NetApp and Nutanix: Strategic Alliance for Modern Virtualization

Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, and NetApp, a company focused on intelligent data infrastructure, have announced a collaboration to integrate NetApp Intelligent Data Infrastructure, built on NetApp storage systems, with the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) powered by the Nutanix AHV hypervisor. Together, Nutanix and NetApp plan to offer customers greater freedom of choice when optimizing virtualization and data strategies across on‑premises environments, the cloud, and container platforms. 

The new integration is designed to combine the data management capabilities of NetApp ONTAP— including an intelligent, flexible, and secure data foundation — with the unified hybrid multicloud operations of the NCP platform. Rising virtualization costs are forcing enterprises to reconsider long‑held assumptions about virtualization platforms. Broadcom’s shift to VMware subscription licensing based on the number of CPU cores has further accelerated this trend, prompting many organizations to seek alternative hypervisors and modernization strategies.   

What is new

For the first time, NetApp ONTAP storage systems can serve as external storage for Nutanix environments using the NFS protocol, giving customers a new level of architectural flexibility and choice. Customers can independently scale storage and compute resources, maximize the value of existing storage investments, and leverage NetApp’s industry‑leading data services for workloads running in Nutanix environments.

Why this matter

  1. Simplified Management

The proven management of NetApp ONTAP storage systems, built and refined over more than 30 years, is now also available through Nutanix Prism, delivering flexible operations and best‑in‑class data management. A unified view of virtual machines, infrastructure, and storage enables faster insights, quicker troubleshooting, and reduced operational overhead.

  1. Operational Flexibility

Customers can modernize at their own pace while minimizing operational disruption and preserving architectural freedom. ONTAP delivers simplicity through NFS‑based API connectivity and provides granular control over VM operations at scale.

  1. Security and Resiliency You Can Trust

Nutanix environments gain data protection services through the ONTAP operating system, including application‑consistent snapshots, efficient replication, and AI‑powered autonomous ransomware protection (ARP/AI) with a recovery guarantee. The combination of NetApp infrastructure with NCP enables enterprises to reliably protect workloads across the hybrid cloud.

  1. Faster, Lower Risk Migrations

The NFS‑based integration between NCP and NetApp ONTAP is designed to simplify the migration of virtual machines from other virtualization platforms into the Nutanix environment, reduce complexity, and accelerate time to value. Fast, in‑place VM conversions available within minutes will be supported using the NetApp Shift Toolkit and Nutanix Move tools.

 

Availability

The NCP solution with NetApp AFF A‑Series systems and selected FAS hybrid‑flash systems will be available in the third quarter of calendar year 2026. As joint development continues, the integration between the platforms will deepen, further enhancing the combined value across the entire solution.

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Martin Bilka

Systems Engineer
Martin.Bilka@alef.com