NetApp and Nutanix have announced a strategic partnership, launching a joint platform for modern virtualization and AI-driven data infrastructure.
By combining the Nutanix Cloud Platform with NetApp’s ONTAP technology, the two companies offer a solution designed to increase flexibility, strengthen security, and improve scalability for organizations seeking to future-proof their IT environments.
Integration of storage and virtualization
A key element of the partnership is that NetApp ONTAP can now be used as an external storage solution in Nutanix environments. This separation of storage and compute resources gives organizations greater control over their infrastructure and enables more efficient resource management.
This approach allows organizations to:
- Maximize existing storage investments
- Scale storage and compute independently
- Simplify management of virtual environments
The integration is implemented via NFS, providing a flexible and scalable architecture tailored for modern data centers.
Simplified operations and more efficient management
Combining Nutanix Prism with NetApp’s data services delivers a more unified operations model, reducing complexity and improving operational efficiency across the IT stack.
Benefits include:
- Faster troubleshooting and easier administration
- Clearer separation between different IT layers
- The ability to modernize incrementally with minimal downtime
These characteristics make the solution particularly appealing to organizations that want to avoid large, risky platform migrations.
Enhanced security and data protection
The partnership also incorporates advanced security features, with NetApp’s AI-driven ransomware protection playing a central role.
The solution offers:
- AI-based detection of cyber threats
- Snapshots and replication for fast recovery
- Improved resilience across hybrid and multicloud environments
These capabilities strengthen organizations’ ability to respond to today’s evolving cybersecurity threats.
Faster migration with lower risk
Improved migration tools are another important component. With solutions such as NetApp Shift Toolkit and Nutanix Move, organizations can migrate virtual machines more quickly and with less risk.
Advantages include:
- Migrations that do not require full data copies
- Significantly reduced migration times
- Minimal business disruption during transitions
This enables smoother transitions to new platforms or modernized environments while maintaining operational continuity.
Focus on AI and next-generation IT platforms
As part of the collaboration, NetApp and Nutanix plan to extend their integration to better support AI-driven workflows and emerging agent-based AI use cases.
This development gives enterprises improved capabilities to:
- Automate workflows using AI
- Manage and analyze data more effectively
- Accelerate digital transformation initiatives
The partnership represents a clear movement toward smarter, data-centric IT platforms that support advanced analytics and AI workloads.
Availability
The joint solution is currently in an early access phase and is expected to become generally available in the second half of 2026.