Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series Powered by the
Nutanix Cloud Platform

ECONOMIC VALIDATIONThe Economic Benefits ofLenovo ThinkAgile HX Series
with Nutanix Cloud Platform
HCI Solution Combining Lenovo Hardware With Nutanix
Software Delivers Simplicity, Streamlined Operations, andReduced Risk, While Lowering Infrastructure TCO by up to
61% and Providing a 418% ROI
By Aviv Kaufmann, Practice Director and Principal Validation Analyst, and Luz Andrea Vasquez,
Consulting Validation Analyst, Enterprise Strategy GroupMay 2024

This Enterprise Strategy Group Economic Validation was commissioned by Lenovo
and is distributed under license from TechTarget, Inc.
© 2024 TechTarget, Inc. All Rights Reserved1Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
PlatformContents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Customer Challenges ................................................................................................................................................. 3
The Solution: Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud Platform................................................................ 5Enterprise Strategy Group Economic Validation ........................................................................................................... 6
ThinkAgile HX Series Economic Overview ................................................................................................................ 7
Enterprise Strategy Group Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 10
What the Numbers Mean ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Issues to Consider .................................................................................................................................................... 13
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix....................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Existing Three-tier Deployment (Plus Annual Growth) ............................................................................................ 15
Refreshed Three-tier Deployment ............................................................................................................................ 15
ThinkAgile HX650 V3 Series Nodes ........................................................................................................................ 152

Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Introduction
This Economic Validation by TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group explores the quantitative and qualitative
benefits organizations can realize when supporting scalable, hybrid cloud data and workloads with Lenovo
ThinkAgile HX Series hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI solutions) with Nutanix Cloud Platform, versus traditional
three-tier IT infrastructure solutions composed of separate server, network, and storage infrastructure.

Customer Challenges
Today’s organizations are adapting to a rapidly evolving IT landscape marked by a shift toward digital operations
and the adoption of hybrid cloud environments. They face significant challenges, including the need for rapid andsecure data access, enhanced cybersecurity, and effective management of complex workloads such as AI andmachine learning (ML). Moreover, they must address sustainability concerns, particularly reducing power
consumption and minimizing carbon footprints, which align with broader environmental and corporate social
responsibility goals. Cost constraints are also a critical challenge, as business budgets need to accommodate these
new technologies while maintaining operational efficiency. Additionally, deriving valuable insights from vast dataamounts and the complexity of integrating information from multiple sources pose substantial operational
challenges. As outlined by Enterprise Strategy Group research, these challenges are not limited to infrastructure but
extend to data management, compliance, and security.1

Figure 1. Some of the Challenges and Considerations for Hybrid Cloud Environments

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

Hyperconverged infrastructure presents a streamlined alternative to traditional three-tier data center setups,
integrating computing, storage, and networking to reduce administrative burdens. According to Enterprise Strategy
Group, the primary drivers for HCI adoption include improved scalability (42%), IT automation (41%), staff
productivity (39%), and hybrid cloud management (36%), with 84% of organizations reporting increased agility postdeployment.2 Organizations that we have spoken with have also mentioned that the ability to simplify edge
deployments had played a large role in their decision to adopt HCI.

1 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Complete Survey Results, Navigating the Evolving AI Infrastructure Landscape, December 2023.
2 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Complete Survey Results, Navigating the Cloud and AI Revolution: The State of Enterprise Storage and

HCI, February 2024.
© 2024 TechTarget, Inc. All Rights Reserved3Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Figure 2. Why Organizations Choose to Deploy Hyperconverged Infrastructure
Which of the following benefits, if any, has your organization
experienced from its use of HCI? (Percent of respondents, N=170,
multiple responses accepted)
Improved scalability

