloved characters are most notable for promoting the message of joy, community and inclusivity. Teletubbies will serve as Pride Ambassadors at “The Celebration: Right to Love” event and will be participating in the Bangkok Pride Parade. As part of the exclusive partnership, Siam Center will launch the first-ever Siam Center x Teletubbies Experience Space and Wacoal X Teletubbies Café, both located on G Floor, Siam Center, serving beverages and treats amidst Teletubbies’ most recognizable world of lush green hills. Additionally, exclusive Teletubbies-themed merchandise and mementos will also be available at 1st Floor, Absolute Siam Concept Store.
Furthermore, Siam Discovery will partner Mister International Thailand 2024, one of the two largest male beauty pageants in the world, for “Road to on Runway” activities to take place in June 2024.
For ICONSIAM and ICS, Assistant Managing Director of ICONSIAM Ms. Suma Wongphan said “ICONSIAM and ICS will launch “ICONSIAM Pride out Loud” campaign to celebrate Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion to honor iconic LGBTQIA+ members and their social contributions, which will run throughout June 2024. The campaign will also include Thailand’s first-ever “The Proud Reflexions Exhibition”, which will feature exclusive art toys by LGBTQIA+ artists and LGBTQIA+ – friendly artists, including Rainbow Kido, Dolores and Poriin, from June 1-18 2024 at Charoen Nakorn Hall, ICONSIAM.
On June 8-9, 2024, under the theme “Pride Out Loud presents: Thai Pride x ICONCRAFT,” a fashion show hosted by Miss Tiffany’s Universe, featuring LGBTQIA+ models. In addition, visitors can also enjoy spectacular rainbow-themed water fountain show from the ICONIC Multimedia Water Features, the longest in Southeast Asia, all through Jun 2024.
In addition, Siam Piwat is set to host, in collaboration with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and district offices, the highly-anticipated Collective Wedding Ceremonies to celebrate the historical same-sex marriage bill at both of its iconic convention halls, Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon and True Icon Hall, ICONSIAM. The event will be open to all couples, local and international, who wish to partake in the event.
A Pride Month celebration with Sustainable approach
As Pride Month coincides with World Environment Day on June 5, Siam Piwat has launched the ONESIAM Drinking Water Pride Edition which features six vibrant colors from the Pride flag. ONESIAM water was first introduced at the end of 2023 to drive more sustainable consumerism, promoting the idea of world-saving beverages in aluminum packaging that can be fully recycled, aligning with the principles of comprehensive waste management, the Siam Piwat 360° Waste Journey to Zero Waste, and the drive towards zero waste organizations. Used ONESIAM water cans will be repurposed as costumes and showcased in a fashion show on June 4, 2024 at SCBX Next Tech, Siam Paragon.
A collaborative effort between the government and private sectors to organize Bangkok Pride
Siam Piwat’s “The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign is a winning collaboration between Bangkok Pride, led by Chairman Ms. Arun (Waddao) Chumaporn, various LGBTQIA+ community associations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Drag Bangkok and other honorable partners from the private sectors.
“The Celebration: Right to Love” campaign is just one of the stepping stones initiated by Siam Piwat to showcase Thailand’s potential and readiness to host the World Pride 2030 event. The event will mark another triumph for the LGBTQIA+ communities in Thailand, as their presence continue to grow globally, as well as for Thailand, as the event is expected to draw over half a million local and international visitors and contribute to propelling the nation’s tourism industry forward.
Hashtag: #SiamPiwat #SiamParagon #SiamCenter #SiamDiscovery #ICONSIAM #PrideDestination #PrideFestival #WorldPride2030 #BangkokPride #PrideMonth2024 #DragBangkok #BestShoppingMallsinAsia #ShoppingMallsinBangkok #GlobalDestinations #GlobalRetail #RetailAsia
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Siam Piwat
Siam Piwat is a leading world-class retail and real estate developer and the owner and operator of Bangkok’s world-class experiential destinations, including Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery, ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok.
Siam Piwat has played a significant role in shaping Bangkok’s retail landscape and is recognized for creating innovative prototypes and for its management excellence. Committed to sustainable growth, Siam Piwat strives beyond business success, seeking to actively contribute to social development and utilize its business as a platform of opportunities to foster growth and success for all stakeholders.
