News

Nutanix Pushes Channel to Embrace Platform Strategy

• By Gladys Rama
• April 08, 2026

Nutanix is pushing its channel ecosystem to think beyond hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) as it repositions itself as a full-stack platform company built for emerging AI-driven workloads.

During a roundtable channel discussion at the company's .NEXT conference, taking place this week in Chicago, Ill., Nutanix chief of worldwide channels Dave Gwyn described a strategic pivot with three key prongs: a shift from HCI to platform, adapting to current market realities, and the evolving maturity of the Nutanix ecosystem.

For years, Nutanix has been synonymous with HCI, but Gwyn (and Nutanix CEO Rajiv Ramaswami during his kickoff keynote) indicated that it's now evolving into something broader. The company is positioning the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) as a unified foundation that incorporates not only infrastructure but also cloud-native capabilities, Kubernetes and AI-driven services.

"Moreso than ever, we are a platform," Gwyn said during the roundtable. "We need our partners to shift to that orientation.”

That evolution includes support for agentic AI workloads and bare-metal Kubernetes deployments, signaling Nutanix’s intent to compete in areas traditionally dominated by hyperscalers and cloud-native vendors.

The second major takeaway centered on the need for partners to align with the realities of today’s IT buying environment. Supply chain disruptions and evolving procurement models, for starters, are reshaping how deals get done.

Channel headwinds point at ongoing supply chain challenges, particularly for hardware-dependent deployments. In response, Nutanix is leaning further into software-centric models that decouple infrastructure from the underlying hardware.

License portability is a critical part of that shift. Gwyn noted that customers increasingly expect the ability to move workloads and the associated licenses across environments without friction. That flexibility not only supports hybrid and multicloud strategies but also helps insulate customers from supply chain volatility.

The third theme highlighted the dramatic growth of the Nutanix ecosystem over the past several years. Compared to six or seven years ago, the company’s network of partners, alliances and integrations has expanded significantly.

This includes deeper relationships with major hardware vendors such as Dell and Lenovo, as well as a growing roster of ISVs. These alliances are critical to Nutanix’s platform strategy, enabling a broader range of validated solutions and use cases.

The ecosystem’s evolution also reflects a shift in how Nutanix engages with partners. Rather than operating in a relatively narrow HCI-focused channel, the company is now part of a more complex and interconnected landscape that spans infrastructure, applications and services.

To reinforce these priorities, Nutanix is making targeted updates to its Elevate Partner Program. While Gwyn described these changes as “passive enough” to avoid disruption among partners, they're designed to align incentives more closely with the company’s more platform-centric strategy.

At the core of the update is a renewed focus on rewarding partners that drive platform adoption across the customer lifecycle. This includes not just initial deals but also expansion and renewal opportunities, a.k.a. the classic “land, expand, renew” model. By orienting incentives around platform sales, Nutanix is encouraging partners to think beyond one-time transactions and toward long-term customer engagement. The program updates will be introduced around Nutanix's fiscal year beginning Aug. 1

Gwyn emphasized that the changes are intended to be incremental rather than disruptive. The goal is to help partners adapt without requiring a wholesale overhaul of their existing business models.

The company is readying resources to help partners build expertise in platform positioning, as well as guidance on how to engage customers in a rapidly changing market. Enablement is particularly critical given the shift from HCI to platform, as selling a comprehensive platform requires a different skill set than selling infrastructure, noted Gwyn.