42%

Improved IT automation and integration

41%

Improved IT staff productivity

39%

Improved hybrid cloud management

36%

Improved total cost of ownership

33%

Simplified management31%

Simplified deployment process

28%

Increased portability of virtual machine provisioning

26%

Increased resource scaling flexibility

26%

Reduced burden on specialists to manage the…

25%

Improved service and support

25%

Reduced costs

25%

Simplified purchasing process

25%

Reduced infrastructure footprint

23%

Reduced interoperability issues
We have not experienced any benefits from HCI

21%
2%

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

Organizations are focusing on strategic IT infrastructure management initiatives such as cost reduction, operational
efficiency, rapid solution deployment, and enhanced security to address imperative goals. Yet, they encounterwidespread challenges: managing diverse interfaces, navigating siloed equipment from multiple vendors, wrestlingwith complex management tools that generate excessive system alerts, performing manual tasks, and contending
with a lack of centralized visibility. These hurdles lead to inefficiencies and negative financial implications.
In such a dynamic IT environment, choosing the right solution is critical. HCI solutions vary, with some excelling inrobust hardware and others in advanced software capabilities. Successful organizations typically opt for a balanced
approach, combining superior hardware with cutting-edge software to effectively meet their unique IT challenges
and succeed in today’s fast-paced tech world.

4

Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

The Solution: Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud Platform
Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series is a hyperconverged infrastructure solution that integrates storage, computing, andvirtualization into a scalable and reliable server with Nutanix software. By organizing servers into clusters,
ThinkAgile HX creates a unified resource pool for both compute and storage, accessible via a single management
interface. This setup simplifies IT complexity and enhances agility. Within this ecosystem, Nutanix Cloud Platform
provides software packages that manage hybrid and multi-cloud environments and applications across both onpremises settings and hyperscale cloud platforms. These packages include comprehensive tools for foundational
infrastructure, storage, database management, and virtual desktop provisioning.
Model offerings include the following:•

HX630 V3 ROBO and HX630 V3. Engineered for a range of workloads, from business applications to virtual
desktop infrastructure (VDI), these models are optimized for remote office/branch office environments anddatabases.

•

HX645 V3. This model is designed for general virtualization and VDI, including remote office/branch office(ROBO) settings.

•

HX650 V3 and HX665 V3. These models are ideal for in-memory databases, analytics, AI/ML, VDI, andmission-critical workloads.

•

HX650 V3 Storage and HX665 V3 Storage. These are engineered for big data and high-capacity needs, suchas media content and storage, home directories, general file shares, healthcare/PACs, data backup andarchiving, media streaming, and backup targets.

•

SAP HANA models (HX630 V3 for SAP HANA, HX650 V3 for SAP HANA). Tailored and certified for SAP
HANA applications, these offerings ensure optimal performance and reliability.

Figure 3. Solution Overview: The Lenovo HX Series with Nutanix Cloud Platform

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

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Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Key features, as summarized in Figure 3, include the following:•

End-to-end solution. ThinkAgile HX is a complete end-to-end solution with hardware, software, and services
bundled as part of the solution with single point of support from Lenovo for both ThinkAgile HX hardware andNutanix software.

•

Hybrid cloud integration. ThinkAgile HX seamlessly integrates with major cloud platforms and edge
environments enabling easy transitions between on-premises, edge, and cloud environments, while effectively
managing and optimizing workloads.

•

AI-enabled solutions. Equipped with the latest GPUs, ThinkAgile HX excels in high-performance computing
tasks necessary for AI inferencing and machine learning, driving forward technological innovation andoperational improvements in both data center and edge environments.

•

Scalability. ThinkAgile HX enables easy addition of nodes to quickly adapt to increasing or evolving workload
demands. Customers can start with a single node and scale quickly, ensuring that IT infrastructure can growwith business needs without disruptions.

•

Minimized total cost of ownership (TCO). The HX series reduces TCO by unifying the functions of powerfulmanagement tools like Lenovo XClarity and Nutanix Prism to simplify operations, reduce costs, and enhanceuser experiences by automating and streamlining workload management. It further reduces TCO by providing
a single point of support for both hardware and software, thus avoiding the need to reach out to separate
vendors. Lenovo ensures seamless service with end-to-end case management through Premier Support.

•

Comprehensive security. The solution secures sensitive data with advanced encryption and access controls
through ThinkShield, enhanced by Nutanix Flow Network Security, which provides microsegmentation between
applications, reducing the blast radius of an event and providing a more clear path to a zero-trust architecture,including real-time threat monitoring, ensuring a robust security posture.

•

Resiliency and business continuity. ThinkAgile HX features Lenovo’s x86 servers, which offer industryleading reliability along with robust disaster recovery and backup solutions from third-party vendors like Veeam
and Cohesity that minimize data loss and downtime.

