Cisco UCS Director vs Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) comparison

Cisco UCS Director vs. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS Director

Ranking in Cloud Management

27th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)

Ranking in Cloud Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (4th), Virtualization Management Tools (2nd), Cloud Cost Management (1st), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Cloud Management category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Director is 1.6%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is 2.4%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)	2.4%
Cisco UCS Director	1.6%
Other	96.0%

Cloud Management

Featured Reviews

ErnieRumfield

Senior Telecommunications Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Managing extensive VoIP services becomes efficient and seamless

We use Cisco UCS Director primarily for managing our VoIP service to maintain seamless service delivery. We operate in an enterprise government environment Cisco UCS Director is straightforward to use, which we greatly appreciate. It helps save time by making it quicker to roll out new call…

Read full review

Phani Venkata Sai BKD

Technology Lead at Thomson Reuters

Manages hybrid infrastructure seamlessly with flexible cluster scaling and comprehensive oversight

The most important aspect of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is that it helps us manage the infrastructure as a hyperconverged infrastructure in HCI mode. If I have different physical servers, I can map them into a cluster and manage the storage together. It provides flexibility to make use of storage in a clustered format instead of using it in an individual storage endpoint. We have the flexibility to have Nutanix-based licensing based on the core model, instead of having a specific cost on the cluster. The costing on a core model gives customers flexibility to add multiple cores to a single physical host and adjust the infrastructure accordingly, and we can scale up the cluster as needed. While other cloud providers, AWS or Azure, are mostly into cloud-based solutions, and Azure has introduced Azure Stack HCI for managing on-premises infrastructure, Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) provides flexibility from day one. We can manage both on-premises and Azure solutions using a single pane of glass, eliminating the need to navigate different windows or screens. It provides a comprehensive view of the infrastructure and highlights specific areas through alerts, giving us good visibility of infrastructure conditions.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"An easy and strong configuration, along with its low cost, are some of the features of the solution."

"UCS director enables us to be more productive and more agile, and also more self-sufficient because we don't have to depend on anybody else."

"Without UCS Director it wouldn't be possible for us to go from receiving shipments at a data center to having systems live in production in a matter of days, or sometimes hours, instead of waiting weeks."

"As usual, the technical support from Cisco is amazing."

"The main feature of this solution is the integration with all the Cisco solutions and other vendors."

"The product is flexible and compact. It has a lot of features."

"I would recommend this solution to others because it simplifies a lot of tasks via orchestration."

"The solution is helpful for centralized management."

More Cisco UCS Director pros

"It's easy to use. Self-service is beneficial because it's easier for developers to assign themselves resources."

"We save a lot of time with Calm. It has enabled our company to develop and deploy applications faster and it has reduced the time it takes us to QA applications."

"The tool is easy to use."

"What I like the most about it is how intuitive it is to use. It's easy for users to use and provides the data we want."

"The solution is very stable...Customer support is very good."

"The stability and reliability of the Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) platform have been excellent, as we have had zero outages."

"Overall, we've gone from deploying workloads in 45 minutes or 90 minutes and we've taken that down, in some cases, to seven minutes."

"The most valuable features of Nutanix Prism Pro are the user interface is quite easy to understand and it provides easy management for administrators."

More Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pros

Cons

"There could be an improvement with the integration with the newest solutions from other vendors' technologies."

"Simplifying the user interface would go a long way to making it more usable."

"The user interface could use improvement."

"Currently, Cisco UCS Director is unable to integrate with another product or with a server from another brand."

"The areas where this product can be improved are the integrations and the UI. These features are not as friendly compared to VMware products."

"I would like to see more integration with other solutions."

"There aren’t any areas of improvement that immediately come to mind."

"We cannot depend on this solution to manage all of the data center's infrastructure."

More Cisco UCS Director cons

"The interoperability with different clouds can be better so that one can even integrate the infrastructure of different clouds. They can interoperate better with other clouds because currently, you have to buy Nutanix resources in the cloud."

"The main area that could be improved with Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is the cost."

