Data storage company opens new building in what it calls the ‘cool place’ in Wichita

NetApp officially opened its new 168,000-square-foot building on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus on Wednesday.

The location is the perfect opportunity for NetApp to access the “pipeline of ... talented students and graduates,” Gov. Laura Kelly said.

The cloud data service company was founded in 1992 and has its headquarters in San Jose, California. Its Wichita office had been on North Rock Road, then in a temporary space on 18th and Oliver.

The NetApp facility has over 500 workers, with customers worldwide, according to a university press release. The facility offers state-of-the-art technology including a data center.

The move to Wichita State’s campus was six years in the making. The partnership with WSU was originally announced in 2014 and was brought back into conversation in late 2019. In 2020, the Wichita City Council approved a $33 million IRB request for the project.

Why did NetApp choose WSU’s Innovation Campus? Robin Huber, vice president of core data and software management for NetApp, gave three reasons.

First, he said, WSU is a “cool place.”

“This is the one and only place in Wichita that NetApp could be,” Huber said.

Second: community. To fulfill this mission, NetApp will give every employee 40 hours of paid time to volunteer.

“We will support the community in every task that we can,” Huber said.

The third reason? The continued partnership with Wichita State.

“I’ll tell you that this partnership has been phenomenal,” Huber said.

NetApp has worked with Wichita State for more than 30 years, Provost Shirley Lefever said. She said the move to the Innovation Campus will provide even more hands-on learning experiences through the opportunity to work at NetApp.

“Today Wichita State students have already benefited from hundreds of applied learning opportunities through NetApp,” Lefever said. “These positions are paid student employment opportunities that can ease the financial burden of higher education.”

Kelly said NetApp’s partnership with the university will “plant the seeds of innovation.”

NetApp joins a long list of companies to operate on the Innovation Campus. Just last week, the Smart Factory opened its doors.