NTFS is a file system introduced by Microsoft in 1993 for Windows NT operating systems. It improved on previous file systems with features like larger storage capacity support, redundancy, security, and performance improvements important for businesses. NTFS formats volumes with system files including the Master File Table that stores metadata for all files and folders. It provides security, compression, encryption and other advanced features through file attributes. NTFS also supports features like sparse files, recoverability, and alternate data streams.