NetApp and Lenovo Offer Converged Infrastructure Solution Optimized for GenAI
Simple, affordable, and powerful infrastructure solution makes AI more accessible for enterprises
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced NetApp AIPod with Lenovo ThinkSystem servers for NVIDIA OVX, a converged infrastructure optimized for the generative AI era. NetApp and Lenovo have had a strong partnership for over five years and are now taking the partnership to the next level with the introduction of this simple, cost-effective, and powerful solution for enterprise AI. The new converged infrastructure solution will support NVIDIA NIM inference microservices, the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform for generative AI development and deployment, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to enable customers to leverage their private, proprietary data for AI without large-scale model training.
Generative AI has created extensive opportunities for organizations, though many may feel as if AI is out of reach due to the cost, integration complexity, and time to deployment. Meanwhile, pre-built large language models (LLMs) often do not have training on the most up-to-date or relevant data organizations need to generate valuable insights or effectively automate routine tasks.
NetApp has led in unstructured data storage for over three decades, and much of the world’s enterprise unstructured data is stored in NetApp storage. Unlocking the full value of this data requires going far beyond foundational model training. By enabling inferencing and RAG, the NetApp AIPod with Lenovo’s leading server reliability, quality, and performance makes it seamless, simple, and fast to combine the power of LLMs with precise, up-to-date, and pertinent information on NetApp storage.
“The NetApp AIPod with Lenovo ThinkSystem servers for NVIDIA OVX transforms enterprise AI by delivering a pre-integrated, high-performance solution that accelerates the deployment and scaling of generative AI workloads,” said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Storage at NetApp. “Through our collaboration with NVIDIA and Lenovo, NetApp is empowering organizations to harness the capabilities of AI more efficiently, ensuring that they can focus on creating value and gaining insights from their data without the complexity of building and managing AI infrastructure from scratch.”
NetApp AIPod combines NetApp’s robust storage systems with hybrid cloud data management, including Lenovo’s high-performance ThinkSystem SR675 V3 servers, the leading platforms supporting NVIDIA-certified OVX architecture with NVIDIA L40S GPUs, as well as NVIDIA Spectrum-X Networking, providing a complete and seamless infrastructure solution to streamline AI adoption. Using this solution, customers will be able to conduct AI RAG and inferencing operations for use cases like chatbots, knowledge management, and object recognition. NetApp, in collaboration with Lenovo and NVIDIA, simplifies AI deployment by seamlessly integrating into ecosystems, simplifying operations, accelerating implementation, and safeguarding AI infrastructure, enabling organizations to unlock AI’s full potential.
“Lenovo is expanding our partnership with NetApp and NVIDIA to bring the power of AI to every business as part of our continued commitment to enabling and simplifying hybrid AI for our joint customers,” said Kirk Skaugen, President of Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group . “As customers deploy AI, they demand business critical availability, ease of management, and infrastructure efficiency. The NetApp AIPod with Lenovo ThinkSystem servers for NVIDIA OVX delivers optimized and validated solutions to make generative AI more accessible for businesses of every size.”
“Making AI accessible and scalable for every industry is more important than ever,” said Bob Pette, Vice President of Enterprise Platforms at NVIDIA. “The NetApp AIPod with Lenovo for NVIDIA OVX offers an AI-ready platform that’s powerful and easy to use, enabling businesses to drive innovation.”
“As competition intensifies, the ability to quickly and effectively utilize GenAI has become a pressing business concern for APAC organizations,” said Masahiro Waki, AI Business Lead for NetApp Asia Pacific. “NetApp is taking a step forward in making enterprises’ data infrastructure more robust and intelligent. Through our partnership with Lenovo, enterprises in APAC now can better maximize the value of their data, drive AI investments and turn disruptions into opportunities.”
NetApp AIPod with Lenovo for NVIDIA OVX will be available by summer 2024.
