Nutanix & NetApp launch virtualisation migration tie-up

Nutanix and NetApp have partnered to integrate Nutanix Cloud Platform with NetApp storage systems, targeting organisations modernising virtualised infrastructure.

The partnership combines Nutanix Cloud Platform, including the Nutanix AHV hypervisor, with NetApp data infrastructure built on its enterprise storage systems. It is designed to give customers another option for running workloads across on-premises systems, cloud environments and containers.

The companies are targeting organisations reassessing long-standing virtualisation estates and the operational burden of managing storage and compute separately. The combined offer is intended to reduce migration complexity, let data remain in place during some VM conversions and provide a single view for parts of infrastructure administration.

Migration Focus

A central feature of the partnership is support for moving virtual machines to Nutanix through an NFS-based integration with NetApp ONTAP. Customers will be able to use NetApp Shift and Nutanix Move to complete conversions in minutes rather than the longer migration cycles often associated with infrastructure changes.

The design also allows compute and storage to scale more independently by shifting data management tasks to ONTAP. That approach is intended to reduce some of the troubleshooting and administrative work common in large virtualised estates.

Another element is VM-level management. Customers will be able to manage performance, storage capacity and recovery methods for individual virtual machines through a unified management view.

Security Layer

The partnership also includes cyber protection features built around NetApp ONTAP Autonomous Ransomware Protection with AI and NetApp's ransomware resilience service. The combined environment is intended to help customers detect threats and attempted data exfiltration in real time across hybrid cloud workloads.

The security focus reflects a wider shift in infrastructure buying, as companies combine virtualisation refresh projects with resilience requirements and closer scrutiny of data protection. For suppliers, that has created an opening to bundle platform migration with storage management and security tools.

"NetApp and Nutanix are enabling simple, secure and fast modernization of virtualized environments," said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Storage at NetApp.

"Whether seeking to transform their virtualization layer, data operations, or both, customers need Intelligent Data Infrastructure at the foundation. With our combined capabilities, NetApp and Nutanix will make it easy to run virtualized workloads at enterprise scale," Singh said.

NetApp presented the move as part of its push to deepen its role in virtualisation environments, while Nutanix positioned it as a way for customers to update infrastructure without committing to a single route for all workloads. The joint offer is designed to support existing enterprise applications while also giving customers flexibility for container-based environments.

"In partnering with Nutanix, NetApp is furthering its lead as the premier provider of storage and data management for virtualization," said Dallas Olson, Chief Commercial Officer at NetApp.

"Together with Nutanix, we're giving enterprises the foundation they need to build Intelligent Data Infrastructure with the performance, resilience and scalability to grow with their virtualization needs," Olson said.

Nutanix said the partnership would let customers change their virtualisation layer and data infrastructure at a pace that suits their migration plans. That is likely to appeal to organisations trying to avoid disruptive, full-scale overhauls of core systems.

"Through our partnership with NetApp, customers will be able to simultaneously modernize their virtualization platform and tap into the power of Intelligent Data Infrastructure with NetApp," said Tarkan Maner, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Nutanix.

"We've partnered together so that customers can modernize at their own pace," Maner said.

Ecosystem Links

The collaboration also extends to FlexPod, the converged infrastructure platform associated with Cisco and NetApp. Selected NetApp AFF all-flash A-series and FAS hybrid-flash systems will support Nutanix Cloud Platform, with Cisco also involved in FlexPod deployments using Nutanix.

Industry observers said the announcement reflects a broader move toward combining infrastructure upgrades with data services in a single platform choice. That trend is being shaped by pressure on IT teams to simplify operations while preparing systems for newer application architectures.

"This collaboration reflects a broader industry shift toward solutions that combine infrastructure modernization with intelligent data services," said Matt Kimball, VP & Principal Analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy.

"Nutanix and NetApp are giving customers a long-term, stable foundation that supports traditional virtualized workloads today and positions them for the cloud-native, AI-driven environments of tomorrow that will require data to be managed and used more effectively," Kimball said.