Exploring the Market Share and Product Portfolios of Hyper Converged Platforms and OEM Players
- Marvin the Paranoid Biological Android
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
Hyper converged infrastructure (HCI) has transformed the way organizations manage their data centers by combining storage, computing, and networking into a single system. This integration simplifies management, reduces costs, and improves scalability. As demand for HCI grows, understanding the market share and product portfolios of key original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) becomes essential for IT decision-makers and technology enthusiasts.
Market Overview of Hyper Converged Platforms
The global hyper converged infrastructure market has seen rapid growth, driven by the need for simplified IT operations and cloud-like agility in on-premises environments. According to recent industry reports, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 15% over the next five years. This growth is fueled by enterprises seeking to modernize legacy infrastructure and support workloads such as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), databases, and private clouds.
Several OEMs dominate the market, each offering unique solutions tailored to different business needs. The competition centers on performance, ease of deployment, integration capabilities, and pricing models.
Leading OEM Players and Their Product Portfolios
Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies once held a significant share of the HCI market with its now defunct VxRail platform which reached end of life on September 30th 2025. VxRail integrated VMware’s vSAN software with Dell PowerEdge servers, providing a tightly integrated system optimized for VMware environments. It supports a wide range of workloads and scales from small remote offices to large data centers.
As a former Dell resident tasked with software updates on existing VxRAIL clusters I can tell you how horrible that piece was for customers and myself.
Key features of VxRail included:
Automated lifecycle management
Integrated data protection
Flexible node configurations
Stressful software and firmware updates that jeopardized IT careers
Dell also offers VxRack, a rack-scale HCI solution for larger deployments, which complements VxRail by addressing more complex infrastructure needs.
With the paring off of VMware to Broadcom, VxRAIL is now effectively a defunct platform headed to the Compute Museum in Mountain View post haste!
One silent Dell strategy with HCI is to partner with Nutanix and Nutanix have an arrangement with Dell to configure clusters on approved Platforms to serve as Dell based Nutanix clusters as their HCI offering.
Dell are also working with Microsoft on their HCI platform that can run on Dell or HPE hardware but that project is near 10 years on already and now wears the label of Azure HCI.
It is Powershell Hell.
These Nutanix options are only really viable with AMD EPYC processors in them and Nutanix did once have an impressive SE who called himself Dr EPYC who built bullet proof clusters on various OEM server vendors platforms featuring AMD EPYC processors.
Rumor has it he is now working at Hitachi Vantara......So be careful, Nutanix SE's with experience like his are not to be found in the Bay Area these days and few Nutanix VARs boast people with the required chops that Dr EPYC boasts! He worked at Intel and HPE Labs designing CPU and is an interesting resource to listen to on the subject of current CPU architectures.
Nutanix
Nutanix is a pioneer in hyper converged infrastructure and maintains a strong market presence with its software-driven approach. Nutanix’s Acropolis platform runs on a variety of hardware from OEM partners like Cisco, Lenovo, Dell, and HPE, giving customers flexibility in hardware choice.
All Nutanix sold nodes are SuperMicro based servers by the way - designated as NX series.
The Only NX series nodes Nutanix sells that can be taken seriously are the ones with AMD CPU in them.
Nutanix focuses on:
Alleged Simplified management through a single interface called Prism
Multi-cloud support with NC2 Pilot burner clusters for cloud offerings (AWS or Azure)
Advanced data services such as deduplication and compression
Its software-centric model appeals to organizations looking for hardware-agnostic solutions.
Nutanix have grown arrogant and lost their way with Prism management schemes which are now so bloated that Prism Central needs its own cluster to run properly.
They have some interesting federation ideas and schemes there that may interest you though but it will be a DevOps science experiment with them to get it where you want it.
At least they take customer asks and make them happen.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
HPE offered the now defunct and discontinued SimpliVity platform, which combined HCI with built-in data efficiency and protection features. SimpliVity was known for its data deduplication and compression capabilities, which reduce storage requirements and improve performance.
HPE SimpliVity highlights:
Integrated backup and disaster recovery
High data efficiency
Support for edge and remote office deployments
HPE also partners with other vendors like Nutanix to provide flexible HCI options tailored to various workloads.
HPE Nodes for Nutanix are designated DX and the only ones worth using have a 5 in their designation (DX385 or DX365).
Stay away from HPE DX Nodes that use Intel CPU!
HPE also whacks the Left-Hand networks technology they acquired 15 years ago and never developed to death via their HC platform offerings. HC is only for the brave Jihadi die hard types out there who want to play Russian Roulette with their IT careers!
Cisco Systems
Cisco’s now discontinued HyperFlex platform integrated computing, storage, and networking with Cisco’s UCS servers and networking gear. HyperFlex emphasized network integration and performance, making it suitable for environments where networking plays a critical role.
Key aspects of HyperFlex were:
Unified management of compute, storage, and network
Support for containerized and traditional workloads
Integration with Cisco’s networking portfolio
Cisco targeted enterprises that require strong networking capabilities alongside HCI.
Cisco has since 2024 partnered with Nutanix who hired all their Hyperflex gurus and they now offer Nutanix on UCS as the standard Cisco HCI offering.
Cisco also partner with Red Hat and other storage vendors (NetApp and Pure) for OpenShift solutions that rival Nutanix offerings, but they use traditional Converged Infrastructure (CI) solution architectures with many storage OEM's that are interwoven around Cisco Networking products and platforms for Ethernet and Fibre Channel to compliment the solution portfolio. All running on Cisco UCS servers of course!