"The design could be more user-friendly. There is always room for improvement when it comes to a site being more user-friendly."

"There have been bugs. We've seen what looked like some storage inefficiencies in reports and, when we went in to look, we found they were false alarms. That was something they corrected on the fly."

"However, I feel that simpler onboarding and learning curves are needed as some users find the initial setup and configuration planning requires expertise."

"In terms of areas for improvement, I believe there is a need for redesigning some aspects on the storage level, as physical and virtual storage currently operate under different parameters in Nutanix."

"What could make Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a ten would be tighter integration of the agentic behavior."

"While using Nutanix, we need to switch off the VM in case we are doing an update. We have to turn off the VM if we are updating the memory or hard disk space. In a normal scenario, we switch off the VM, update it and then update the RAM. Once updated, we need to switch on the machine and wait for the RAM to initialize. The same goes for hard drives as well."

More Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The cost of this solution is significant."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price and ten is a high price, I rate the pricing around five to six out of ten."

"Cisco UCS Director is expensive...I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"The budget doesn’t work for the state and local governments."

"I rate Cisco UCS Director's price a three out of ten. Cisco UCS Director is not an affordable product. With Cisco UCS Director, there is a need to pay an overall price, which consists of the product, software, and support."

"You will see great value from it if you utilize the self-service part of Calm. The price you pay for it will only give you equal value if you use the self-service part to enable other teams. If you only use it as a deployment mechanism, I think it's rather expensive."

"On a scale from one to ten, if one is a low price and ten is a high price, I rate the solution's pricing a six."

"Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is cheaper than VMware and other products."

"It is an expensive solution, but one has to make the trade-off between what you want to achieve and what you are willing to pay."

"Its licensing is cheaper than VMware. However, the price for certain licenses or use cases is not clearly indicated. For example, replication of the cluster to switch from one VM to another when one is down is not included in the standard price. It requires an additional license, but it is not clearly indicated."

"The company frequently changes its prices, and it is not clear how the subscription-based model works."

"In Brazil, Nutanix Cloud Manager is not cheap. However, Nutanix offers different options such as long-term contracts."

"It's cost-effective. It's not necessarily cheap, but it's also not inordinately expensive. It comes down to how much you use it to offset some of the costs."

More Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

10%

Marketing Services Firm

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	75

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS Director?

While the pricing might be seen as expensive, it provides value for money due to reliable service and excellent technical support.

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS Director?

It should be more of a cloud-based architecture for Cisco UCS Director, and it should be affordable to small customers as well because the pricing is a major challenge when we talk about Cisco UCS ...

What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS Director?

Mainly in my region and country, large data center customers are using Cisco UCS Director, not the SMB or mid-market customers. More of the on-premise customers are utilizing Cisco UCS Director. Th...

Which set of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) features do you find to be the most useful?

For me, the features related to cost savings are the best part of NCM. Of course, the whole product is worth using and when it comes to cloud management, there is a reason why it is favored by so m...

Are the setup process and further maintenance of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) difficult?

When I came into my current organization, NCM was already set up. According to the team that dealt with it, the product was fairly easy to set up. Compared to other products, our IT rates are set u...

Is Nutanix Cloud Manager’s Intelligent Operations feature effective?

Yes, this is a highly effective feature and the rebranding only made things better as they introduced more improvements. You can benefit from Zero coding task automation Automated optimization Tic...

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Product Reports

Cisco UCS Director

Download Cisco UCS Director product report

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)

Download Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) product report

Also Known As

No data available

Nutanix Cloud Manager Intelligent Operations, Nutanix Cloud Manager Self-Service, Nutanix Cloud Management Cost Governance, Nutanix Cloud Manager Security Central, Nutanix Software Subscription

Overview

Cisco UCS Director simplifies centralized management with a user-friendly interface, focusing on multi-cloud management, integration, and strong API support. It aims to provide comprehensive control and visibility across diverse environments.

