Azure Stack vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) comparison

Microsoft and Nutanix are both solutions in the Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) category. Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.9, while Nutanix is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. Microsoft holds a 33.0% mindshare in SDDC, compared to Nutanix’s 25.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Nutanix users who would recommend it.

Azure Stack

Read 69 Azure Stack reviews

3,327 Views
233 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

Read 200 Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) reviews

14,323 Views
143 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Azure Stack

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure and Azure Stack are both competitors in the hyperconverged infrastructure market, offering unique benefits. Nutanix is noted for ease of deployment and customer service, while Azure Stack excels in Microsoft product integration and hybrid cloud features. Nutanix has an edge in performance, while Azure Stack is better for integration with Microsoft's ecosystem.

Features: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure provides high performance I/O, ease of administration, and highly valued one-click upgrades. It showcases hyperconverged capabilities and data locality features that optimize management and reduce complexity. Azure Stack is appreciated for its seamless integration with Microsoft products and hybrid cloud capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Nutanix users often request better network integration, enhanced cloud features, and price transparency. There is also a need for expanded support for multi-hypervisor environments and integration with third-party solutions. For Azure Stack, users seek improved integration with third-party products, enhanced native disaster recovery options, and reduced costs for wider adoption.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nutanix is recognized for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer support. Its minimal complexity makes it an appealing choice for speedy setups. Azure Stack, while compatible with Microsoft tools, faces challenges with complex licensing and integrations, which can hinder the customer experience during deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Nutanix may present higher upfront costs but leads to operational savings, offering a favorable ROI due to lower total cost of ownership. Azure Stack's mixed pricing model includes significant upfront and subscription costs but is deemed reasonable by users leveraging its integration benefits with Microsoft. The ROI for Azure Stack varies based on deployment scale and effective use of its hybrid capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Stack vs. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.6

Azure Stack offers varying ROI, improving utilization and cost-effectiveness, with benefits often apparent within the first two years.

Sentiment score

6.9

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure users achieve ROI within 2-3 years, citing cost, energy savings, and operational efficiencies with stable infrastructures.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.5

Azure Stack customer service varies, with satisfaction influenced by support tiers, subscription type, and customer familiarity with Microsoft services.

Sentiment score

8.1

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure support is praised for quick, knowledgeable service, resolving issues swiftly with multilingual capabilities and proactive monitoring.

The technicians handling the tickets do not seem very technical.

JitenderSingh

Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Any support we receive is through Dell EMC, as that's a policy from Microsoft itself.

MohammedAbdulAleem

Lead Enterprise Architect at Integrated Telecom

It is okay; overall it is good without room for improvement when it comes to response time or first-level support quality.

Rajendra-Satale

Data Architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

When we send an email, an engineer is assigned within 15 to 20 minutes, and we get on a call to resolve the issue.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

The second one was a licensing issue because when I switched from the SMB package to another package, I had to change the way of licensing, and that was horrendous.

Jean Charles

Dsi at OFFICE PUBLIC DE L HABITAT DE ROUEN

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.4

Azure Stack offers flexible scalability for businesses but faces challenges with regional availability and rack limitations.

Sentiment score

7.9

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure offers exceptional scalability, allowing seamless expansion, dynamic growth, and effortless workload management for enterprises.

Monitoring, changing plans, and consolidating things are necessary parts of the process to avoid excessive costs.

reviewer2160696

Vice President Of Engineering at a logistics company with 11-50 employees

Our company seeks cost-effective and more flexible open systems, and we find it difficult to integrate with third-party hardware.

MohammedAbdulAleem

Lead Enterprise Architect at Integrated Telecom

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the scalability of Azure Stack as eight.

JitenderSingh

Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

The scalability of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) deserves an eight out of ten rating, as there is no solution that is 100% efficient and there is always room for improvement.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Azure Stack is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime, supporting both cloud and on-premise deployments effectively.

Sentiment score

8.2

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure offers stable, reliable performance with minimal downtime, efficient workload handling, and high user satisfaction.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

Compared to VM, we find it most stable.

