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For years, enterprise infrastructure decisions followed a familiar pattern: plan big, buy once, deploy, and run for years. That model worked when environments were relatively\u00a0static\u00a0and technology change was predictable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0no longer the world our customers\u00a0operate\u00a0in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, modernization is incremental. Virtualization strategies are in flux. AI is introducing uncertainty in timing, scale, and where workloads will\u00a0ultimately live.\u00a0Across industries, IT leaders are being asked to move faster\u2014without locking themselves into infrastructure decisions they may need to revisit much sooner than expected.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The stakes are rising. According to McKinsey & Company, global demand for AI data center capacity could require $5.2 trillion in capital investment by 2030. AI has clearly moved beyond experimentation and into operational reality. But in my conversations with enterprise leaders, what\u2019s less clear is the path to scale. Decisions made today can determine how far and how fast those initiatives can go.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In this environment, how you buy infrastructure matters just as much as what infrastructure you buy. The commercial model behind a platform now directly influences how quickly organizations can modernize, how much risk they\u00a0take on\u00a0when requirements change, and whether they can expand when the business is ready.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cisco\u00a0sees\u00a0this shift clearly in how customers approach infrastructure decisions. Flexibility is no longer just a technical requirement.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0becoming part of the architecture itself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0the context behind Cisco\u2019s decision to extend our Enterprise Agreement (EA) to include Nutanix\u00a0\u2013 the first EA of its kind for Nutanix with any OEM.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By bringing Nutanix into the Cisco EA, customers gain\u00a0a more flexible buying model that aligns\u00a0with how modern environments\u00a0actually grow:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At a time when organizations are under pressure to do more with existing infrastructure, Cisco is enabling them to\u00a0<\/span>reuse existing hardware across solutions<\/span>, protecting prior investments as environments evolve.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The result is a buying model that moves at the pace of customer demand, not procurement cycles.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Enterprises\u00a0are designing infrastructure strategies that preserve flexibility as their environments evolve. Instead of\u00a0committing to\u00a0large, fixed transformations, they are modernizing core platforms while keeping options open for what comes next.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s slowing these organizations down isn\u2019t technology, but commercial rigidity. Traditional buying models assume static environments: fixed terms, fixed quantities, and fixed architectures. But modern infrastructure doesn\u2019t behave that way. Workloads shift. Priorities change. Capacity needs evolve unevenly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Every forced renegotiation, every misaligned contract term, every artificial boundary between platforms introduces friction,\u00a0and that friction shows up as delayed modernization, deferred innovation, or unnecessary risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In many cases, customers already know what they want to build. The blocker is whether they can do it without locking themselves into assumptions that no longer hold.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is the inflection point\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0seeing across enterprise infrastructure.\u00a0Buying models\u00a0are\u00a0no longer just commercial constructs. They are architectural decisions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How customers buy now directly influences:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a world designed for change, the wrong buying model can constrain even the most flexible technology stack. How you buy today shapes how you build tomorrow.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Virtualization platforms sit at the center of enterprise infrastructure. They support existing workloads, enable modernization, and increasingly provide the foundation for AI experimentation and scale.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u00a0central role\u00a0means decisions around virtualization platforms tend to cascade across the entire environment\u2014from\u00a0compute\u00a0and storage to networking and operations.\u00a0When the buying model behind that platform is rigid, it can limit how quickly organizations adapt as their infrastructure strategy evolves.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s\u00a0a broader signal here.\u00a0Open infrastructure\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0just about interoperability\u00a0anymore.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0about reducing lifecycle\u00a0complexity\u00a0end to end.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As environments grow more hybrid and more dynamic, partnerships must integrate economics as well as technology. Customers\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want more buying frameworks layered on top of already complex architectures. They want fewer control points\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and clearer ones.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is where ecosystems are\u00a0consolidating, not fragmenting. And commercial integration is becoming just as important as technical integration.\u00a0Modernization is not an overnight event, and neither are the decisions that shape it.\u00a0Infrastructure leaders should evaluate platforms and\u00a0buying\u00a0models together\u2014because in today\u2019s environment,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0inseparable.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The organizations that move fastest will be the ones that\u00a0design for\u00a0change, not certainty, and choose commercial frameworks that expand when the business is ready.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Make sure to join us in\u00a0Cisco\u00a0Booth P5\u00a0at\u00a0Nutanix\u00a0.NEXT\u00a0on\u00a0April 7\u00a0\u2013\u00a09\u00a0and Cisco Live on May 31 \u2013 June 4\u00a0to stay on top of the latest\u00a0Cisco and\u00a0Nutanix product announcements.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nCisco\u2019s EA expands to Nutanix<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Why flexibility matters now<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Buying models are now architecture decisions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Why this matters for virtualization<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u00a0this signals\u00a0for the\u00a0ecosystem<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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For more details about\u00a0Cisco\u2019s solutions with Nutanix and information about\u00a0Cisco\u2019s EA program updates,\u00a0visit the\u00a0<\/span>Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix website.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n