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IBM PowerVM vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization comparison

IBM and Nutanix are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. IBM is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5, while Nutanix is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. IBM holds a 1.3% mindshare in SVS, compared to Nutanix’s 8.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Nutanix users who would recommend it.
IBM PowerVM
Read 37 IBM PowerVM reviews
  • 1,769 Views
  • 1,494 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Read 55 Nutanix AHV Virtualization reviews
  • 12,499 Views
  • 8,770 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

IBM PowerVM and Nutanix AHV are competitors in the virtualization technology market. IBM PowerVM appears to have a strong advantage in stability and performance, while Nutanix AHV shines in affordability and manageability.

Features: IBM PowerVM offers robust stability, performance, and security features, particularly beneficial for Oracle workloads, through shared processor pools and active memory sharing for dynamic resource allocation. Nutanix AHV stands out for its simplicity and manageability, providing comprehensive virtualization capabilities, an intuitive management console, Prism, and cost-effectiveness as an open-source solution.

Room for Improvement: IBM PowerVM could benefit from improving its interface, enhancing cloud integration, and offering more flexible pricing. Users also desire better support for non-AIX/Linus systems. Nutanix AHV should expand system compatibility, improve automation and technical support, and develop a broader software ecosystem.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions are typically used in on-premises settings, with Nutanix AHV also supporting hybrid environments. IBM PowerVM is known for excellent technical support, vital for enterprise applications, whereas Nutanix AHV's support is of average quality but offers flexible deployment options.

Pricing and ROI: IBM PowerVM involves higher initial costs due to hardware dependency but provides a good ROI for Oracle users by billing for allocated rather than total core usage. Nutanix AHV offers savings through inclusive licensing, making it an appealing low-cost alternative despite some initial expense concerns at larger scales.

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To learn more, read our detailed IBM PowerVM vs. Nutanix AHV Virtualization Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
IBM PowerVM vs. Nutanix AHV Virtualization
April 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
7.7
PowerVM saves costs by charging for allocated cores, proving more cost-effective and reliable than physical servers over five years.
Sentiment score
6.3
Nutanix AHV dramatically cut costs and optimized efficiency, offering 45% savings, improved scalability, and reduced downtime within three years.
The return on investment is substantial, though other platforms may offer a better ROI, primarily due to lower costs involved in setup and maintenance.
If calculated over a five-year period, IBM PowerVM is 30 to 40% more cost-effective than physical servers despite initial costs seeming high.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
IBM PowerVM's support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though challenges arise without subscriptions; stability minimizes service need.
Sentiment score
8.8
Nutanix AHV Virtualization support is efficient and knowledgeable, providing proactive solutions and quick issue resolution with high satisfaction.
IBM offers excellent customer support.
IBM provides strong support.
IBM's technical support is outstanding, with seamless global coordination and prompt resolutions.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
Their engineers are excellent and provide great supportability.
They provide prompt and quality responses.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
AS
MB
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewerZack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewerJames Vailloo - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
IBM PowerVM excels in scalability and flexibility, efficiently managing resources and users for both small and large enterprises.
Sentiment score
8.4
Nutanix AHV Virtualization offers exceptional scalability, allowing easy node addition, minimal downtime, and flexible horizontal and vertical scaling.
An IBM server can handle up to sixty-four terabytes of RAM.
The product is scalable due to PowerVM's virtualization features, such as shared processor functionality and partition mobility.
I think IBM PowerVM uses a 'pay as you grow' model, allowing customers to scale their resources as needed.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
We can scale our systems easily without any downtime, making it a highly effective solution for dynamic environments.
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is very scalable; however, I might be underutilizing its capabilities.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
AS
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewer
MR
Mithun Nidiyenga - PeerSpot reviewerZack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
IBM PowerVM is praised for exceptional stability and uptime, outperforming competitors like SPARC, Nutanix, and VMware in reliability.
Sentiment score
8.5
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is praised for stability, reliable performance, and seamless management, despite occasional patch delays affecting ratings.
The stability of IBM PowerVM is exceptional, as industry reports have named IBM Power and Z as the most stable platforms globally for 15 consecutive years.
Our clients in India using Power Servers have been running their servers for the last four to five years without any reboot.
The product operates reliably, and following IBM’s best practices ensures robust stability.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
The solution is very stable.
Issues such as patch delays and the OVF format challenge affect its stability rating.
I would give the stability a seven out of ten at the moment, primarily due to the issues I've had with updates.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
AS
MR
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewerJames Vailloo - PeerSpot reviewerMithun Nidiyenga - PeerSpot reviewerZack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Room For Improvement

IBM PowerVM needs usability, pricing, automation, integration improvements, and a GUI to better compete and enhance user experience.
Nutanix AHV needs enhancements in deployment, support, interface, and integration, with focus on stability, pricing, and documentation.
We have a strong relationship with IBM, which aids decision-making in transitioning clients from mainframe to other platforms.
From a product perspective, I would like to see faster certification of open-source products on IBM Power Systems.
PowerVM should integrate some capabilities of VMware vCenter to improve its management features.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
This delay in patching creates risk, especially for government projects that require timely updates.
Using Lenovo hardware seems problematic with Nutanix AHV Virtualization, which demands careful consideration during updates.
These menus often show options like host, memory, and disk, however, they fail to provide insight into what's happening.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
MB
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewer
AS
Mithun Nidiyenga - PeerSpot reviewerZack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewerJames Vailloo - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Setup Cost

