Lenovo & Nutanix Partner To Bring HCI To Global Enterprises

The hyperconverged systems-based on Lenovo’s x86 server products and powered by Intel processors-will integrate compute, storage and virtualizations technologies into a scale-out appliance that will run software from Nutanix, a small company with more than $300 million in funding.

Nutanix unveiled the latest version of its platform earlier this year aiming to offer “invisible infrastructure” that “just works”, enabling customers to focus on running their business and developing new applications, rather than just keeping the lights on, the firm said.

Hyperconvergence combines highly reliable server platforms with state-of-the-art software to build private cloud datacenters that match the agility, scalability and fractional consumption of public clouds.

Lenovo chairman and CEO, Yang Yuanqing, said this partnership allows Lenovo to continue its legacy of innovation, and vision of how IT will evolve in the coming decade. He claimed Lenovo’s global reach provides the partnership with an accelerated route to market in critical segments of the industry.

The new family of hyperconverged appliances will be sold by Lenovo’s sales teams and its global network of partners.

Lenovo said it is making ‘sizeable investments in a dedicated global sales team to support the new converged appliances for datacentre builders. The two companies will also plan “substantial investments in platform engineering and development”.

Nutanix Inc. has engaged China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. as a hardware partner for its hyperconverged software systems, giving it a big leg up as it looks to secure a sizable share of the lucrative Chinese market.

Of interest is that Lenovo already acts as a reseller for products from SimpliVity Corp., Maxta Inc., and StorMagic, which rival Nutanix in the hyperconverged systems space. We do not have to protect old ways of thinking or entrenched ideas. “Nutanix’s well recognized technology leadership, paired with our global reach, will enable both companies to thrive by helping customers dramatically reduce complexity in datacenters of all sizes”. More details are set to be revealed at the Gartner Data Centre summit in Las Vegas in December, the firm said, but it is expected that it will take an existing System x server as a starting point with configurations to target different use cases and workloads.