•

Sustainability. It promotes eco-friendly operations through sustainable practices and efficient resource use,
offering CO2 offsets and Asset Recovery Services to help organizations achieve their environmental goals.

•

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Lenovo TruScale Infrastructure as a Service with Nutanix offers flexible,
on-premises data center solutions that are managed and scaled according to business needs, providing costeffective services that reduce both physical and environmental impacts.

Enterprise Strategy Group Economic Validation
Enterprise Strategy Group’s Economic Validation process is a proven method for understanding, validating,quantifying, and modeling the economic value propositions of a product or solution. The process leverages
Enterprise Strategy Group’s core competencies in market and industry analysis, forward-looking research, andtechnical/economic validation. Enterprise Strategy Group conducted in-depth interviews with end users to better
understand and quantify how ThinkAgile HX has improved their organizations' operational efficiency, scalability, andsecurity posture, particularly compared with previously deployed and/or experienced three-tier infrastructure
solutions. The qualitative and quantitative findings were used as the basis for an economic model comparing the
expected costs and benefits that can be realized by transitioning to hyperconverged infrastructure. This model
highlights the potential for significant cost savings, reduced complexity, and enhanced business agility, providing acompelling argument for organizations considering an upgrade or shift in their IT strategy.

6

Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
PlatformThinkAgile HX Series Economic Overview
Enterprise Strategy Group’s economic analysis revealed that adopting ThinkAgile HX solutions for managing hybrid
cloud environments offers organizations significant advantages. In comparison to traditional three-tier architectures,
ThinkAgile HX yields notable cost savings, along with administrative, security, and agility improvements. The key
benefits identified are:•Operational efficiency. ThinkAgile HX reduced complexity and streamlined IT operations throughsimplification and automation, significantly reducing the time and effort required for system management andmaintenance.

•

Business agility. With its superior scalability and performance, the ThinkAgile HX Series enabledorganizations to rapidly adapt to changing needs and seize new opportunities more quickly than ever before.

•

Reduced risk to the organization. The integration of various systems into a single, secure platform withThinkAgile HX decreases security vulnerabilities and enhances system reliability, reducing organizations’exposure to risk.

Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency is essential in a modern IT strategy as organizations strive to streamline processes, reduce
expenses, and enhance productivity. Transitioning to HCI, especially with Lenovo ThinkAgile HX, meets theseobjectives by refining IT management. Based on Enterprise Strategy Group findings and customer insights,
ThinkAgile HX markedly elevates operational efficiency in several critical aspects:•

Reduced management complexity. According to customer testimonials validated by Enterprise Strategy
Group, ThinkAgile HX provides a unified management experience, significantly simplifying the administration of
hyperconverged infrastructures. Clients noted that the single-pane-of-glass view via Nutanix Prism Central
made the management process up to 70% more
efficient than with their previous three-tier systems.
"Two specialists used to spend 70% of
The inclusion of lifecycle management (LCM)
their time on our legacy systems; now,available through Prism allows for a one-click
one junior can manage the easy-to-use
firmware/software upgrade process, further
ThinkAgile HX with just 30% of his time,enhancing ease of use. For more advanced
freeing our experts for strategic work."
hardware management, customers mentioned theyalso have the option to utilize Lenovo XClarity, whichadds an extra layer of hardware control and visibility.
A customer shared how the ease of use with ThinkAgile HX's intuitive interface has led to a drastic reduction intraining time—from as much as 15 hours down to an efficient two hours—enabling new employees to be
productive much more quickly.

•

Automated workflows. Users of ThinkAgile HX benefit from enhanced automation capabilities for bothinfrastructure and applications using NCM Intelligent Operations and NCM Self-Service. Enterprise Strategy
Group has previously validated up to 91% administrative savings through Intelligent Operations and SelfService automation and orchestration.3 Integrating Nutanix Cloud Manager expands these capabilities,
enabling seamless automation across hybrid and multi-cloud setups. This integration simplifies complex
processes, significantly boosting operational efficiency. As one user stated, “HX automation has reallysimplified our regular work. There’s more to explore, and we’re excited about what we can do next withit.”

