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The main use case for Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is to create a hybrid cloud experience. It serves as a turnkey solution where we can add management features to get the same experience we have with an NCM Nutanix product on-premises, even if we run Nutanix in the public cloud.

I work for an IT distributor where we sell products for virtualization and data centers, with Nutanix being our main solution for this kind of business. We resell Nutanix for other companies from various industries or markets in Brazil.

The setup of Nutanix is very easy. The overall complexity of the solution is much less, and it's a solution that provides freedom of choice. We can run Nutanix on any cloud, on any hardware with any hypervisor. 

The cost governance features of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  are some of the most important features in this solution. We have features that help customers spend less on public cloud infrastructure. We have the observability of these costs, attribute quotas or chargeback policies, and with this kind of cost management, the expenditure of IT infrastructure in the public cloud could be significantly less so that the return on investment can be very relevant to companies that spend substantial money with the public cloud.

The console of the Nutanix solution has various reports that we can fulfill and use a SaaS-like solution for Nutanix that allows us to input our expenditure profiles of the public clouds and then compare that with the cost that we might have with the on-premise solutions. 

The main area that could be improved with Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is the cost. This is a license that we can use as a complement for the NCI product, which is the main product of Nutanix. Here  in Brazil, we have a total cost of ownership based on the NCI, and sometimes the NCM additions make the product a little higher when we compare it with the public clouds. We are much cheaper when we compare with the Broadcom vCloud solution, but not as competitive when we compare with AWS  or Google when these kinds of solutions are built into the platform.

I have worked for about 10 years with the Nutanix portfolio: NCM, NCI, and NUS.

These solutions are already deployed in a high availability way with load balancing. Any problem with these machines does not compromise the structure of what we have built within. The solution has very high availability with no problems.

In terms of scalability, it is really high. The threshold is not about NCM; it's the size of your on-premises or cloud infrastructure. As long as your AWS  or public cloud workloads can grow, the solution is already set up to manage it.

I would rate their customer service with Nutanix a nine out of ten. The support of the Nutanix team is great. The complexity of the matters might make it slightly lower, but even then, this is higher than the average of the market.

Positive

I have never used a similar solution in my company. I have only studied the solution from Broadcom.

The deployment of the Nutanix solution is instantaneous. These solutions are packaged in the Nutanix Prism  Central that is a piece of software already deployed in the cluster. It requires only the setup of the policies that we want to have, the creation of the playbooks that we're interested in, and the setup of the cost profiles and the quotas or the project. The setup is already done when we deploy the Prism Central solution, which is a main managed solution for this kind of cluster.

Using NCM's built-in playbooks has freed up time for my IT team. We have saved more than 50% of the time. We can create the experience of scale-out and elasticity that we have in the public cloud, provide this to on-premises solutions, and it saves lots of time in micromanagement of the VM profiles.

Regarding the speed of outcomes from their low-code automation, some companies have longer cycles of deployment of applications of infrastructure, and time is money. Once we can deploy large solutions with CI/CD solutions and integrate a DevOps-like flow of production, we can reduce this time and accelerate the value of the solution for the infrastructure. Nutanix gives that with the turnkey solution. We do not have the complexity to assemble a CI/CD solution with open-source solutions or multiple products. This is a complete flow of work for DevOps, integrated even with the Kubernetes  or containers infrastructures that can accelerate this kind of deployment significantly, varying with the profile of the company that utilizes it. My company is not a development company, so this does not have this kind of value since we do not develop, but I can see the value that this feature has for companies that build software in-house. 

I would rate Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a nine out of ten.

My use case or my client's use case focuses on multi-location cost governance, multi-cluster management, and cost governance. In the case of low-code automation, we have certain customers who are specifically using that, and for that detailed use case, we need to take concurrence from the end customer.

The best features in Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  would vary from case to case. The good features include support, which has always been 100% accurate from Nutanix, and they provide a very nice response with the various product portfolios. In NCM, we get operational automation along with cloud visibility, a part of a single VM, blueprints, playbooks, cost governance, network security planning, and all, which are the most things we are blessed to be a part of NCM.

From a playbook's point of view, it is very helpful for triggering our equations, booting out if-and-but rules and regulations, creating multiple numbers of VMs that could be created with a timeline on the start date and end date, and automating project-wise mapping along with cost governance, which makes sense for automation within a playbook.

For recommending the product, it would give long-lasting forecasting along with the blueprint, playbook, and SQL management, which is the reason to consider it for customer recommendation; however, a customer with a multi-location who doesn't want to go with a central console of management might refuse centralized management, but there is no such point we will consider as a reason not to be in a reference.

In Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) , there are no features that have room for improvement.

I have seven to eight years of experience working with Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM).

I would rate Nutanix support a 10 out of 10.

Positive

When comparing Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) with other cloud management solutions, the major key point is how we will achieve proficiency about the data. In comparing NCM with other solutions, there would be Ariba and some VMware competitors that are using analytics, which should be considered in the comparison. Whatever the functions and features provided with NCM, and by doing a proof of concept, how they achieve it from an organizational perspective, makes a right benchmark for that, but it varies from customer to customer, so I cannot comment on what rating or number it would be, as it would be based on the features that the competitor has provided. The pricing is not cheap; it is based on how a customer would adopt it, and there are various flavors, so I cannot comment if it is cheaper or on the higher side, as it is based on the feature the customer is looking for, with the price point of view coming from that.

