Updated 12 October 2026
C4C is an official NetApp partner. Our founders spent over a decade at EMC selling enterprise arrays to finance, banking and telcos, much of it competing head to head with NetApp, so we know where NetApp genuinely wins. We supply and implement NetApp, plan the tech refresh or migration, and tell you honestly where it fits.
Who we are
Nick Watson, our Chief Technologist, and Paul Smith, our Chief Commercial Officer, each spent over a decade at EMC selling enterprise storage into finance, banking and telecoms, very often against NetApp. You learn a competitor’s real strengths that way, and NetApp’s data management and hybrid cloud capability are real.
We now sit on the customer’s side of the table. We know how enterprise array deals are built, how they are sized and where the room to move is, and we use that for you.
What we supply
NetApp’s all flash arrays running ONTAP, for unified file and block with deep data services such as snapshots, replication and tiering.
All flash arrays focused on block workloads, for SAN estates that want NetApp data management without the file layer.
Hybrid flash and disk arrays for capacity led workloads where all flash is not justified.
Object storage for large unstructured data, archive and backup targets, on premises.
ONTAP running in the major public clouds, for estates that want the same data management on premises and in the cloud.
Moving from older FAS and AFF systems to current hardware, planned around your data, your ONTAP versions and your support dates.
Buying through C4C
Migrations and refreshes
Most of the risk in a storage project sits in the move, not the box. We plan the data, the protocols, the cutover windows and the rollback before anything is ordered, and we time the refresh against your support end dates rather than letting them force a rushed decision. The work is done by us, by NetApp professional services, or by a mix of NetApp, C4C and your own team, whichever gives you the best result for the risk and the cost.
Our guides set out how we think about it: enterprise storage migration, what a migration really costs and refresh and end of life decisions.
Support
We support you throughout: technical advice, design questions, upgrades and help whenever you need it. Hardware break fix support comes from NetApp, as is normal for enterprise storage, and that is usually the right answer while a system is in its supported life. For systems nearing the end of support, third party maintenance can extend them for a while at lower cost, with real trade offs: no new ONTAP releases or features, and a different escalation path when something serious goes wrong. We talk you through the pros and cons honestly and help you decide whether to extend, refresh or migrate.
Independence
We partner with Dell, HPE and VAST Data as well as NetApp, and we are tied to none. If a simpler array suits your team, if Dell or another platform fits the workload better, or if staying on what you have for another year is the right call, we will say so. Our comparisons show how we think: Dell vs NetApp vs Pure Storage and NetApp storage, an independent look.
Ways to start
For systems reaching end of availability or end of support: which ONTAP release you are capped at, the refresh routes NetApp supports, what can be done without downtime, and the order to do it in.
Book this →Support dates, ONTAP release currency, capacity and efficiency, and cloud tiering opportunities across your NetApp systems, with a plain list of what to do and when.
Book this →Before you renew NetApp support or a Keystone subscription: whether the term, capacity commitment and service levels still fit, what you are not using, and what is worth negotiating.
Book this →Guides and resources
Refresh or renewal coming up?
Whether it is a refresh, a migration off older arrays or a support renewal, we will give you an honest view and a like for like comparison quote, so you know the price is right whether you buy through us or not. No need to share the quote you have been sent.
Prefer email? Write to us at hello@c4cgroup.co.uk.
Questions
Look for four things. An official partnership, so they can supply NetApp directly. Real storage depth, not just a reseller price list. The ability to plan and run the tech refresh or migration, alone or with NetApp professional services. And independence, meaning a partner who will tell you when another platform or staying put is the better answer. C4C is an official NetApp partner run by people with decades in the enterprise array market.
Yes. C4C Group is an official NetApp partner, so we can supply and implement NetApp, not only advise on it. We also partner with Dell, HPE and VAST Data and are tied to none, so our recommendation follows your workloads.
Yes, in the way that matters day to day: technical advice, design and upgrade questions, and help whenever you need it, through the project and beyond. Hardware break fix support comes from NetApp, as is normal for enterprise storage. We make sure the NetApp support you buy matches the system and the term you need, and help again at renewal or tech refresh.
Yes. We run tech refreshes and migrations ourselves, use NetApp professional services, or combine NetApp, C4C and your own team, whichever is best for the risk, the timeline and the cost. We plan the move around your data, your ONTAP versions and your support dates so production keeps running.
Yes. Moving from Unity, VNX, Isilon and other older arrays to NetApp is work we know well, because we sold those platforms. The right route depends on the data, the protocols and the downtime you can accept, and we plan it on your timeline.
It can be. For a system nearing the end of support, third party maintenance can extend it at lower cost while you plan a refresh. The trade offs are real: no new ONTAP releases or features, and a different escalation path for serious faults. We talk through the pros and cons honestly so you can decide whether to extend, refresh or migrate.
Yes. We will quote your NetApp refresh or renewal like for like and check the capacity and configuration still fit how you use it, so you know the price is right whether you buy through us or not. There is no need to share the quote you have been sent.
No. We partner with Dell, HPE and VAST Data as well as NetApp, and we are tied to none. If another platform, or staying on what you have, is the better answer for your estate, we will say so.