3 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Economic Validation, The Economic Benefits of Intelligent IT Automation with Nutanix Prism and Calm,

July 2020.
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Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform•

Reduced hardware complexity. Customers we spoke with mentioned how ThinkAgile HX significantly
reduces hardware complexity by offering a consolidated solution that integrates various storage types andserver functionalities into one unified system. This consolidation results in fewer hardware components tomanage, deploy, cable, and service compared with traditional three-tier architectures, which often involve
complex integration of disparate systems. Additionally, ThinkAgile HX features a compatibility matrix for
supported firmware across all hardware components, enhancing system reliability and streamlining
maintenance. Enterprise Strategy Group’s validation highlights that customers appreciate the reduced timeand effort needed to manage hardware components and point solutions. One customer noted, “Thedecreased need to oversee separate hardware components and multiple-point solutions has been amajor advantage, enhancing our operational efficiency substantially.”•

Simplified support and maintenance. Users of ThinkAgile HX benefit from a simplified support experience,as all services are consolidated under a single vendor. XClarity enhances this by managing hardware alerts
across all subsystems, even when the OS is unavailable, and its Light Path Diagnostics quickly identify failingcomponents. Prism complements these features by providing clear visibility into system performance andhealth, which minimizes interoperability issues and reduces the need for multiple management tools. This
streamlined approach reduces complexity and significantly shortens resolution times. For instance, one
customer noted, “Since we switched to ThinkAgile HX, the reduction in alerts and the improved clarity
have minimized vendor finger-pointing, cutting our troubleshooting time significantly.” Another added,“With Lenovo as our sole support provider, we’ve reduced deployment times from months to weeks.”•

Simplified integration. ThinkAgile HX enhances IT operations through seamless integrations with various
enterprise tools and platforms, including ServiceNow, Veeam, Cohesity and Citrix. This connectivity simplifies
the IT landscape, saving organizations time by minimizing compatibility issues and reducing the need to
manage multiple disparate solutions. One customer highlighted the practical benefits, stating, “Integratingwith Veeam is straightforward and critical for us, particularly in disaster recovery situations. Before,
we couldn't back up virtual machines at all.”Business Agility
The ability to quickly scale, pivot, and act on new business opportunities is pivotal for organizations to remaincompetitive and responsive in a dynamic market landscape. Enterprise Strategy Group's analysis reveals how
ThinkAgile HX streamlines scalability, flexibility, and performance optimization, significantly contributing to a fastertime to value and offering cost options with clear visibility—key factors enabling businesses to adapt quickly to
evolving demands and opportunities. Customers reported savings and benefits in the following categories:•

Scalability. Enterprise Strategy Group has validated
that ThinkAgile HX significantly simplifies scaling,"ThinkAgile HX really changed the gameenabling organizations to adjust their infrastructure
for us. It's quick to scale and adapts
swiftly and efficiently. Unlike traditional three-tiereasily to our needs.”
architectures, which can take weeks or months to
expand, scaling with ThinkAgile HX involves merely
adding a new node. Customers can even start with
one node clusters, enhancing flexibility. This approach eliminates the need for overprovisioning and avoids
project delays. A customer shared, “Previously, scalability was challenging with our old infrastructure.
Now, with ThinkAgile HX, scaling up is just a matter of purchasing and provisioning a new node.”•

Flexibility. Users of ThinkAgile HX enjoy enhanced organizational agility thanks to its flexible infrastructure,
which supports configurations tailored to specific application needs, including GPU-equipped nodes that are
ideal for AI tasks. The ThinkAgile XClarity management platform enables straightforward adjustments incompute, storage, and GPU settings, enhancing operational adaptability. A customer noted, “Being able tocustomize nodes for each of our specific workloads has greatly increased our operational flexibility.”