There would be customization possible based on the case study pointer and how a customer looks forward from a product point of view; in consideration of how our competition is speaking, they might need to club the licensing portion to meet customer requirements. I have rated Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a 10 out of 10.

We use Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  for big enterprises in Brazil, including Sebrae, the Minister of Brazil, and three local agencies in Brasília; we have 10 or 11 customers installed.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is easy to use. Last week, I studied the history of Nutanix, the principles, and KVM . It is simple, usable, and intuitive for me. NCM is easier to use, especially for layout. NCM does the best with the architecture of the CVM because one CVM for each node makes it more distributed and improves usability, offering more technical improvement compared to other vendors. NCM is very fast, as my implementation team appreciates it because it's fast to deploy.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is stable. I do not receive emails about releases or new versions, indicating that the solution is solid and safe with very good security.

I find the scalability quite easy; I only need to add a license for the core and install the new node for GPU, storage, processing, and memory.

I cannot rate Nutanix support since I never contacted them, but I have only heard good things from my team.

Positive

I have past experiences with vSphere and vCenter, which I had difficulty with. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is much easier to use, and I appreciate its graphical interface and colors.

The deployment process is easy.

It's important for us that deployment is fast and easy because my team has all the certifications for deploying Nutanix, and the steps are very easy to understand.

It saves time for implementation and deployment.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pricing is reasonable, especially compared to VMware and other solutions that are more expensive. It's less expensive than competitors such as Broadcom.

I use AWS  and GCP, but I have also used VCF for VMware and vCenter, which is similar to NCM.

Regarding installation or configuring, I only work in design, specifically with Sizer and quotation nodes; that's my focus.

The documentation is easy to search for; it's the bible of Nutanix, and I find it pretty good. I haven't used the documentation in my local language, Portuguese, because my English needs improvement, so I use it only in English. My team uses it in Portuguese because some technical people lack expertise in English.

Everything is satisfactory. We are Platinum Partners with Nutanix.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a ten because it's very easy to use.

The use cases are related to infrastructure migration from VMware to Nutanix. I have exposure to the Dell XC series, which has a Nutanix hypervisor installed. It consists of containers along with the Nutanix infrastructure using Dell hardware.

The licensing is much cheaper than other competitors such as VMware, Cisco UCS, or Microsoft Hyper-V  for on-premises data centers. It is very user-friendly and can be managed through Prism Central, a centralized console that allows management of multiple clusters. 

Due to the recent conversion from VMware to Broadcom, Broadcom has increased their prices five times the existing rates. Most customers are transferring to Nutanix infrastructure because it is scalable, reliable, and performance-focused. The main differentiator from competitors is its cost-effectiveness, and customers have been running and upgrading their technologies for 10 to 15 years. In terms of client satisfaction, performance, upgrades, or protection against ransomware attacks and vulnerabilities, they are regularly releasing patches and upgrading the system. These activities contribute to customer satisfaction and differentiate them from competitors.

Nutanix needs more cloud collaborations.There are many cloud providers currently available. Integration with the Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) Unified Storage or Nutanix cloud platform should be improved for better containerization. This is a major drawback in configuration. Other competitors are developing solutions such as VMware on AWS , VMware on Google Cloud , and Azure  VMware solutions. 

I have more than seven years of experience in Nutanix. My core expertise is in VMware and Nutanix.

It is highly scalable. Most customers utilize the scalability capabilities for running and expanding their IT infrastructure as needed. The key aspects include mix-match hardware and hyper-converged infrastructure, combining compute, storage, and network in a single platform. No other competitor provides such scalable infrastructure. It is software-defined, cloud-integrated, and simple to manage with automated one-touch upgrade capabilities.

They have their vendor site at support.nutanix.com. Users require an order ID or unique ID to log in, which can be individual or team-based. Support is available for software, hardware, upgrades, firmware, BIOS, Dell PT agent, and software entities through support.nutanix.com.

I would rate their support a nine out of ten because sometimes you struggle to get the engineers assigned to a particular issue, especially in situations like production downtime. Although there are Technical Account Managers (TAMs) and resident engineers available, they may not always be fully equipped to handle on-site troubleshooting effectively. Reducing resolution time would be beneficial for both the client and Nutanix.

We use external storage including Dell XtremIO , Data Domains, and I have exposure to VMware vSAN  for storage solutions.

When comparing it to the other options, the licensing cost is significantly lower. It's a software-defined platform that offers block storage through a single management interface. Overall, this solution is more cost-effective than its competitors, which highlights the advantages of a unified storage platform.

With all details and resources available, including DNS entries, IPs, subnets, and subnet masks, the initial setup takes two hours from start to finish. Expansion of new containers takes approximately 40 to 45 minutes.