Khairul Firdaus

Assistant Manager at Isuzu Hicom Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Regarding stability, I would rate Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) a seven out of ten.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Room For Improvement

Azure Stack needs improvements in features, compatibility, scalability, setup, user-friendliness, and cost management to compete effectively.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure needs improvements in setup cost, storage, integration, compatibility, networking, oversight, and pricing transparency for competitiveness.

The precision of anonymous activity tracking should be improved, particularly in identifying the correct location because IP information is sometimes inaccurate.

JitenderSingh

Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Many resources get created in Azure Stack, and managing those resources can be challenging.

reviewer2160696

Vice President Of Engineering at a logistics company with 11-50 employees

Management looks for a balanced product that utilizes existing hardware, fulfills external customer demand, and leverages the scalability of the cloud model.

MohammedAbdulAleem

Lead Enterprise Architect at Integrated Telecom

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

We hope Nutanix can integrate inside our current license module.

Khairul Firdaus

Assistant Manager at Isuzu Hicom Malaysia Sdn Bhd

I would suggest that Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) should develop their own P2V (physical to VM) tools instead of requiring users to rely on third-party solutions.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

They should add AI features in the future.

JUNGKEUM SHIN

Manager at Seoul Institute of the Arts

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Setup Cost

Enterprise users view Azure Stack as costly, yet value its support, flexibility, and scalable subscription model despite complex licensing.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure offers cost-effectiveness with comprehensive solutions, despite initial costs, appealing to enterprises for long-term ROI.

If Microsoft lowers the price, more small businesses would be able to adopt the Enterprise E5 license.

JitenderSingh

Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

The pricing is renewed every year, at almost $100,000 per year.

Khairul Firdaus

Assistant Manager at Isuzu Hicom Malaysia Sdn Bhd

It costs more compared to VMware due to different licensing areas.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

At first, it is cheaper than cloud services, so the cost is a major benefit.

JUNGKEUM SHIN

Manager at Seoul Institute of the Arts

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Valuable Features

Azure Stack excels in ease of deployment, scalability, and seamless integration with Microsoft tools for app development and hybrid cloud.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure excels in ease of use, scalability, data protection, and seamless management, enhancing performance and reducing costs.

They allow me to track all user activities.

JitenderSingh

Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

I am very much impressed with Azure Stack, especially regarding security, complete compliance, data sovereignty, and data security.

MohammedAbdulAleem

Lead Enterprise Architect at Integrated Telecom

It has benefited my organization as it is implemented according to the standards, including GDPR and all, so it works.

Rajendra-Satale

Data Architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Stack report

When technology development or devops teams request server provisioning, the setup time has been reduced from hours to less than 20 minutes.

Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

The performance was really better for applications and access times to the data.

Jean Charles

Dsi at OFFICE PUBLIC DE L HABITAT DE ROUEN

The replication method between Nutanix clusters is a valuable feature.

Khairul Firdaus

Assistant Manager at Isuzu Hicom Malaysia Sdn Bhd

For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Categories and Ranking

Azure Stack

Ranking in Software Defined Data Center (SDDC)

2nd

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

Ranking in Software Defined Data Center (SDDC)

1st

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

200

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Storage (SDS) (6th), HCI (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) category, the mindshare of Azure Stack is 33.0%, down from 44.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is 25.9%, down from 36.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)	25.9%
Azure Stack	33.0%
Other	41.1%

Software Defined Data Center (SDDC)

Featured Reviews

Rajendra-Satale

Data Architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Unified data platform has improved regulatory compliance but still needs better integration features

It is difficult to say about Azure Stack improvement because I need to revisit and study it again. The pricing is okay, but on the services side, perhaps we need to think about some services, not all. I would not like to see any additional features in the future. To give them more like a 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10, I think they need to improve on the interface, implementation, configuration, and integration with other products, so I rate them an eight. As compared to AWS, they need to add more features. I would like to see operations and storage features, like AI features or security features.