Renowned for ease of use and deployment, Cisco UCS Director offers automation and orchestration capabilities, enabling workflow generation in private and hybrid clouds. It allows centralized control of UCS blades, VoIP services, and infrastructure while facilitating upgrades and traffic management in large data centers. Users benefit from its capability for self-service provisioning and third-party product integration. Despite strengths, improvements in interface simplicity, scalability, third-party integration, and cloud-based architecture could enhance its appeal.

What are the most important features?

Multi-Cloud Management: Simplifies operations across different cloud environments.
Integration with Cisco Solutions: Ensures seamless connection within Cisco's ecosystem.
Strong API Support: Facilitates custom integrations and extensions.
Single Pane of Glass Manageability: Provides comprehensive visibility and control.
Automation and Orchestration: Streamlines processes and tasks efficiently.
Cost-Effectiveness: Supports budget-conscious operations without compromising functionality.
Security: Prioritizes data safety and network security.
Fabric Sharing: Improves resource utilization and flexibility.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies management tasks, reducing operational complexity.
Deployment Efficiency: Accelerates implementation across data centers.
Enhanced Visibility: Improves oversight of IT infrastructure.
Cost Management: Achieves savings through efficient resource utilization.
Scalability: Supports growth with adaptable infrastructure management.
Comprehensive Control: Centralizes control to enhance management.

IT organizations use Cisco UCS Director to automate and orchestrate deployments in diverse sectors, including telecommunications for VoIP service enhancement and in large data centers for infrastructure management. It supports web service apps, database integration, and facilitates upgrades, making it ideal for enterprises seeking streamlined processes and better resource management.

Cisco

Nutanix Cloud Manager streamlines hybrid cloud management by offering centralized control, automation, and workload optimization across platforms. It improves operational efficiency while reducing IT management complexity.

Nutanix Cloud Manager is designed for comprehensive hybrid cloud governance, providing tools for virtualization, resource allocation, and compliance. Its features include one-click upgrades, dynamic dashboards, and the seamless automation of tasks through X-Play. Users can efficiently manage virtual machines, ensure secure storage, and enhance productivity with predictive monitoring. Self-service capabilities allow users to reserve resources easily, while central management via Prism Pro and automated reports enhance oversight and decision-making. Challenges include UI simplicity, pricing transparency, and licensing efficiency, with users seeking improvements in VM organization, blueprint customization, and collaborative support for hybrid environments.

What important features define Nutanix Cloud Manager?

One-click Upgrades: Simplifies the process of updating and maintaining systems.
Intuitive Interface: Offers a user-friendly experience with a low learning curve.
Prism Pro: Central management for streamlined control over environments.
Dynamic Dashboards: Provides real-time insights and monitoring capabilities.
X-Play Automation: Facilitates seamless and efficient task automation.
Capacity Planning: Assists in optimal resource allocation and future growth planning.
Compliance Monitoring: Ensures adherence to industry standards and policies.
Efficient VM Management: Enhances control and monitoring of virtual machines.
Self-service Capabilities: Empowers users to manage and allocate resources independently.
Cost Governance: Allows organizations to maintain budgetary control and efficiency.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Nutanix Cloud Manager?

Enhanced Productivity: Streamlines tasks and improves efficiency through automation.
Predictive Monitoring: Proactively addresses potential issues before they impact operations.
Robust Disaster Recovery: Provides reliable solutions to recover data and maintain continuity.
Automated Reports: Generates timely insights for informed decision-making.
Unified Cloud Management: Offers comprehensive control across multiple environments.

Nutanix Cloud Manager finds utility in industries requiring robust hybrid cloud strategies like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. It excels in centralizing management for secure and compliant operations, optimizing workloads, and providing scalable solutions for resource allocation and compliance monitoring, thus enhancing cloud operations in diverse markets.

Nutanix

Sample Customers

Entel, Data#3, Cegal, NESIC, LightEdge

JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, Volkswagen SAIC, Brighton and Hove City Council, Foresters Financial, Janus International Group, Cloud Comrade, Serco

Cisco UCS Director vs. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)