Implementation requires team effort. The process involves racking and stacking in the data center, network engineering according to cut sheet plans, cabling configuration, and hardware setup for HPE or Dell servers. After hardware setup, either AHV hypervisor or ESXi needs to be installed, followed by primary virtual machine configuration for Prism Central or Prism Element. The implementation scope depends on infrastructure size, whether it's a three-node, four-node, or six-node cluster, which is specified in the cut sheet. Separate teams handle costing, implementation, deployment, and operations.

Pricing is based on the Acropolis Operating System (AOS ), not on the hypervisor level. While VMware costs depend on ESXi hypervisor pricing, the AHV hypervisor for Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is free. Customers only pay for the AOS  platform. This differs from other competitors such as Microsoft Hyper-V  and Citrix, which have their own licensing costs for servers and cloud platforms.

There are currently many platforms available, particularly with Nutanix. We can utilize Nutanix with Kubernetes as well as on AWS. For automation purposes, we require DevOps and machine learning to automate tasks. For example, if you want to delete snapshots on servers, automation is necessary, and this can be achieved through machine learning or DevOps practices. In the current environment, there are various scripting options available, including PowerShell and other non-specified scripts. If we focus specifically on the DevOps perspective, it's essential for me to learn these new technologies.

Regarding machine learning, I don’t have much exposure specifically to unified storage. However, with Nutanix Cloud platform, I have experience with data services and secure data services. From an infrastructure standpoint, I have over seven years of experience in hybrid and multi-cloud environments on the Nutanix platform.

In terms of cybersecurity, there are multiple external appliances available for unified storage. To focus on the Nutanix platform specifically, Nutanix Unified Storage has several features. For instance, Nutanix Lens is one tool available. Moreover, when consolidating your Nutanix infrastructure, you have access to various data protection, data analytics, and secure backup options. It's a combined effort involving Data Lens and other tools available in the market.

Data Lens essentially helps manage big data access across various geopolitical areas through data centers. We need to ensure compliance with our policies regarding security, especially concerning ransomware. In essence, it's a security solution offering that addresses vulnerabilities, data resiliency, and analytical tools that we utilize for security purposes. I had the opportunity to work on Data Lens about two or three months ago for a project.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is a unified cloud management platform that provides automation, cost optimization, self-service provisioning, and security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Prism Center manages Nutanix infrastructure, monitoring, alerts, and lifecycle, while Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  adds advanced capabilities such as cost governance, automation, self-service, and security, as it is built on top of the Prism Center. It simplifies multi-cloud management and reduces cloud costs with optimization tools while enabling self-service and faster provisioning, improving security and compliance, and automating manual IT operations.

Regarding speed, Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) automates deployment and includes logging task execution, such as blueprint deployment steps and runbook, which is helpful for debugging performance analysis for application performance and logging during automation. Because we have multiple nodes, we can use automations within two to three minutes. When running the automation script, we can deploy and collect the logs within two to three minutes. Without using automation scripts, it would take more time and effort for collecting requirement data and requirement deployments. Manual management is very difficult, so we develop scripting automation for deployment, collecting logs, and health checks, making it very speedy at two to three minutes.

We use automation for logging, collecting logs, and checking monitoring. The automation engine is powerful, similar to Calm, which is for automated application deployment, and I am using it in two and three projects. For expansion, we can use automation such as infrastructure and Terraform . Unified cloud storage is a unified software platform, such as NCM and VMware.

We can explain the platform types: unified SaaS, on-prem, and hybrid cloud management. VMware uses enterprise-grade hybrid management, and for infrastructure automation, Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) uses Calm, blueprint, and runbook, while VMware uses infrastructure automation, blueprint, and workflow. For self-service protocol, NCM uses integrated multi-tenancy, but VMware is customizable. For cost governance, NCM uses Beam for multi-cloud cost tracking, but VMware requires vRealize Operations.

To compare Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) and other components simply, NCM is a unified platform offering automation, cost governance, and operations through the UI. Compared to vRealize or Terraform , NCM stands out for simplicity and integrated cost analysis with Beam, and more benefits on one-click application with blueprint called Calm. However, tools such as Terraform offer more flexibility for DevOps-heavy use cases, and VMware may fit better in an all-VMware environment.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is a very scalable deployment performance tool. The best features and key areas for improvement in Nutanix management are the user interface, enhancing onboarding with tool tips and guided steps, blueprint, and version control through Git  integration. These are key areas to improve, along with third-party integration and license simplicity. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is very powerful, but it can be improved in areas such as UI usability, blueprint version, deeper cloud integration, and enhanced reporting by adding more AI-driven automation.

Five plus years

I rate stability as 8 out of 10 because I have deployed multiple projects, and neither my customers nor my team have complained.

I rate the technical support as 9 out of 10 because I know it very well.

I am working with VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V .

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pricing depends on customer requirements and is based on licensing. It is relatively inexpensive, falling in the medium price range.

I recommend Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) to others because it is a very good platform for organizations that want to simplify hybrid or multi-cloud operations. It helps improve cost efficiency, which is crucial as customers check for that first. It improves efficiency and automates IT tasks, which benefits customers significantly. It enhances governance and security compliance, all from a single management platform. The customer base ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 users. My overall rating for this solution is 8 out of 10.