Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Reviews

Name: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
Brand: Nutanix
Rating: 4 (196 reviews)

Vendor: Nutanix

4.3 out of 5

196 reviews
94% willing to recommend

8,088 followers

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What is Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)?

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is a top-ranking HCI software, cloud management tool, and Software Defined Storage (SDS) tool that is marketed as the foundation for users' hybrid clouds. It offers a powerful and secure hyperconverged infrastructure to deliver all data and applications at any scale and on any cloud. The solution offers a complete software stack that allows users to unify their hybrid cloud infrastructure.

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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is the #1 ranked solution in top Software Defined Data Center vendors, #3 ranked solution in top Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions, #3 ranked solution in HCI Software, and #4 ranked solution in top Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms. PeerSpot users give Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is most commonly compared to Proxmox VE: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Proxmox VE. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 43% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 33% of all views.

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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

October 2024

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Helped 814,763 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Sisir Ghosh

Assistant Manager at a recreational facilities/services company with 10,001+ employees

Nutanix NCI’s features help our organization reduce downtime. We use RA3 stuff in our clusters. If there is any issue with the hardware, node, or something else, my cluster is up and running. Over these three years, we have probably upgraded the Nutanix software twice or thrice. We had to restart nodes multiple times during this upgrade, and none of our users felt that something was going on. They did not have any issues related to slow response or no response from the applications while we had to shut down one of the nodes, put it into maintenance, apply the patches, bring the node up, and then make it join the cluster. It was smooth. It has helped with consolidation. Previously, we had more than 40 servers, and now we have only 6 nodes. It is a lot easier to manage these 6 nodes. With the hardware, if something goes wrong, such as the hard disk showing amber, I have to create a ticket, share the logs, and then the engineer will come and check. After that, the part will come. It can come at 2 AM or 4 AM. We have to be physically present. They will shut down the server, take out that hard disk, and replace the hard disk, and then we will have to bring up the service. We have to spend a lot of time. They have a product for database management called Nutanix Era, but we do not use that. We have not deployed it over here. We primarily use this HCI for making VMs and running web applications and their databases. We have migrated database services but not through the Nutanix Era. We have our own system, so we used that. The purpose of migration was to have a single pane of glass for management. The downtime is less, and the service becomes a smooth service. The users who are using the service are happy.

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MahendraPanchotiya

Infrastructure Manager at ER Tech Pros

Nutanix offers a unified platform for managing databases, virtual machines, and applications. This simplifies management by consolidating everything into a single interface. While Nutanix may have a higher upfront cost compared to other hypervisors, it can significantly reduce the resources needed for infrastructure management. With our previous hypervisor, we needed nearly ten IT personnel. Nutanix has allowed us to streamline our team to just three members. We use a combination of database technologies, including SQL databases and web servers such as IIS, BHP, and NGINX. Nutanix features helped our organization reduce downtime. I don't recall the last time we had downtime related to Nutanix because it is such a stable product. Nutanix, a reliable product, helps us streamline our processes, which in turn improves company revenue. We began to see the benefits after two years, with a 40 percent reduction in operational costs. We migrated 200 servers from AWS to Nutanix. Nutanix may not consolidate applications, but it helps us run them more efficiently on its platform. Updating is simple with one click. I would rate the updating processes 10 out of 10. Adding compute and storage on demand is not difficult. However, we need to factor in the existing and new firmware and software requirements.

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Faisal Shaheen

Systems Administration Manager at Elsewedy Technology

By using more than one cluster, if any node is down, the VMs can be moved to a remaining node, and that helps us to work without any downtime. A node can be moved, online, to another node, which minimizes downtime as much as possible. Flow Network Security for microsegmentation also helps in maintaining security. For example, we can protect servers with policies between an application server and a database server. Previously we had our own storage, stand-alone servers, and stand-alone network. For any new project, it would take us at least six months until we could provide a new server. Now, when we have a new product, we can avoid that long wait and provide a server in hours. We have also moved all our servers to Nutanix and have been able to eliminate our legacy servers and infrastructure. And it keeps our IT staff informed by email regarding any error or alert. They log in and get a full view of all our servers, including memory, storage, and CPU usage. It helps our IT staff to be more productive.