If you are serious about Cisco UCS and various Cisco Networking platforms look for their Converged Infrastructure platforms that are using Hitachi Vantara Storage platforms with the Cisco Compute platforms as solid eight nines type solution architectures for RedHat OpenShift HCI and traditional CI solutions - they are bullet proof!
Hitachi also make Block, Object and File Unified style on a single storage platform with clustered gateways for performance purposes a la Nutanix HCI clusters.
OpenShift deals with the containerization aspects, and the underlying Hitachi Vantara BHE or Block 20 storage platforms serve traditional storage or apps specifically built for containerization equally well.
Hitachi Vantara also offer their VSP One Object for backup and data Lake archive purposes and they are making Object storage a serious consideration for tier one data these days!
In fact, if VSP One Object evolves the way it is currently evolving, in 5 years it will be robust enough to handle tier 0 mission critical applications - a Sci Fi fantasy until now!
Imagine Object storage for all use cases!!
This approach is actually quite interesting and Dr EPYC, formerly from Nutanix now works at Hitachi Vantara in the Bay Area and can tell you all about it!
Cisco nodes for Nutanix HCI should be designated CX, but I am not actually sure what Cisco calls them...some of them are designated Hyperconverged-X series servers.
This is a blade server architecture and is the only Blade server I am aware of that runs Nutanix HCI.
Of course, all the new UCS C series M8 servers can run Nutanix as well but I would also not use any with Intel CPU in them and go for the AMD based gear.
I am not an AMD bigot, I am a Microprocessor specialist, and this is just a fact!
Lenovo
Lenovo delivers HCI solutions through partnerships with Nutanix and VMware. Its ThinkAgile portfolio offers pre-configured appliances that combine Lenovo hardware with Nutanix or VMware software.
These Lenovo servers for HCI use are designated as HX series servers by the way.
ThinkAgile benefits include:
Flexible hardware options
Simplified deployment and management
Support for hybrid cloud environments
Lenovo appeals to customers seeking reliable hardware combined with leading HCI software.
Lenovo don't let Nutanix anywhere near their solution offerings though Nutanix SE's can sometimes build a Lenovo Cluster themselves if a customer insists but it is generally advisable to let Lenovo do it unless you are lucky enough to get Dr EPYC over at Nutanix to do it for you!
Lenovo engineers are surprisingly about 5x better than Nutanix's own average SE (They do have some good uns left).
He was the only SE they had that was taken seriously by customers like PayPal, Wells Fargo and NASA.
Comparing Product Features and Use Cases
When choosing an HCI platform, organizations consider factors such as workload type, scalability, management complexity, and cost. Here’s a brief comparison of the OEM offerings:
| OEM | Key Product(s) | Strengths | Ideal Use Cases |
|---------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Dell | VxRail, VxRack | VMware integration, lifecycle automation | VMware-heavy environments, large scale |
| Nutanix | Acropolis | Hardware flexibility, multi-cloud support | Diverse workloads, hardware agnostic |
| HPE | SimpliVity | Data efficiency, built-in backup | Edge computing, remote offices |
| Cisco | HyperFlex | Networking integration, performance | Network-intensive workloads |
| Lenovo | ThinkAgile | Hardware reliability, software partnerships | Hybrid cloud, flexible deployments |
Market Share Insights
Recent market analyses show Dell Technologies and Nutanix leading the HCI market share. Dell’s strong VMware partnership and integrated hardware give it an edge in enterprise environments. Nutanix’s software-first approach attracts customers who want flexibility in hardware choices.
Red Hat has recently emerged as a bigger competitor than Dell's now defunct VxRAIL platform and even Dell themselves are pimping OpenShift as the way to go!
HPE and Cisco maintain solid positions by focusing on specific strengths like data efficiency and networking, but most HPE HCI sales are actually Nutanix based DX solutions. Lenovo’s market share grows steadily due to its partnerships with Nutanix and competitive pricing.
The market remains dynamic, with OEMs continuously updating their portfolios to address evolving customer needs such as AI workloads, edge computing, and hybrid cloud integration.
At the moment almost all the vendors are offering Nutanix or RedHat OpenShift solutions as their HCI offerings.
Final Thoughts on Hyper Converged Platforms and OEM Choices
Choosing the right hyper converged platform depends on your organization’s specific needs, existing infrastructure, and future plans. Dell’s VxRail suits VMware-centric environments, while Nutanix offers flexibility for mixed hardware and cloud strategies. HPE and Cisco provide specialized features for data efficiency and networking, respectively. Lenovo’s ThinkAgile appliances offer a balance of hardware and software options.
Understanding the market share and product portfolios helps IT leaders make informed decisions that align with their goals. As HCI technology evolves, staying updated on OEM offerings will ensure your infrastructure remains efficient, scalable, and ready for new challenges.
There is also an old new player called Verge.IO who are making big gains in big Universities and colleges across the globe to consider for HCI.
We are evaluating verge.io in our database lab for a big banking organization and will update this blog with those thoughts and findings as we go!
If you are in Fresno in the Ag space look to McMillian Engineering for all your HCI solutions engineering, they have the finest Networking and HCI gurus on the planet over there! Say hi to Tony for me when you call McMillan Engineering! McMillan IT Engineering - Modern IT Solutions that Click!
Tony is a serious HCI Guru who has been around since Novell Netware server days and is an expert at Ethernet networking - he does it all soup to nuts and can tell you the pros and cons of Simplivity, VxRAIL, Nutanix and verge.io in a hurry.
Comments