Nutanix Cloud Platform can be delivered with Nutanix hardware (Nutanix NX) but also with a lot of other type of hardware (or public cloud).
Nutanix now supports also the reuse of certain vSAN Ready Node hardware, allowing organizations to repurpose their previously-purchased hardware and transition smoothly from VMware to Nutanix.
That make sense, considering that the two HCI solutions has some common requirements and some affinity in the architecture (see: Nutanix-VMware terminology mapping).
This is an interesting options for people that are using vSAN but don’t like the license per capacity introduced by Broadcom.
The vSAN Ready Nodes are specifically designed and certified for VMware’s vSAN deployments, but are similar enough to the many hardware platforms already supported by Nutanix that they could be certified for Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) with relative ease.
With many of these nodes already deployed and in use, the opportunity to repurpose them is a strategic advantage for customers that want to change their software solution, but not the hardware investments.
Historically, Nutanix launched in 2011 with solutions that required customers to buy hardware and software together to ensure efficient installments and optimized performance. This tight integration streamlined deployments, simplified parts replacement, and made full-stack life cycle management possible. However, customers with large existing hardware deployments are willing to sacrifice some hardware management benefits to avoid needing to purchase all new hardware.
Nutanix subsequently adapted its strategy to support a wide variety of servers manufactured by all the leading manufacturers, which opened up the opportunity of repurposing of hardware previously invested in by customers. By integrating our software with hardware that organizations already own—such as vSAN Ready Nodes—Nutanix allows customers to reduce their overall expenses while maintaining a high level of performance and efficiency.
Will be interesting to see if some hardware vendors (like HPE or Dell) with vSAN ready nodes, but some some Nutanix offering, will use this opportunity to offer a license/support switch or also migration services.
