Dell Technologies and Nutanix are deepening a long-running partnership with the launch of a new hyperconverged infrastructure-based appliance on Tuesday and plans to enable Dell’s software-defined storage as part of Nutanix’s HCI next year.
The new Dell XC Plus appliance combines Dell’s PowerEdge server hardware and support services with the Nutanix Cloud Platform hybrid cloud software stack. Dell handles support for the hardware and software as well as licensing for both vendors.
The expanded partnership shows Nutanix is attempting to challenge virtualization giant VMware in the enterprise market, said Jerome Wendt, CEO and analyst at Data Center Intelligence Group.
VMware’s customers have groused over pricing changes since the Broadcom acquisition last year and are turning to vendors such as Dell to support or bolster alternative virtualization platforms for enterprise demands met by VMware, he said.
Dell’s storage technology enables some enterprise capabilities Nutanix’s offerings might currently lack. But many VMware customers might suffer the increase in cost to avoid a migration or loss of familiar features.
“The more features [customers] use, the harder and harder it gets to leave VMware,” Wendt said. “That doesn’t mean Nutanix [or other HCI vendors] can’t catch up. But it’s certainly not going to happen by this fall.”
The Dell XC Plus is an extension of the Dell XC HCI appliance portfolio. These appliances combine Dell hardware with the Nutanix Cloud Platform for virtualization. Dell XC Plus includes support services and a single contract with Dell.
Six different hardware configurations are available, as with the existing XC line. Dell XC Plus comes pre-installed with the Nutanix Cloud Platform as well as the Nutanix Prism control console. It also offers Dell managed contract and technical support.
Dell, a previous owner of VMware, has long supported a variety of hypervisors, according to Scott Sinclair, an analyst at TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group. Nutanix and Dell have worked together for almost a decade, he said, but Dell’s customer input for VMware alternatives is likely driving these new offerings.
“We are seeing huge demand and interest in what HCI and hypervisor alternatives are out there,” Sinclair said. “Dell understands it. They’re hearing it from their customers.”
Third-party support for HCI
The companies will also combine Dell’s software-defined storage offering PowerFlex with the Nutanix Cloud Platform so customers can use Nutanix on storage platforms enterprise customers are likely more comfortable with, according to Wendt and Sinclair.
Nutanix Cloud Platform’s HCI connects its virtualization platform to the software-defined storage through the Nutanix Acropolis OS, its HCI operating system. Dell PowerFlex will be the first external storage platform supported and integrated with Nutanix’s platform, according to both vendors. The capability will enter preview in the first half of 2025.
But storage managed by Dell’s software might not be enough for customers to migrate away from VMware. While Nutanix’s HCI offering has developed more enterprise features over the years, it lacks the complex ecosystem of support services, APIs and other capabilities that companies rely on to manage and protect storage, Wendt said.
The more features [customers] use, the harder and harder it gets to leave VMware. Jerome WendtCEO and analyst, Data Center Intelligence Group
Nutanix isn’t the only hypervisor challenger for enterprise data centers against VMware either, analysts said. Customers are also considering Microsoft Azure Stack HCI, Verge.io, Proxmox or the open-source kernel-based VMs on Linux, which most VM software is descended from, Wendt said.
What most competitors lack is enterprise-grade reliability after years of testing and use, such as snapshots that offer application consistent backups for databases as well as the network of support should issues arise, he said. By partnering with Dell, enterprises can be more assured that their Nutanix storage has some hybrid-cloud interoperability as well.
“There’s a certain comfort level in using Dell as your storage array,” Wendt said. “Companies are looking for [virtualization] alternatives. But if I’m an enterprise, do I want to take version 1.0 and put that into production? Probably not.”
Standardization across clouds and on-premises hardware is a luxury many enterprise customers cannot afford or their workloads make impossible, Sinclair said. Having some measure of storage assurance by making a Dell platform ubiquitous in the enterprise can help Nutanix stand out as well as simplify an organization’s IT environment, he said.
“Every company right now is hybrid multi-cloud,” Sinclair said. “That’s not changing. There’s no consolidation that’s happening.”
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for TechTarget Editorial covering cloud and data storage.
