VMware Explore was held earlier this year and had two main themes. The first was multi-cloud. The term “cloud” is undergoing a major shift. Historically, when one said cloud, it was referring to public cloud services. However, as is the case with all things in life, one size typically does not fit all, and many companies have been looking to repatriate workloads back to private clouds. The second theme was frustration from Broadcom-induced price hikes. Before, at the event, and since then, I have talked to dozens of customers, all of which have seen price hikes that range from 30% to 300%.
Changing vendors isn’t easy, but it makes the most sense at these moments of technology transition. Frustrated customers (which is most) should look at alternative vendors, with Nutanix being a viable option.
The emergence of hybrid multi-cloud
Until recently, most businesses used a single cloud provider or maintained their data on-premises. However, the growing complexity of IT operations and the varied needs of different applications have made this approach unsustainable.
The hybrid multi-cloud model enables organizations to spread their workloads across multiple clouds—public, private, and edge—so they can tailor them to meet specific application needs best.
Several factors have driven this shift:
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A data explosion: By 2026, IDC forecasts that 50% of data will be generated at the edge. This data surge, fueled by the proliferation of IoT devices, requires a distributed IT architecture that can handle and process data close to its source.
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A focus on cost management: As a business expands its cloud presence, costs also grow. A hybrid multi-cloud strategy enables enterprises to optimize where and how they spend on cloud resources, balancing cost with performance and scalability.
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A drive to innovate: Rapid innovation has pushed businesses to adopt cloud-native development practices. However, the reality of legacy applications and systems means that a full migration to the cloud is not always possible or practical.
The hybrid multi-cloud model offers several advantages over traditional single-cloud or on-premises approaches. This shift to hybrid multi-cloud increases flexibility and resiliency, will power innovation, and improve security.
Hybrid multi-cloud challenges
Despite its many advantages, the hybrid multi-cloud model also presents challenges. It’s a drastic shift in how businesses approach IT. Managing multiple cloud environments can be complex, requiring specialized skills and tools to ensure seamless integration and operation. In addition, the distributed nature of hybrid multi-cloud environments can create new security vulnerabilities if not managed properly.
With hybrid multi-cloud on the horizon, customers must choose a platform. Nutanix presents an interesting alternative for VMware customers. Its hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) has been a leader since its inception.
Even without the turbulence Broadcom created, Nutanix was looking to disrupt VMware. Nutanix’s architecture is designed to provide an integrated experience across on-premises and cloud environments. The core capability lies in Nutanix’s ability to consolidate computing, storage, and networking into a single, unified platform. This contrasts with the traditional VMware setup, which often requires multiple distinct interfaces and management tools, potentially leading to increased complexity and inefficiency.
A solution
Nutanix’s centerpiece hybrid multi-cloud capabilities is its Nutanix Central management framework, which offers a single pane of glass for comprehensive oversight and management across diverse environments. This model drastically reduces operational overhead and simplifies the complexities of managing disparate systems, an area where many VMware users express frustration.
Including the Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) at no additional licensing cost further strengthens Nutanix’s value proposition, especially for cost-conscious customers looking for a VMware alternative with enterprise maturity to simplify their IT operations without sacrificing performance. AHV is a key element of Nutanix Clusters, which enables extensions from on-premises infrastructure into public clouds with minimal friction.
Flexibility is the key to success in today’s hybrid multi-cloud environment. This is the future. Those who embrace that model can innovate, compete, and thrive in an increasingly digital world. Those that don’t? Well, they’ll be yesterday’s news.
Zeus Kerravala is the founder and principal analyst with ZK Research. Read his other Network Computing articles here.