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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) mindshare

Product category:

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) in the HCI category stands at 8.0%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Oct 31, 2024

Valuable Features

Key features of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure include ease of administration, high performance, and scalability. Users appreciate its single interface for management through Prism, data locality for low latency, one-click upgrades, and robust support. Nutanix's hyper-converged architecture integrates compute, storage, and network functions, offering continuous high availability and reduced complexity for IT teams. Its distributed file system ensures data protection and redundancy, while being hypervisor-agnostic enhances flexibility and cost efficiency.

"Regarding Nutanix AOS, fault tolerance is great."
"Maintenance is not required for Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure"
"The tool is simple, stable, and easy to upgrade. It also requires few resources to manage, which simplifies our work. The solution's ease of upgrading is its valuable feature. AHV, provided by Nutanix, is excellent in performance and ease of use. It's based on an open-source product called KVM, which I also use for other services."

Room for Improvement

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure faces challenges with high costs, setup complexity, limited compatibility with older systems, and resource-heavy controller VMs. Enhancements in network integration, storage options, and automation are needed. Users suggest improving AHV support, ease of use, cloud connectivity, API integrations, and pricing transparency. Additional features like micro-segmentation, better security, and streamlined management would enhance user experience. More robust documentation and support could also address existing concerns.

"Nutanix marketing strategy needs improvement, particularly in Myanmar."
"The solution has more features than required"
"NCI's pricing is expensive."

ROI

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure frequently provides a return on investment within two to three years, due to reduced hardware and electricity costs. The platform consolidates server storage networks, eases management, and reduces the workload footprint. It delivers robust benefits by integrating multiple applications, lowering costs, and decreasing time spent on maintenance. Many experience significant savings and enhanced reliability compared to traditional three-tier systems, though some have not calculated detailed ROI figures yet.

Pricing

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure offers competitive pricing compared to traditional three-tier solutions, with significant cost savings on infrastructure setup and maintenance. The pricing model includes various licensing tiers—Starter, Pro, and Ultimate—allowing customization based on enterprise needs. While initial costs seem high, the total cost of ownership often proves more economical due to bundled features like the Acropolis hypervisor, which reduces the need for additional licenses. Users appreciate the simplicity and flexibility of the licensing structure.

"It's a cost-effective solution"
"Reconsidering the licensing packages could reduce the price, especially for companies that may not need all the bells and whistles. Many of the features are based on open-source software, so there's potential to offer more flexible pricing options. Additionally, with the right expertise, companies could potentially create similar environments themselves, reducing the need for extensive support and licensing costs. I rate its pricing a six out of ten. The tool costs around 300,000 dollars per year."
"I would rate the price seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."

Popular Use Cases

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure is primarily used for virtualization, infrastructure consolidation, and running critical server environments. Users deploy it for virtual desktop infrastructure, data management, software-defined storage, and hybrid cloud setups. It supports environments like Citrix, Oracle, and SAP, and is leveraged for high-performance demands, business continuity, and cost-effective solutions. Customers appreciate its ease of management, scalability, and integration capabilities in both on-premises and cloud-based deployments.

Service and Support

Customer service and support for Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure receive high praise. Their teams showcase extensive knowledge, quick response times, and effective problem resolution. Customers frequently highlight their expertise and efficiency, particularly in solving technical issues promptly. Despite some high costs and occasional staffing concerns, many find the support unmatched, emphasizing superb service, direct communication, and minimal language barriers. Nutanix's support system is noted for its proactive and seamless operations, ensuring customer satisfaction.

Deployment

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's initial setup experiences vary, with many finding it straightforward and quick, often taking only a few hours. Some note the importance of preparation and having technical skills, especially for complex environments. The guided setup and automation tools are praised for ease, though assistance from Nutanix professionals or experienced partners is sometimes needed. Migration complexities are noted by a few, but once familiar, users find deployment smooth and manageable.

