NetApp Powers Ducati’s Data-Driven Team for the 2019 MotoGP Championship

NetApp, the data authority for hybrid cloud, today announced that the company will renew its official sponsorship of the Ducati Team in the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, enabling the digital transformation of motorcycle racing.

The new Ducati MotoGP team was presented officially on Friday, January 18, in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). Data-driven technological developments on the racing bikes will boost the performance of factory riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, supported by test rider Michele Pirro.

Ducati, founded in 1926, is a leading manufacturer of specially designed motorcycles that are characterized by their high-performance Desmodromic engines, innovative design and cutting-edge technology. Ducati’s dynamic range of models aims to provide an exciting sports-riding experience to its customers. In 2012, it became part of Volkswagen Group.

As a data-driven company, Ducati began its partnership with NetApp last year to take advantage of the full potential of data in racing within the Ducati Corse division. It recently expanded the partnership to analyze vast amounts of data throughout its business, including in logistics, marketing and customer relationship management.

Through the partnership, NetApp’s engineers are working closely with Ducati’s IT team to optimize their data fabric and meet the motorcycle manufacturer’s unique, rapidly expanding data storage and data management needs:

• With the NetApp^® cloud-connected AFF solution, Ducati can now easily manage approximately 200 applications and more than 300TB of data to grant reliable real-time access to the world’s fastest enterprise all-flash storage. This storage can be accessed from anywhere in the world, across multiple clouds, with full GDPR compliance, and with the quick implementation of a disaster recovery strategy.

• With the NetApp HCI solution, the power of an entire data center is delivered directly to the Ducati MotoGP team at the race track. This enables faster data-driven decisions to create winning strategies for the racing team through the powerful hybrid cloud infrastructure.

“We closely collaborated with Ducati’s IT team to understand its need for a cutting-edge data management infrastructure,” said Brett Roscoe, VP of product management at NetApp. “NetApp HCI immediately overhauls Ducati’s data management and cloud infrastructure to build a powerful, modern IT framework. The NetApp HCI solution aids the IT team in critical decision making and implementing operational efficiencies in bike production and other business areas.”

“Using data management solutions with integrated data protection and disaster recovery design helps us to manage development without duplicating our efforts,” said Konstantin Kostenarov, CTO of Ducati Motor Holding. “And it allows Ducati IT to focus on our business priorities for the future, both in racing and in production.”

“With NetApp flash solutions, we will be able to guarantee quicker responses to every business instance as well as increase the speed of our prototyping and go-to-market,” said Stefano Rendina, IT manager of Ducati Corse. “[NetApp] HCI has been rapidly implemented thanks to the support of NetApp Professional Services and will help us build the future model to manage our three manufacturing facilities in addition to multiple business offices worldwide.”

The MotoGP Championship will start in Losail (Qatar) on March 10, celebrating the first anniversary of the partnership.