Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs SteelFusion comparison

Nutanix and Riverbed are both solutions in the HCI category. Nutanix is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.7, while Riverbed is ranked #31. Nutanix holds a 9.0% mindshare in HCI, compared to Riverbed’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Nutanix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

Read 200 Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) reviews

14,893 Views
7,893 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

SteelFusion

Read 2 SteelFusion reviews

390 Views
374 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

SteelFusion

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure and SteelFusion compete in enterprise IT, focusing on data management and cloud infrastructure. Nutanix is noted for its competitive pricing and robust support, while SteelFusion is superior in advanced features, justifying its higher cost for many enterprises.

Features: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure includes hyper-converged infrastructure capabilities, seamless cloud integration, and simplified management tasks. SteelFusion offers edge computing capabilities, enhanced data access, and protection at remote sites, making it ideal for enterprises needing remote data protection and rapid recovery.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nutanix delivers a straightforward deployment process with excellent customer support, facilitating smooth platform transitions. SteelFusion's deployment is more complex, but its comprehensive customer service provides effective guidance, making up for the complexity.

Pricing and ROI: Nutanix offers cost-effective solutions with competitive pricing, yielding favorable ROI for budget-conscious businesses. SteelFusion's higher initial costs reflect its premium features and capabilities, resulting in substantial ROI for companies prioritizing data protection and remote access.

To learn more, read our detailed HCI Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

HCI

January 2026

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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

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...

Ranking in HCI

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

200

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Storage (SDS) (6th), Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (1st), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (4th)

SteelFusion

Ranking in HCI

31st

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is 9.0%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelFusion is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)	9.0%
SteelFusion	0.8%
Other	90.2%

HCI

Featured Reviews

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.

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it_user866178

Chief Technology Officer at MAZZETTI+GBA

Sync to Central and edge protection mitigate my risk in our branch offices

The level of tech support depends on who you get. There are some techs that just read the script and ask you if you’ve rebooted, but once you get past that - or if you have a very technical issue - the support is great. They really know the product and get you up and running again ASAP.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the solution's ease of upgrading."

"I like NCI's dashboard. If there are any infrastructure issues, we'll get alerts inside the dashboard. NCI provides a single platform for managing all of our databases. We are running SQL and Linux databases."

"Nutanix Acropolis AOS is easy to use, integrates with other hardware configurations, and is simple to manage."

"Prism Central allows managing the cluster from a single pane of glass, and it allows a deeper dive into the solution."

"The features that I have found most valuable include its HA facility, viability, robustness, flexibility, it's time to go live is very short, and it has a friendly user interface."

"It has seamless expandability."

"The most valuable features are simple management and one-click upgrades."

"It is very easy to clone systems using the solution."

More Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) pros

"Sync to Central and edge protection mitigate my risk in our branch offices. All services that need to be local to the user exist on local servers. Users run applications and access data locally while the data is constantly being synced to Central, and protected. If an edge device fails, we can recover quickly."

Cons

"It already has the capability to integrate with the major cloud providers but, in an upcoming release, if there is a possibility to have it integrate with other cloud providers like IBM, Alibaba, and other moderate-level cloud providers, that would be good."

"The GUI of Nutanix Acropolis AOS could be improved that can be done from the OEM side. It's a very basic stable web browser that they're using. It is not very inclusive."

"The productivity and work efficiency of Nutanix Acropolis AOS could improve."

"The latency needs improvement"

"It does not have good backup feature tools, like having templates or being able to back up every two or three days."

"In the future, I would like to see multi-tenancy in Nutanix Acropolis AOS."

"The One-Click Upgrade process could/should offer the ability to integrate with 3rd party drivers. For example, we use NVIDIA Grid graphics cards. It would be amazing if, during the One-Click Upgrade process, we could "slipstream" additional VIB drivers for ESXi into the upgrade process."

"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's LTS version needs to be more reliable."

More Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) cons

"Setting up disks for use is a multi-step process that could use some refinement. Setting up a core-to-core replication or DR strategy is also cumbersome."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While cost may seem higher than your traditional 3-tier architecture, you need to look at the bigger picture. You're not just buying hardware here. You're buying a complete environment."

"The price of the solution is expensive. However, the price to performance is good. The cost for development and installation is very low."

"The licensing costs are a bit expensive but when you compare the features, it's reasonable."

"The basic license that comes with the box allows basic virtualization features but advanced automation features would require an upgrade of licenses."

"Licensing depends on the features needed."

"NCI is quite expensive compared to other products. It would help us if Nutanix considered affordability when releasing new products. We have an annual license and are considering extending it for another year."

"Reconsidering the licensing packages could reduce the price, especially for companies that may not need all the bells and whistles. Many of the features are based on open-source software, so there's potential to offer more flexible pricing options. Additionally, with the right expertise, companies could potentially create similar environments themselves, reducing the need for extensive support and licensing costs. I rate its pricing a six out of ten. The tool costs around 300,000 dollars per year."

"Our Nutanix license is for five years. There is a support arrangement there, but that aspect is more or less taken care of during the initial installation. With HCI architecture, whenever we do any kind of auto scaling or scaling of servers and resources, there is a significant amount of software licensing involved."

More Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) pricing and cost advice

"Price is an issue – this is expensive stuff. My advice is to beat up Riverbed as much as possible on price. These things are expensive and there is room for negotiation."

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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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

No data available

Questions from the Community

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 6% of the time

Azure Local vs Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

Compared 5% of the time

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

Compared 5% of the time

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StarWind HyperConverged Appliance vs SteelFusion

Compared 13% of the time

Red Hat Hyperconverged Infrastructure vs SteelFusion

Compared 13% of the time

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs SteelFusion

Compared 12% of the time

Sunlight vs SteelFusion

Compared 12% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs SteelFusion

Compared 11% of the time

More SteelFusion Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)

February 2026

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) report

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Buyer's Guide

HCI

January 2026

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Also Known As

Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis

No data available

Overview

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

Riverbed SteelFusion is the first and only hyper-converged infrastructure for branch IT, enables 100% consolidation of branch data and servers from remote sites into data centers, delivering complete data security and centralized data protection, without compromising on any of the benefits of running branch services locally for your users. SteelFusion eliminates the need for physical servers, storage and backup infrastructure at branch locations, creates the ability to instantly provision and recover branch services, and provides full visibility and superior performance of on-premises and cloud-based applications, leading to dramatic increases in data security, business continuity, agility and operational efficiency.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

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

Roxtec, Engen, Bobst, CBP, IUCN, Mahoning County, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Broadcom, StarWind and others in HCI. Updated: January 2026.

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