Scalability

Users find Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure highly scalable, with an easy process for adding nodes to expand storage, memory, and compute. The system supports dynamic expansion and allows mixing different models for future growth. Organizations appreciate its flexibility and seamless scaling, accommodating varying workloads efficiently. While some note limitations in storage on nodes, feedback generally highlights Nutanix's ability to support diverse needs and environments without significant obstacles. Users across various industries attest to its scalability advantages.

Stability

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure is widely recognized for its stability. Users frequently report no downtime or significant issues, crediting robust performance. Instances of minor bugs or glitches are rare and typically resolved efficiently, often without affecting operations. While initial deployment may occasionally present challenges, ongoing use is predominantly smooth, with efficient updates and minimal maintenance required. External hardware factors are the main variables impacting performance rather than NCI itself.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

33%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Retailer

Energy/Utilities Company

University

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Insurance Company

Media Company

Non Profit

Transportation Company

Legal Firm

Outsourcing Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Pharma/Biotech Company

Hospitality Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Performing Arts

Consumer Goods Company

Compare Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) with alternative products

Learn more about Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

NCI’s services include computer, storage and network, hypervisors and containers, and deployment in public or in private clouds. The product also comes with built-in resilience, disaster recovery capabilities, self-healing, and high-security capacities. It provides further deployment flexibility through several software and hardware options and platforms. NCI includes a full set of enterprise capabilities. It can also be deployed on a wide range of servers from popular manufacturers.

The capabilities of the product are categorized into three main groups:

AOS storage
Flexible and open compute
Automated and secure networking

Outside of these categories, NCI also offers other capabilities:

Integrated disaster recovery
Full-stack lifecycle management
VMware with Nutanix
Intelligent operations

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Features

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) offers its customers various features and tools in each of the previously mentioned categories. The available features for users currently include:

High-performance: This set of features utilizes hardware advances such as NVMe and RDMA to accelerate users' most demanding applications with consistent performance. The tools in this feature category work alongside data locality to ensure successful results.
Foolproof resiliency: These Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure features protect data and keep it available by facilitating advanced distributed consistency algorithms. Users can utilize these features to protect their data from issues like bit rot, hardware failures, and even entire site failure.
Flexibility: This set of features allows storage to be sized for the needs of each organization and expanded promptly and easily so that the organization and its data can grow. The features offer flexibility to users in terms of applying storage policies logically on a pre-workload basis, instead of being tied to hardware.
Hypervisor choice: Users can choose from the leading hypervisors - Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware ESXi. They can also leverage the built-in hypervisor AHV that Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) provides.
Integrated virtualization: These features offer simplified automation and AHV streamlined operations. The services in this category are optimized for high performance and reliability.
Kubernetes: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) offers features to build and deploy cloud-native applications on intelligent distributed infrastructure. Apps can be integrated with cloud-compatible storage and both building and deployment can be achieved within the same platform.
Microsegmentation: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) offers features to prevent malware spread and reduce attack surfaces by leveraging machine learning (ML).
Virtual networking: This set of features allows users to easily implement multi-tenancy in their environment or stretch networks across clouds.
Centralized network management: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) provides organizations with a way to manage networking configurations centrally. Users can utilize it across their human-computer interaction (HCI) environment with simple virtual switch management.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Benefits

The product offers various benefits to users who utilize its capacities. Some of these include:

NCI reduces technology sprawl and frees up technical resources to allow organizations to focus on other activities, potentially reducing costs for the business.
The product allows customers to deploy, scale, and bridge to the public cloud to be able to react in evolving business environments.
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure improves data availability while simultaneously protecting it against several kinds of failures and attacks.
The solution offers high-performance, resilient distributed storage for all workloads.
Working alongside Nutanix Cloud Platform, NCI offers simple management of data from one console.
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure works by the zero trust philosophy, protecting users' apps and data through specially designed security protocols.

Reviews from Real Users

According to Gerhard J., an IT manager at Q4 Fuel, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) provides serious reliability and stability across the entire system makes for ROI.

A solutions architect at a computer software company describes NCI as a stable, straightforward to set up, and scalable solution.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) was previously known as Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis.