Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) comparison

Microsoft and Nutanix are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Nutanix is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 12.0% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Nutanix’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Nutanix users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Read 47 Microsoft Azure File Storage reviews

3,607 Views
2,952 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Read 72 Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) reviews

623 Views
208 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Microsoft Azure File Storage and Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) are two popular storage solutions competing in the enterprise storage market. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) seems to have the upper hand due to its versatility and overall value based on the data comparisons.

Features: Microsoft Azure File Storage offers seamless integration with Azure services, making it ideal for environments reliant on Microsoft's ecosystem. It includes strong security features and native support for SMB and NFS protocols. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) provides scalability, flexibility, and support for multi-cloud environments. It includes a unified storage management console, advanced data deduplication, and comprehensive disaster recovery options.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure File Storage could enhance its performance consistency, expand support for non-Azure services, and improve its analytics features. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) could benefit from a more intuitive management console, enhanced analytics capabilities, and better documentation for new users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure File Storage benefits from streamlined deployment within the Azure ecosystem but has a steep learning curve for new users. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) is noted for its straightforward installation process and robust customer support, making it simpler to deploy and manage.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure File Storage offers competitive pricing within the Azure ecosystem but can be costly for long-term storage needs. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) provides better overall value through its scalability and flexibility, leading to higher ROI for users with varied storage requirements. Nutanix users report more satisfaction with their investments due to the product's adaptability and efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure File Storage vs. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

6th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

All-Flash Storage (6th), Software Defined Storage (SDS) (4th), File and Object Storage (4th), NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 12.0%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

PrashanthR

Lead Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Seamlessly streamlines document processing with advanced file storage and OCR integration

We need to store data over there. We process documents through Kofax Time is a major benefit, as well as ease of processing. With configuration, it happens quite easily, and we can finish tasks early. File storage is complemented by OCR with Azure Cognitive Service. This enhances the processing…

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Juan-Contreras

System Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees

Ensures streamlined management, simplified infrastructure, and efficient data handling

It has effectively managed our unstructured data, including audio and video files. We've experienced smooth operations without any complaints regarding uploading or downloading videos. While video usage isn't as frequent, we primarily utilize it for downloading videos related to specific incidents for administrators or our police department. We've encountered no issues uploading files of any kind. Transitioning from VMware to Nutanix has highlighted the overall flexibility of Nutanix's platform. Unlike VMware's three-tier system, Nutanix simplifies the learning curve by streamlining operations. The update process, in particular, has been favorable, with no critical issues encountered. The resiliency of Nutanix hasn't been thoroughly tested in our environment so far. However, I routinely check fault tolerance settings to ensure they meet our requirements. During the update process, I've observed critical errors occur as hosts restart, but Nutanix's self-healing mechanism handles these issues seamlessly. The benefit of using Nutanix is evident in several ways. Firstly, we've effectively compressed our storage while significantly expanding our overall storage pool. Previously, our service had a capacity of twenty-five terabytes, but with Nutanix, we've scaled up to a hundred and twenty terabytes physically and approximately fifty terabytes logically. This expansion has been accompanied by noticeable improvements in performance, particularly with reduced latency and IOPS well within the boundaries of our equipment. All our resources are centralized in a single location for managing and running storage: our data center. We operate three Nutanix nodes within this center, effectively managing everything from one central location. We don't have any other locations outside of our data center running a Nutanix cluster. Nutanix's capability to eliminate silos within our organization's storage infrastructure was discussed during our recent call with the engineer. Although we haven't explored this feature extensively yet, there's a forthcoming project where we anticipate leveraging it.One thing I'd appreciate is having a desktop application similar to what VMware offered. With VMware, I could download a separate client program onto my computer, allowing me to log in directly rather than accessing the host through a browser.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that Microsoft Azure File Storage works fine and is quick to deploy. It's also easy to connect to it, particularly when connecting it with my on-premise file servers."

"The best part is the accessibility to all the files."

"Integration with the entire Azure platform."

"Its most valuable features are speed and security."

"My client had zero data loss while using the solution for backups and file security."

"The initial setup is very seamless."

"I like that we can copy and download data using Azure. It's not just for file storage; we can also use it for large data sets or to host static web applications."

"The solution can scale to fit any requirement."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage pros

"The interface is quite simple. It is very good. It is easy to configure. It also has a powerful CLI."

"The performance has been very good."

"Unified Storage's centralized management features enable us to accomplish whatever we want in terms of operations and migrations."

"What I found most valuable in Nutanix Files Storage is its high availability and ability to scale out with many VMs."

"Redundancy and availability are valuable. We have several nodes, so it stays up, and there is redundancy. Then there is availability."

"The most valuable features of the solution are high availability and synchronization to another location."

"The management interface is great and you have handy access to several details about your file shares."

"I find that Nutanix’s resilience is the most valuable because it is a feature that is not found in other technologies."

More Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) pros

Cons

"Some of the procedures are a bit more complex in Azure than in other providers."

"In our use cases, we see the weakness in mobile internet connectivity."

"The provider needs to collect more information about the products."

"Microsoft Azure File Storage should improve its pricing."

"The upload speed has room for improvement."

"Some chunking logics need to be better to address issues with processing bigger files. It should allow better methods for handling large files."

"It should allow better methods for handling large files."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage cons

"According to the keynotes announced by Nutanix the previous day or this morning, the data storage for Kubernetes requires improvement as it has a few shortcomings in the area of operations."

"Allowing the use of the Gflag compromises the integrity of the Nutanix system and its established standards."

"One thing I'd appreciate is having a desktop application similar to what VMware offered."

"For me, personally, it's a little bit slow because there's so much stuff in the underlying layers that even after talking with Nutanix support, I couldn't really grasp it."

"The biggest thing for me, which is a pet peeve of mine, is the integration with the hardware platforms."

"Nutanix needs to improve their cybersecurity options at the storage level."

"The solution's monitoring and security features could be improved."

"While they are good and they do work, some of the snapshotting and tiering features are not as simple to set up as they could be."

More Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive, we do not know exactly how the price is calculated."

"We have Microsoft Azure File Storage's enterprise license."

"The product's pricing need improvement."

"The pricing could be more flexible."

"The pricing is usually dependent on your storage requirements. Overall, I believe Microsoft Azure File Storage's price is reasonable."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being the most expensive. It's not cheap."

"The price of the solution is reasonable. The pricing model is based on usage."

"The solution is a bit pricey compared to AWS and Google."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage pricing and cost advice

"Nutanix Unified Storage pricing is reasonable."

"The cost of Nutanix Unified Storage can be prohibitive for some small and medium-sized businesses, making it challenging for them to adopt the product."

"If we compare the cost of Nutanix Objects Storage to other solutions such as VMware licenses, our current choice is Nutanix Objects Storage. This solution is more cost-effective. However, adding VMware to Nutanix would not be a cost-efficient decision, which is why we do not use it anymore."

"Its pricing is good to okay. It is not super inexpensive, but it is still competitive. Everything could always be lower."

"It is very good. It is much more competitive than a dedicated storage platform."

"The pricing is a bit too high."

"I hope that it will stay the way it is. We have seen the changes in VMware and what happened to them. I have heard that Nutanix will raise the prices, but I hope that they will not do that."

"We are Nutanix partners, so it is pretty good. With the free terabyte that comes with the Nutanix clusters, we have started to build proposals for the clients. The price adjustment with the new policy of Nutanix Unified Storages seems attractive. Let us see if it has results."

More Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

32%

Educational Organization

26%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?

Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Azure File Storage?

The product is a reliable cloud solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure File Storage?

The price is almost the same as the competition. I would rate it three or three and a half out of ten on the pricing scale.

See all answers

What do you like most about Nutanix Unified Storage?

Nutanix has excellent product documentation available on their portals, written in simple, easy-to-understand language.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nutanix Unified Storage?

Nutanix Unified Storage isn't expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Nutanix Unified Storage?

The dashboard could be more customizable

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 47% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 18% of the time

Wasabi vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon S3 vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Azure File Storage Competitors

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Compared 21% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Compared 20% of the time

MinIO vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Compared 8% of the time

VAST Data vs Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

Compared 6% of the time

More Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure File Storage

February 2025

Download Microsoft Azure File Storage product report

Buyer's Guide

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

February 2025

Download Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) product report

Also Known As

MS Azure File Storage

Nutanix Files Storage, Nutanix Volumes Block Storage, Nutanix Objects Storage

Overview

Fully managed file shares that use the standard SMB 3.0 protocol

Key scenarios:

Share data across on-premises and cloud servers
Migrate file share-based applications to the cloud with no code changes
Integrate modern applications with File storage
Simplify hosting for high availability workload data

Microsoft

Nutanix Unified Storage provides high availability and seamless cloud platform integration, ensuring robust redundancy, scalability, and streamlined management. It supports hybrid cloud connectivity, enhancing storage security and performance.

Nutanix Unified Storage is designed for effective data protection across block, file, and object storage, offering features like ransomware detection and a centralized management interface through Prism Central. Users gain improved SLAs and IT cost savings through its efficient performance. Despite its user-friendly interface, there is a demand for enhanced security measures such as Multi-Factor Authentication and DLP. While its resilience is notable, users seek improvements in protocol compatibility, storage capabilities, pricing, and support processes.

What are the most important features of Nutanix Unified Storage?

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies storage management and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures continuous operation and reliability.
Seamless Cloud Integration: Compatible with platforms like Azure and AWS.
Robust Redundancy: Protects data against hardware failures.
Scalable Architecture: Easily adapts to growing data storage needs.
Ransomware Detection: Enhances data protection measures.

What benefits and ROI might users find in reviews?

Improved SLAs: Increased service reliability and performance.
IT Cost Savings: Reduces expenses through efficient resource use.
Enhanced Security: Stronger data protection and reduced risk.
Centralized Management: Easier control and monitoring from one dashboard.

Industries implement Nutanix Unified Storage for tasks such as file storage, database performance improvement, and storage solution consolidation. Companies deploying virtual machines, securing against ransomware, connecting hybrid clouds, and backing up data find it useful. It supports workloads like Citrix VDI, Kubernetes, and research data, assisting many organizations migrating from legacy storage for better cost efficiency and reduced data center footprints.

Nutanix

Sample Customers

Talon, Camden

JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, Volkswagen SAIC, Brighton and Hove City Council, Foresters Financial, Janus International Group, Cloud Comrade, Serco

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

January 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure File Storage vs. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS)

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