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IBM PowerVM vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM PowerVM
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (10th)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
196
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (3rd), HCI (3rd), Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (1st), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM PowerVM and Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. IBM PowerVM is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 1.2%, up 1.2% compared to last year.
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), on the other hand, focuses on HCI, holds 8.0% mindshare, down 8.8% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 18, 2022
A stable system for high-end data processing with a great support structure
The only problem with the IBM system is improving its hardware licensing model. For example, when you procure a server with 40 physical codes, you must also procure licenses to activate the codes. In Dell or any system, you procure the hardware and have the full right to use the hardware. For IBM, it's different because when you procure a 40-code processor and have 40 physical codes, you only have a license to use 20. As a result, the 20 alert codes will always be in activated mode. Hence, the hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured.
Sisir Ghosh - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 17, 2023
Scales easily, helps with consolidation, and enables us to clone a VM
Usually, there are separate administration teams that take care of servers, but in our organization, servers are usually looked after by the application owner. However, the application owners cannot reinstall the software, OS, and other things. That only aligns with the role of the HCI administrator. If these rights can be provided, it will be very easy. Previously, it was there, but after certain updates, we found that they have withdrawn those services. For example, you requested a VM, and based on the business use case, I approved it and gave you a bare-metal server. Now you are the owner of that particular VM, so whatever you need, you should be able to do over there, but currently, you have to request me for the installation of the OS that you need, and I have to do it. It is an overhead for the HCI administrator. If that can be offloaded to the VM owners, that will be much easier for us. I have already shared this feedback with Nutanix.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It's in English, so its exceptional qualities make the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues."
"Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM."
"PowerVM's most valuable features include swift optimisation and real-time migration."
"IBM PowerVM has the highest clock speed."
"The valuable feature of the solution is the technical aspects, focusing on elements like processor infinity."
"The practicality of IBM PowerVM is a crucial feature, especially with the help of HMC (Hardware Management Console). The Live Partition Mobility help us handle virtual adapters effectively when we need to upgrade firmware or the system, and LPM helps us transfer workloads with minimal downtime. This feature ensures that our systems remain online during maintenance, significantly minimizing potential disruptions."
"The product never fails to work and is very stable in general. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It offers stability, resilience, and reliability. They handle the workloads very easily."
"I definitely find the reduced power consumption very valuable."
"The most valuable feature would be the ease of deployment. That is the most significant feature for me because I've worked with multiple vendors and it's always been very complicated to install the software and get everything running."
"The most valuable feature of Nutanix Acropolis AOS is it has centralized management."
"One of the most valuable features of Nutanix is that it's easy to use. I love this solution—it's easy to maintain and update, and I think it's almost perfect."
"The flexibility of this system is very good. It's also faster than others, and has skilled technical support who showed more initiative than a competitor, e.g. VMware."
"Nutanix Acropolis AOS makes it easy to use and manage projects and it has a good reputation."
"It has centralized management. It is easy for an engineer to manage. More work goes to patching, upgrades, and maintenance. Nutanix is very easy to upgrade. It takes one click. Engineers do not need to spend additional time with Nutanix for upgrades. With one click, it will complete the upgrade and show the results. Other hypervisor solutions are not like this, specifically since you must do all the components one by one."
"What's best about Nutanix Acropolis AOS is its simplicity. It's simple to install and simple to understand. The technical support and support portal for this product are both very good and very helpful."
 

Cons

"The interface is not user-friendly in places, so it could use some improvement."
"The licensing could be better."
"To make it a ten, I would like for them to add automation and configuration tools in order to help use the manager."
"The hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured."
"The pricing of the solution is on the higher side."
"Any improvements that can be made in the interface will go a long way to helping us work better."
"Stability could always be better."
"The product's pricing could be less expensive compared to other competitors."
"The ability to create clusters faster would be nice to see in a future release."
"The reporting section of the dashboard could be improved to include more detailed reporting about the servers."
"The name of the solutions offered by Nutanix does not indicate what the tool does."
"In terms of what I would like to see improved, I would say the life cycle management. I don't know if it is because they changed to an LCM from the previous way of upgrading the hardware or software but sometimes it feels that it needs a wizard that says, "Check this, check this," telling you your options. The only thing that's a bit frustrating for me is the life cycle management interface. That's the only thing on the entire system that frustrates me."
"I'd like it to be more API-based."
"The solution doesn't support older systems, which can be a problem for some organizations who wish to implement it. It became a problem for us due to the fact that some of our systems are older."
"The solution has more features than required"
"Setup can be a little difficult"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to purchase the product's licenses."
"The license cost is bundled with IBM Power Systems as it is limited to RISC-based IBM systems only."
"IBM PowerVM costs more than other products but the customer does not need to pay additional money for the licenses. In VMware, you need to license everything. With IBM PowerVM it is unlimited and all-inclusive in the price you pay."
"The price varies from case to case and you have to negotiate it for every project."
"IBM PowerVM's pricing is cheap."
"Even if the product is expensive, it works well in the long term. The tool is more or less expensive, and I would presently describe it as an optimally priced product."
"The cost is on the higher side. Typically, we invest in the machine and support for two, three, or five years."
"The pricing for PowerVM is on the higher. Regarding the license, it can be on a monthly or annual basis, depending on the deal. Customers may choose to pay annually, one-time, or monthly based on their agreement with the sales team. As for additional costs, customers need to pay for support if they opt for it. If not, they only pay for the hardware cost as per the agreement."
"The overall cost depends on the contract of each customer and the discounts they have, but the price for the three-tier architecture can be slightly lower."
"Nutanix Acropolis AOS price includes no additional costs for features."
"This product is expensive, but they do have discounts. At one point, I saw that they were giving a 70% or 80% discount, which is a good thing, but maybe they should have a more realistic price and then a 5% to 10% discount."
"It is not cheap, but if you look at the return on investment and the total cost of ownership, it is worth the price."
"I don't feel that I am receiving the performance which I am paying for."
"The pricing is fair for the package."
"They should lower the price. If they did they would fall into a more competitive market because the price does scare a lot of potential customers away when they get the quote."
"Nutanix price is high because it bundles all the components into single deals rather than allowing you to select the features that you want/will use."
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?
Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?
PowerVM is expensive but worth the investment for the reliability and performance it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?
Currently, all the necessary features are working fine for us. However, technical support could be improved, especially when seeking solutions to issues.
What is the biggest difference between Nutanix Acropolis and VMware vSphere?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...
How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?
Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...
Which would you choose - Nutanix Acropolis AOS or VMware vSAN?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...
 

Also Known As

PowerVM
Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage
St. Lukes Health System, the City of Seattle, Yahoo! Japan, Sligro, Empire Life, Hyundai AUS, and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: November 2024.
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