NetApp and Ducati Partner to Upgrade Digital Infrastructure

With NetApp’s official sponsorship of Ducati’s MotoGP program, the company plans to streamline and modernize its digital infrastructure via NetApp’s tech

Like every other team in MotoGP, the Ducati squad utilizes performance parts from sponsoring companies. It's not all just suspension parts and trick exhausts though, as shown by a recent sponsorship agreement between Ducati and a tech company called NetApp. NetApp is an American multinational that specializes in software for data management and storage—such as its proprietary Data ONTAP operating system—that gives clients remote access to real time company data.

MORE MOTOGP: 10 reasons to watch the premier class in 2018

“NetApp is a crucial partner for the Ducati Team for digital transformation projects, as data is at the heart of our strategy,” said Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse general manager. “With NetApp, we will be able to unlock the value of our data and make critical decisions based on the big data coming from one of the most advanced IoT systems: a MotoGP bike. Every minute of a race will provide us with new insights into how we can optimize operations and innovate to improve performance.”

MORE MOTOGP NEWS: Rossi inks deal for three more years at Yamaha

With the 2018 season spanning 19 races (plus testing) over more than a dozen countries on five continents, reliable access to information is crucial for both day-to-day logistics and bike development and tuning. With the help of NetApp, Ducati plans to revamp its IT and data protection infrastructure.

“Ducati and NetApp share the same extraordinary passion for innovation,” said Henri Richard, executive vice president of worldwide field and customer operations at NetApp. “We look forward to working with Ducati to accelerate their digital transformation, increase their performance, and enhance the security and value of their data.”

MOTOGP PREDICTIONS: What we learned from the preseason MotoGP tests

It should be interesting to see if the new partnership actually yields any noticeable results. Who knows, maybe lack of access to real time data is the thing that’s been holding Lorenzo back?

Photos courtesy of Ducati