A NetApp AI Space Race report asks whether China, the USA, or another country will become the world leader in AI innovation and says that businesses will need an intelligent data infrastructure. As a data infrastructure supplier, its assertion is unsurprising.
It sees the race for AI leadership as being equivalent to the US-Russia space race, with CMO Gabie Boko stating: “In the ‘Space Race’ of the 1960s, world powers rushed to accelerate scientific innovation for the sake of national pride. The outcomes of the ‘AI Space Race’ will shape the world for decades to come.”
NetApp surveyed 400 CEOs and 400 IT execs across China, India, the UK, and USA in May, and 43 percent said the US would lead in AI in the next five years, twice as many as those positioning India, China, or the UK in the lead.
Its report says 92 percent of Chinese CEOs report active AI projects but only 74 percent of Chinese IT execs agree with them. In the USA, 77 percent of CEOs report active AI projects and 86 percent of US IT execs agree with them. NetApp says there is a “critical misalignment between CEOs and IT executives” in China, “which could hinder its long-term leadership potential.”
It suggests that “internal alignment, not just ambition, may ultimately shape how AI strategies are executed across regions and roles.”
A different view might be that Chinese organizations are developing CEO-led AI projects faster than US ones.
Another difference between China and the other countries is that China is more focused on scalability (35 percent compared to global average of 24 percent), whereas others are focused on integration. Security and compliance are the least-ranked concerns (10 percent average between IT execs and CEOs globally).
More respondents think the US will be the likely long-term AI leader than China:
- 64 percent of US respondents ranked the US as the likely leader in AI innovation over the next five years, versus 43 percent of the global average
- 43 percent of China respondents ranked China as the likely leader in AI innovation over the next five years, versus only 22 percent of the global average
- 40 percent of India respondents ranked India as the likely leader in AI innovation over the next five years, versus only 16 percent of the global average
- 34 percent of UK respondents ranked the UK as the likely leader in AI innovation over the next five years, versus only 19 percent of the global average
Overall, CEOs and IT execs see “AI for decision making and competition to stay ahead” as the single most powerful force to drive AI adoption (26 percent). India (29 percent) and UK (32 percent) feel extra pressure to compete as China and the US are seen as clear leaders. China is uniquely driven by customer demand (21 percent vs 13 percent of global average), underscoring that the China market is seen as leading today with actual pilots and programs (83 percent vs 81 percent global average – not much of a difference).
Just over half (51 percent) of respondents saw their own organization as competitive in AI but none see themselves as the current leader. Almost all (88 percent) think their organization is mostly or completely ready to sustain AI transformation and 81 percent are currently piloting or scaling AI.
NetApp’s report states: “One of the most significant success factors in the AI Space Race will be data infrastructure and data management, supported by cloud solutions that are agile, secure and scalable. Successful organizations need an intelligent data infrastructure in place to ensure unfettered AI innovation. This is critical no matter the company size, industry or geography.”
It concludes: “In the AI Space Race, hype wonʼt win – data will. No matter the size, industry, or location, success hinges on a foundation that can support the full weight of AI. Organizations that come out on top will be those with intelligent, secure, and scalable data infrastructure built to power real innovation.”
Comment
It seems obviously true that successful AI projects will need a scalable and secure data infrastructure. Accepting that, which suppliers could provide one? NetApp sees itself here, as “the intelligent data infrastructure company.” But we would suggest all of its competitors are also well positioned, as they currently emphasize storing unstructured data, supplying and supporting AI pipelines, RAG, vector databases, agents, and Nvidia GPUs and software.
We might suggest that leading positions in AI training and inference could be indicated by Nvidia GPU server certifications, Nvidia AI Factory, and AI Data Platform support. This would include DDN, Dell, HPE, Hitachi Vantara, IBM, NetApp, Nutanix, Pure Storage, VAST Data, and WEKA.
If we look at support for GPUDirect for files and objects, we could add Cloudian, Hammerspace, MinIO, and Scality to our list. We could look at IO500 data and see that Xinnor, DDN, WEKA, VAST Data, IBM (Storage Scale), Qumulo, and VDURA are represented there. We could also look at AI LLM, RAG, and agent support for backup data sets by Cohesity, Commvault, Rubrik, Veeam, and others, and see that cloud file services suppliers such as Box, CTERA, Egnyte, Panzura and Nasuni are piling into AI as well. Data management suppliers like Datadobi amn Komprise are also active.
Data services suppliers in the widest sense, from observability and governance to database, data warehouse, data lake, lakehouse and SaaS app suppliers, are all furiously developing AI-related capabilities, with Teradataannoucing its own AI Factory in partnership with Nvidia.
In China and elsewhere outside the USA, Huawei and other Chinese suppliers will be well represented.
A conclusion is that all incumbent IT suppliers see any weakness in their adoption of AI and support of customer AI projects as a potential entry point into their customer base by competitors. None of them are willing to let this happen.