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Obasanjo Biliaminu

Head Systems Administration/Security at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC

Infrastructure efficiency has improved significantly with quick server provisioning, though physical to virtual migrations need a streamlined in-house tool

From my experience with Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), there is one area that needs improvement. When moving a critical infrastructure from a physical machine to Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), we currently have to use a third-party tool to convert the physical machine to a VM. We have to use VMware converter to perform this conversion before moving it to Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). I would suggest that Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) should develop their own P2V (physical to VM) tools instead of requiring users to rely on third-party solutions.

Read full review

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	92
Midsize Enterprise	77
Large Enterprise	82

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Stack?

For hybrid cloud operations, the seamless transition it enables is key. Most enterprises have a lot of workloads on-premises, and they want a smooth way to move into the cloud. Some things are on...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stack?

Maintenance is included as part of the overall cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Stack?

The difficulties we face involve the lack of support, which is one reason the product isn't selling well in the market. Perhaps it relates to our sales team's strategy, but management looks for a b...

See all answers

How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?

Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...

See all answers

What makes Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) worth using?

NCI is a product with many tools and services but the one that, in my opinion, makes it better than similar products and worth using, is the full-stack lifecycle management. This capacity allows u...

See all answers

Have you received reliable help from Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's support when you contacted them?

NCI is one of the best out there. For any software, no matter how good it is, technical support makes it or breaks it for me. You may have an amazing product but if there is not anyone to help you ...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Cloud Foundation vs Azure Stack

Compared 48% of the time

AWS Outposts vs Azure Stack

Compared 24% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Azure Stack

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure VMware vs Azure Stack

Compared 4% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift vs Azure Stack

Compared 3% of the time

More Azure Stack Competitors

VMware vSAN vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 8% of the time

VxRail vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 7% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 7% of the time

Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 6% of the time

Azure Local vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 5% of the time

More Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack

January 2026

Download Azure Stack product report

Buyer's Guide

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

January 2026

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

Download Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) product report

Also Known As

No data available

Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis

Overview

Information not available

Microsoft

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure delivers high performance and scalability with central management and one-click upgrades. It enhances data protection and reduces deployment complexities, perfect for businesses seeking efficient virtualization.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure offers a comprehensive platform integrating compute, storage, and network for optimal infrastructure management. It supports multiple hypervisors, offering flexibility, efficiency, and ease of use. With features like Prism for centralized management, organizations can manage resources effectively while benefiting from data protection enhancements such as deduplication and compression. Hyper-convergence enables seamless integration, reducing operational costs and increasing scalability. Though the pricing is high, and setup and administration can be complex, the ability to support hybrid cloud implementations and critical infrastructures like VDI and databases provides notable advantages.

What are the key features of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure?

Prism for Centralized Management: Simplifies resource management with a single control interface.
High Performance: Offers efficient I/O operations to enhance processing efficiency.
Scalability: Easily adjusts to growing business needs with one-click upgrades.
Data Protection: Uses deduplication and compression for secure data handling.
Hyper-Convergence: Integrates compute, storage, and network to optimize infrastructure.
Multi-Hypervisor Support: Provides flexibility to choose preferred hypervisors.

What benefits should users look for in Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure?

Cost Effectiveness: Reduces operational costs through resource optimization.
Ease of Management: Centralized control enhances administrative efficiency.
Scalability: Grows seamlessly with business demand.
Data Protection: Increases security and reliability of data management.
Performance Improvement: Streamlines server provisioning and resource management.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure finds adoption across industries for virtualization, cloud services, and infrastructure consolidation. Organizations utilize it for hybrid clouds and virtual server hosting, supporting applications like databases and virtual desktop infrastructures. They report enhanced data protection, disaster recovery capabilities, and improved performance, facilitating effective resource management.

Nutanix

Sample Customers

Weblink, Fathym, Sage, CFD Support Ltd, The UberCloud Inc.

St. Lukes Health System, the City of Seattle, Yahoo! Japan, Sligro, Empire Life, Hyundai AUS, and many others.

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

December 2025

Free Report: Azure Stack vs. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Stack vs. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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