IBM PowerVM pricing is high but offers reliability, flexible licensing, and potential TCO savings despite cheaper alternatives.
Nutanix AHV provides cost-effective virtualization with no licensing fees, offering significant savings compared to competitors like VMware and Citrix.
PowerVM itself is free with the purchase of an IBM server.
They have introduced a subscription-based model for some systems, creating a more cost-effective solution for customers.
Pricing is a concern in Argentina due to the higher cost of mainframe solutions.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
This has been advantageous as it does not require additional licensing costs for the hypervisor, contributing to overall cost savings.
Other solutions like Citrix and VMware have seen a significant price increase, whereas Nutanix hasn't increased as dramatically.
The pricing was reasonable compared to other competitors, though the storage was expensive.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
AS
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewer
MB
Mithun Nidiyenga - PeerSpot reviewerZack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewerJames Vailloo - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Valuable Features

IBM PowerVM offers stability, flexibility, and high availability with robust virtualization, cloud integration, and optimized workloads for Oracle and SAP HANA.
Nutanix AHV Virtualization is praised for its user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, automation, and robust disaster recovery features.
Features like partition mobility enhance the machine's capabilities, making it an ideal tool for virtual environments with reliability, availability, and serviceability.
IBM PowerVM supports multiple operating systems such as IBM i, AIX, and Linux, allowing users to run various applications seamlessly in a cloud environment.
It supports specific workloads, like Oracle and SAP HANA, much better due to its shared processor pool feature which reduces licensing costs.
For more quotes and insights, download the IBM PowerVM report
It is easier to manage than VMware in some ways, providing a good level of interaction.
The technology behind the backups is very efficient, enabling a reliable virtual environment.
For more quotes and insights, download the Nutanix AHV Virtualization report
reviewer1166205 - PeerSpot reviewer
MR
AS
Zack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewerJames Vailloo - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM PowerVM
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of IBM PowerVM is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix AHV Virtualization is 8.1%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable system for high-end data processing with a great support structure
The only problem with the IBM system is improving its hardware licensing model. For example, when you procure a server with 40 physical codes, you must also procure licenses to activate the codes. In Dell or any system, you procure the hardware and have the full right to use the hardware. For IBM, it's different because when you procure a 40-code processor and have 40 physical codes, you only have a license to use 20. As a result, the 20 alert codes will always be in activated mode. Hence, the hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured.
Read full review
Zack Baraci - PeerSpot reviewer
High availability and user-friendly interface enhance manageability
I primarily use the core features of Nutanix AHV Virtualization ( /products/nutanix-ahv-virtualization-reviews ) at the moment. The high availability (HA), replication, and site-to-site replication are quite useful. Additionally, the usual hypervisor management functionalities are beneficial. Nutanix AHV Virtualization delivers a system that is very manageable, with a well-designed user interface. It is easier to manage than VMware in some ways, providing a good level of interaction.
Read full review
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?
Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?
While initially costly, the ROI over five years proves IBM PowerVM is cost-effective, resulting in a 30 to 40% reduction in costs compared to a physical setup.
See all answers
What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?
I have not encountered any issues or dissatisfaction with IBM PowerVM so far. Clients using it have been satisfied, and there have been no glitches since its introduction.
See all answers
How does Nutanix AHV compare with VMware vSphere?
To understand which is better - Nutanix AHV or VMware vSphere - you need to do a product comparison. Both products support hypervisors. However, Nutanix supports some of the most popular ones and m...
See all answers
What do you like most about Nutanix AHV Virtualization?
Integration is the most valuable feature of the product.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nutanix AHV Virtualization?
Compared to the competition, the pricing for Nutanix AHV Virtualization is reasonable. Other solutions like Citrix and VMware have seen a significant price increase, whereas Nutanix hasn't increase...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 63% of the time
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KVM vs IBM PowerVM
Compared 11% of the time
Hyper-V vs IBM PowerVM Logo
Hyper-V vs IBM PowerVM
Compared 9% of the time
Proxmox VE vs IBM PowerVM Logo
Proxmox VE vs IBM PowerVM
Compared 9% of the time
Oracle VM vs IBM PowerVM Logo
Oracle VM vs IBM PowerVM
Compared 3% of the time
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Hyper-V vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization Logo
Hyper-V vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Compared 33% of the time
Proxmox VE vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization Logo
Proxmox VE vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Compared 22% of the time
KVM vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization Logo
KVM vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Compared 19% of the time
VMware vSphere vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization Logo
VMware vSphere vs Nutanix AHV Virtualization
Compared 6% of the time
More Nutanix AHV Virtualization Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
IBM PowerVM
May 2025
IBM PowerVM reportDownload IBM PowerVM product report
Buyer's Guide
Nutanix AHV Virtualization
May 2025
Nutanix AHV Virtualization reportDownload Nutanix AHV Virtualization product report
 

Also Known As

PowerVM
No data available
 

Overview

Power is server virtualization without limits. Businesses are turning to PowerVM server virtualization to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems, increasing server utilization and reducing cost. PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform.
IBM
Nutanix AHV is a secure, enterprise-grade solution for intuitive virtualization and container management. It streamlines operations and simplifies management for all your workloads and environments.
Nutanix
 

Sample Customers

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Buyer's Guide
IBM PowerVM vs. Nutanix AHV Virtualization
April 2025
Free Report: IBM PowerVM vs. Nutanix AHV Virtualization
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