Nutanix CEO Rajiv Ramaswami leaves no doubt about his vision of Broadcom: the company is forcing customers into a full-stack approach that is not in their best interest. Nutanix is now targeting 165,000 of the estimated 300,000 VMware customers and is seeing the migration flow increase in successive waves.
In his keynote during Nutanix Next 2026, Ramaswami is unusually sharp about the competitor he did not mention by name, but whom everyone in the room could identify. “First, they force you to buy the full stack, whether you need it or not. Then, you are forced to adopt that full stack.”
“That requires new hardware, a different operational model. And I would argue that is not a company that focuses on innovation, but on maximizing profit.”
Broadcom customer list
In a press briefing a day later, the name Broadcom is mentioned freely. Ramaswami quantifies the opportunity so concretely for the first time. “Nutanix is targeting 165,000 customers from the VMware installed base of approximately 300,000.” With 30,000 current customers and an influx of 500 to 1,000 new customers per quarter, a structural growth story is emerging.
Nutanix targets 165,000 customers from the VMware installed base of approximately 300,000.
Rajiv Ramaswami, CEO at Nutanix
Ramaswami describes the migration as a wave movement. The first wave consisted of customers who left preemptively before their Broadcom renewal. The second wave renewed once and now wants to leave anyway. According to him, VCF 9 will be the next trigger. “The calculus for customers is changing,” he says. “It’s not just about costs. It’s about trust, and whether they can count on Broadcom for their future needs.”
From HCI to platform
But anyone who still views Nutanix today as a mere VMware replacement is missing the bigger picture. Ramaswami reflects openly on the company’s transformation. “Five years ago, we were an HCI company. Many customers used us for their first workload, usually VDI.”
“Today, we have evolved into a hybrid cloud platform with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.” When asked if Nutanix will eventually become an application platform, he remains deliberately cautious. “If you had asked me a few years ago if we would be providing platform services, I wouldn’t have expected it. Now we do. But whether we will be an app-focused company in two or three years? That’s not ruled out, but it’s also not what we’re focusing on right now.”
Broadcom provides the tailwind
The critical question is whether Nutanix can maintain the execution that goes with that platform ambition. With 39 innovations at a single event, the NetApp integration, NKP Metal, and the entirely new AI stack this year, the roadmap is ambitious.
Ramaswami’s answer to that is typical: “Every step becomes a stepping stone for the next.” Broadcom provides the tailwind. Now Nutanix must prove that the platform can handle that wind.