Additional Resources
- NetApp AIPodTM with Lenovo for NVIDIA OVX: The Power of Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Every Enterprise
- NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era
- AIPod: Delivering the Promise
Hashtag: #NetApp #Lenovo #AI
https://www.netapp.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/netapp/
https://twitter.com/NetApp
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About NetApp
NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, combining unified data storage, integrated data services, and CloudOps solutions to turn a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. NetApp creates silo-free infrastructure, harnessing observability and AI to enable the industry’s best data management. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in the world’s biggest clouds, our data storage delivers seamless flexibility. In addition, our data services create a data advantage through superior cyber resilience, governance, and application agility. Our CloudOps solutions provide continuous optimization of performance and efficiency through observability and AI. No matter the data type, workload, or environment, with NetApp you can transform your data infrastructure to realize your business possibilities. Learn more at www.netapp.com or follow us on
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NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era
Intelligent data infrastructure powered by the new AFF A-Series with integrated data services turbocharges AI and simplifies every workload at scale
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 May 2024 – NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced new leading AFF A-Series systems that can power the most demanding IT workloads customers face, including GenAI, VMware, and enterprise databases. NetApp also released expanded capabilities across its portfolio to help customers operate more efficiently as they leverage their data to drive innovation.
In the AI era, organizations are feeling pressure to accelerate innovation, unlock new customer experiences, outsmart cyber threats, and gain ever greater productivity. Many organizations see AI as a critical tool to help them achieve those goals. According to the 2024 NetApp Cloud Complexity report, organizations realize that achieving business success with AI hinges on two critical factors, data (74%) and IT infrastructure (71%). With today’s announcements, NetApp is helping organizations excel at both factors and drive competitive success by offering innovative intelligent data infrastructure that empowers customers to unlock the value of their data with AI.
The new NetApp AFF A-Series systems continue NetApp’s leadership in unified data storage for the next generation of workloads. Leveraging the same technology relied upon by the top three public clouds, the NetApp AFF A-Series eliminates storage silos and storage complexity, providing powerful, intelligent, and secure storage to accelerate and optimize every workload. This includes integrated capabilities to optimize VMware storage costs today and provide unmatched flexibility for the future.
“Data is undeniably the most valuable asset for any company to outpace its competitors. Whether it’s mission critical applications or leveraging enterprise data to fuel AI, the data infrastructure a company chooses to run it on makes all the difference,” said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Storage at NetApp. “NetApp’s extensive, unified data storage portfolio, from on-premises to the public clouds, makes it the go-to solution for enterprises looking to have the robustness for the most demanding workloads. The introduction of the new AFF A-Series Systems is a testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering the most powerful, intelligent, and secure enterprise storage in the industry.”
“It is increasingly crucial for organizations in Asia Pacific to harness the power of data to overcome economic headwinds and accelerate business transformation,” said You Qinghong, Solutions Engineering Lead, Greater China, ASEAN and South Korea, NetApp. “Backed by over 30 years of expertise in enterprise storage, we are expanding our portfolio today with the new AFF A-Series systems to help organizations to protect their mission-critical apps, unlock the value of their data and drive successful business outcomes.”
New AFF A-Series Systems to Accelerate Business Technology Operations
With the introduction of new, more-powerful AFF A-Series all-flash storage systems, NetApp is continuing its commitment to innovation with unified data storage systems designed for any data, any app, and any cloud. The new AFF A-Series storage systems easily power the most demanding workloads—from existing mission-critical apps to GenAI workloads that will drive success into the future.
These new systems are the NetApp AFF A1K, AFF A90, and AFF A70, which can turbo-charge enterprise workloads by delivering:
- Up to 2x better performance with unmatched 40 million IOPs, 1 TB/s throughput
- Proven 99.9999% data availability
- Leading raw-to-effective capacity, including always-on data reduction and 4:1 Storage Efficiency Guarantee
- Integrated real-time ransomware detection designed for 99%+ accuracy and Ransomware Recovery Guarantee
NetApp’s unified data storage supports block, file and object storage protocols and natively integrates with the three largest public cloud providers, allowing customers to consolidate workloads, lower cost of data, and operate without silos. Powered by NetApp ONTAP®, these systems deliver the simplicity and reliability tens of thousands of organizations have come to expect from NetApp.
“As we’ve ramped up our investments in AI projects to help accelerate our business, we needed to grow our data infrastructure to deliver ever greater performance for those workloads,” Christian Klie, Tribe Cluster Lead at T-Systems. “We rely on intelligent data infrastructure delivered by NetApp to power our most critical workloads, and the increased power of the new AFF A-Series systems, paired with their integrated anti-ransomware features and hybrid cloud capabilities, will help position us for success now and in the future.”
“AI is creating the biggest business transformation opportunity we’ve seen in decades, allowing enterprises to unlock new sources of value from their data,” said Justin Hotard, Executive Vice President and general manager, Data Center and AI Group at Intel. “NetApp AFF A-Series systems utilizing Intel Xeon processors provide the performance and features to help businesses accelerate their enterprise AI adoption.”
