.NEXT 2026 - Nutanix tones down the Broadcom rhetoric, lets the customers do the talking

The sale of VMware to Broadcom and the subsequent price hikes CIOs and CTOs have experienced have been a common theme of the Nutanix annual conference, .NEXT in recent years. However, the topic definitely decreased to a minor sub-plot in the narrative at the 2026 conference in Chicago, USA.

But when you are taking on the Goliath, and you have carefully curated an image of being the brave David in this story, it cannot completely disappear from the script. As with previous global and national events, Nutanix focused on the cost impact VMware is imposing on digital leaders, the partnership they offer as an alternative, and the experience of customers.

In his keynote, Nutanix CEO Rajiv Ramaswami focused on the slew of new technologies and partners that Nutanix announced at this year’s conference, but in an understated way, reminded customers and prospects attending:

We all know the game there; they are forcing you to buy the full stack. That is a big lift, and I urge you to trust us.

Broadcom acquired VMware in late 2023. Nutanix, along with its new partner Everpure, the rebranded Pure Storage, has stated from the outset that the acquisition would be good news for them. In the press conference following the keynote, Ramaswami added about the situation he finds from CIOs and CTOs:

There is no doubt that the customer sentiment continues to be negative.

Ramaswami went on to state that the approach of VMware and its parent company, Broadcom, means digital leaders are not working with an organization that is looking to the future. Yet this, and every gathering of technologists, is all about the AI future that is and will reshape businesses. He said in the press conference:

We talk to our customers about the future. They are not a company that is investing.

Customer voice

Customer stories ranged from the gambling and hospitality sector to financial services and had one thing in common: an aging VMware estate and having to make a business decision on which way to go with the infrastructure of the organization. Dan Regalado, CIO of Wynn Resorts, a Nasdaq-listed resort and gaming operator headquartered in Las Vegas with major resources in Boston, Macau, and currently making a significant acquisition in London, joined Ramaswami on the keynote stage to explain the adoption of Nutanix at Wynn Resorts. He said:

We had aging platforms, and we had to move from VMware. Nutanix was the best out there for carrying out a really precise migration.

In financial services, Brandon Shaw, VP and Head of Technology Services at Western Union, the global money transfer provider, is a new customer and said:

I don’t want to talk poorly of technology that we have decided to move away from, but it was not a difficult decision.

He said the decision was in part driven by the wider transformation that is taking place at Western Union as the business moves away from being a transactional business to one that is customer-focused. That means the 175-year-old US-headquartered financial services provider is replatforming and, he said, needs flexibility, especially as the business has a mix of on-premise, private, and public cloud infrastructure.

Growth

The .NEXT 2026 conference also tied in with the Nutanix Investor day, where the firm announced an increase in common stock, stating:

Its Board of Directors has authorized an increase of $750 million of common stock to the company’s existing share repurchase program.

CFO Rukmini Sivaraman said in a statement:

This authorization reflects our confidence in Nutanix’s long‑term strategy and financial strength. Our strong balance sheet gives us the flexibility to continue investing in innovation and growth while returning capital to shareholders in a disciplined manner.

This followed the second quarter results, which ended on January 31, 2026, and showed continued growth, up by 16% from the same period the year before, and revenue up by 10% from the same period the previous year to $722.8 million.

During the press conference, Ramaswami said in relation to VMware:

We have added 1,000 customers in the last quarter, and we expect that to continue. It will come in waves. The first wave was those moving before they had to renew. Then there are those customers that didn’t migrate and wanted to see how things played out, they are now looking to migrate.

Despite attracting customers away from VMware, in its second quarter results the firm was clear about the geopolitical challenges, such as shortages, it faces:

We saw healthy demand in our second quarter, as reflected in results that exceeded the high end of the range for all of our guided metrics. However, as the quarter progressed, we saw supply chain constraints driving longer server lead times for our customers.

We expect this dynamic to have some impact on the timing of our near-term revenue and free cash flow. We have factored this in our Q3 and updated full-year guidance. Bookings expectations are higher than before. Revenue and free cash flow from these bookings are expected to be realized later.

My take

Nutanix is right to tone down the VMware rhetoric. It is a business that has always had loyal and vocal customers and is using this to convince customers to make the shift. Broadcom and VMware are, of course, helping their cause.

CIOs and CTOs are focused on meeting the AI aspirations of the organization as the market and economy goes through a system change, plus the macroeconomic challenges of conflicts, supply chain challenges, and inflation, so the tone towards being a partner that can help with these challenges is the right one to take.