Keep pulling the thread on George Kurian.
NetApp is strategically transforming from an enterprise technology provider into a software and cloud-focused business.
Since George Kurian became CEO in 2015 when NetApp's stock was at $30 per share, it has returned to its previous peak of $120 per share.
During a period of hypergrowth, NetApp's annual revenue jumped from $4 billion to $6 billion in a single year.
The enterprise search company Glean grew its annual recurring revenue from $1 million to $100 million in approximately 2.5 years.
To successfully enter the cloud market, George Kurian created a separate cloud business unit, a decision that went against the consensus of his management team who favored maintaining a functional organizational structure.
NetApp's cloud strategy involves partnering with hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to offer services on their platforms that are built using NetApp's core technology.
George Kurian predicts that widespread, transformative adoption of AI within enterprise businesses is still approximately two to three years away.
George Kurian characterizes NetApp as an enterprise hardware company transforming into a software/cloud business, while Google is a software/cloud company transforming into an enterprise technology provider.
NetApp has maintained an office in India since approximately 2004, and it is now the company's largest campus in the world.
In the early 2000s, NetApp's stock peaked at approximately $120 per share before declining and trading between $20 and $40 for the next 15 years.
NetApp's stagnation was caused by a dramatic slowdown in on-premises data center growth and the simultaneous rise of public cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
When NetApp reached $6 billion in revenue, its operating fundamentals were like an "overgrown startup" because its leadership team lacked experience at that scale.