Providing Powerful, Intelligent and Secure Enterprise Data Infrastructure
To continue its innovation as the intelligent data infrastructure company, NetApp released additional capabilities to provide customers with the advanced data management, industry-leading ransomware protection, and cloud integration that modern workloads like GenAI demand.
The new features and capabilities in NetApp’s data management and integrated services include:
- New StorageGRID Models: NetApp has introduced six new StorageGRID models that enhance the value of large, unstructured data while reducing total cost of ownership. StorageGRID can now leverage capacity flash to provide fast object access times at the lowest cost. Customers can experience a new level of flexibility, choice, performance, and sustainability for critical object workloads with new models that offer a very competitive price per GB, up to a 3X performance increase, 80 percent footprint reduction, and power consumption savings as high as 70 percent.
- Cyber Vault Reference Architecture: NetApp announced a new cyber vault reference architecture that extends the company’s industry-leading data protection capabilities. Combining the latest advances in secure data storage, autonomous real-time ransomware detection, and rapid data restoration, NetApp’s secure and resilient cyber vault delivers “logically air-gapped” storage based on proven NetApp ONTAP technology, for unparalleled protection of customer data against advanced cyber-threats.
- SnapMirror Active Sync: The latest version of ONTAP includes SnapMirror active sync which creates a symmetric active-active business continuity solution across two data centers. Coupled with VMware vSphere Metro Storage Cluster (vMSC) and enterprise databases from Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft, SnapMirror active sync enables ongoing business operations with no disruption during a data center outage.
- FlexCache with Writeback: The updated version of ONTAP also includes FlexCache with Writeback which creates local copies of data for distributed teams, resulting in reduced latency and uninterrupted access while reducing administrative overhead. The local copies can read and write data, granting local teams greater control while maintaining data consistency with the core data center.
- NetApp AIPod with Lenovo: NetApp and Lenovo are collaborating on a new converged infrastructure solution designed for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and inferencing use cases for GenAI, with Lenovo high-performance ThinkSystem servers utilizing NVIDIA L40S GPUs, NVIDIA Spectrum-X networking, and NetApp AFF storage, all validated with the NVIDIA OVX architecture specifications.
- BlueXP Classification: This AI/ML-driven service is now available as a BlueXP core capability at no additional charge, giving users immediate access to the ability to automatically classify, categorize, and tag data across the entire data estate to deepen data intelligence, enhancing efforts in governance, security, and compliance while enabling strategic workloads such as GenAI. With BlueXP classification, customers can now fuel GenAI and RAG innovation through the AIOps ability to securely and programmatically augment pre-trained models with auto-classified, proprietary data on demand for enhanced relevancy without sacrificing cost or data security.
“AI is a massive opportunity for companies to leverage their data in new ways to unlock competitive advantages,” Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President and General Manager, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies and BuyerView Research at IDC. “However, as the AI market develops, how organizations approach AI may change. They need storage infrastructure that gives them the flexibility to combine their on-premises data storage with cloud environments. NetApp’s strategy of delivering powerful unified data storage that works with any data protocol, in any environment, to run any workload gives its customers the power and flexibility they need to face whatever challenges come their way.”
Additional Resources
- Unified Data Storage for the AI Era
- Embrace the AI Era with the New NetApp AFF A-Series Storage Systems
- The Leader in Object Storage Just Keeps Getting Better with New StorageGRID Systems and Capacity Flash
- NetApp AFF A-Series: High-Performing Unified Storage
- ONTAP: Data Management Software for a Better Hybrid Cloud Experience
- StorageGRID: Smart, Fast, Future-Proof Object Storage
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About NetApp
NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, combining unified data storage, integrated data services, and CloudOps solutions to turn a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. NetApp creates silo-free infrastructure, harnessing observability and AI to enable the industry’s best data management. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in the world’s biggest clouds, our data storage delivers seamless flexibility. In addition, our data services create a data advantage through superior cyber resilience, governance, and application agility. Our CloudOps solutions provide continuous optimization of performance and efficiency through observability and AI. No matter the data type, workload, or environment, with NetApp you can transform your data infrastructure to realize your business possibilities. Learn more at www.netapp.com or follow us on
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