Nutanix has a packed schedule for 2025, said President and CEO Rajiv Ramaswami. At this week’s Nutanix Next event in Washington, the company unveiled new storage partnerships, a Kubernetes container deployment option, and a strengthened AI collaboration with Nvidia. Ramaswami expects these launches will kickstart broader infrastructure goals, particularly as many users shift away from VMware under Broadcom’s stewardship.
Ramaswami brings significant experience from his time at VMware, where he served as COO of products and cloud services and led various divisions. His extensive background includes roles at Cisco, Nortel, Tellabs, and IBM. In a recent interview, he shared insights on Nutanix’s future, customer satisfaction, and the evolution of virtualization.
When asked about current market concerns, Ramaswami pointed out Broadcom as the main issue on potential customers’ minds, especially those currently using VMware. Many are reassessing their vendor choices, seeking a long-term partner they can rely on for the next five to ten years. They’re not just looking for a simple migration; they want a provider that offers genuine support and future potential.
Nutanix aims to bolster its platform, investing in innovations around scale, security, cloud capabilities, and AI. The rapid advancement in AI means the company is focused on evolving its offerings while expanding its ecosystem of partners.
On the topic of customer lock-in, Ramaswami emphasized flexibility. Nutanix allows clients to select their hardware and hypervisor, easing concerns about being tied down to a single vendor. With around 27,000 current customers, Nutanix is targeting over 100,000 in total.
Addressing compatibility issues for those transitioning from VMware, Ramaswami noted that while Nutanix isn’t strictly like-for-like, it offers a comprehensive stack of virtualized compute, storage, and networking. The platform emphasizes data services and open-source hypervisors, ensuring innovative storage and platform services. The licensing model also allows for deployment across various environments seamlessly.
Currently, many customers are still relying heavily on traditional virtualization for existing applications. However, the development of new applications in containers is gaining traction, and Nutanix is positioned to support this shift with cloud-ready storage solutions.
Ramaswami discussed the importance of partnerships, especially in storage, explaining that the goal isn’t just scale but also providing customers with choices. This reflects a shift from being purely a hyperconverged infrastructure player to a more versatile platform.
Tim McCarthy, a news writer for Informa TechTarget, is covering cloud and data storage topics.