8

Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform•

Performance optimization. Customers reported significant performance improvements using the HX Series,
with advanced GPU support boosting processing efficiency and speed for databases, VDI, and AI and ML
workloads. Integrated Prism tools provide clear visibility into performance metrics, allowing for precise
adjustments. This capability leads to quicker task execution and greater overall efficiency, enablingorganizations to rapidly meet business demands. Previous Enterprise Strategy Group economic validations
show that, by consolidating to new and powerful HCI nodes, customers have experienced up to a 50%
improvement in application performance compared with their legacy three-tier environments. A customer
remarked, “After moving from our old three-tier setup to the HX Series, we saw a marked improvement
in application performance, which improved our end-user experiences.”•

Faster time to value. ThinkAgile HX Series accelerates the journey to value by streamlining deployment,
updates, and provisioning, ensuring rapid scalability. The entire solution—including software, hardware, andservices—can be ordered through Lenovo, simplifying the procurement process. Additionally, a cluster can be
deployed in just 45 minutes. This starkly contrasts with the lengthy timelines associated with traditional threetier solutions, which often require extensive planning, are prone to supply chain delays, and demand prolonged
integration and testing periods. The HX Series simplifies and speeds up these processes, enabling businesses
to quickly seize new opportunities and reduce time to market. A customer shared, “With ThinkAgile HX,
tasks that once took months now only take days. This responsiveness is crucial for maintaining ourcompetitive edge in a rapidly changing market.”•

Cost options and visibility. ThinkAgile HX Series offers a variety of purchasing options and improved visibility
into costs and usage, enhancing financial flexibility and insight. Organizations can choose from appliancebased pricing linked to hardware life or capacity-based pricing based on physical CPU cores and SSD capacity
within a cluster. This flexibility allows for tailored budget strategies, accommodating Capex or Opex
preferences. The Prism interface provides detailed insights into infrastructure and workload costs, facilitating
informed, strategic financial planning and quicker adaptation to changing business needs. This visibility can
result in more effective resource allocation and cost optimization, ensuring that IT investments align withstrategic business objectives to better support organizational agility and financial sustainability in a dynamic
market.

Reduced Risk to the Organization
ThinkAgile HX Series mitigates operational and financial risks by improving system uptime and reducing the risk ofboth mechanical and human errors. By simplifying infrastructure management, ThinkAgile HX reduces time spenton troubleshooting and reactive issue management (prevalent in legacy three-tier systems), which frees IT teams toconcentrate on strategic initiatives that fuel business growth. Such a transformation not only boosts operational
efficiency but also fortifies the IT environment, significantly decreasing the likelihood of business disruptions that
result in financial impact. Customers have reported notable savings and improvements in several key areas:•

Risk mitigation. ThinkAgile HX Series reduces therisk of cybersecurity threats by incorporating“ThinkAgile HX has transformed our IT
Lenovo’s ThinkShield security solutions, which fortify
landscape: Downtime is a thing of thethe infrastructure with advanced data encryption andpast, and issues are resolved in minutes,
secure access controls. Lenovo enhances thesenot hours.”
protections with a secure supply chain that builds
security into products from the start of development.
Lenovo controls its manufacturing process and uses a Trusted Supplier Program to ensure suppliers meetstringent security standards, significantly enhancing the security framework of the HX Series. Additionally,
Nutanix Unified Storage, coupled with Data Lens, equips the HX Series with robust defense mechanisms,
including real-time insights, alerting, and automated threat remediation. This proactive security approach isenhanced by Nutanix Prism, which features role-based access control, data-at-rest encryption, and automatedcompliance checks to improve data protection and system integrity. The streamlined architecture of ThinkAgile
HX reduces the complexity and potential for human error associated with more complex three-tier systems. A
9Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platformcustomer noted, “The ThinkAgile HX Series has strengthened our cybersecurity posture, has effectively
prevented potential threats, and has minimized disruptions.”•

Reduced downtime. The ThinkAgile HX Series significantly lowers the risk of downtime and the associatedcosts through rock-solid hardware design, proactive risk management, and enhanced security measures.
Lenovo’s XClarity management platform promotes early detection of potential issues, resulting in faster
remediation, improved system reliability, and minimized disruption to workloads and productivity. The
integrated Veeam backup solutions also ensure rapid recovery capabilities, protecting against ransomware
and strengthening system resilience. Supported by Lenovo’s x86 servers, which have been recognized forindustry-leading reliability for nine consecutive years,4 ThinkAgile HX provides a sturdy foundation. Its
integrated, scalable, and automated maintenance features prevent operational downtime and guarantee
business continuity. A customer shared, “Before switching to HX, we experienced up to five hours ofdowntime over five years. Since adopting HX, we’ve had zero downtime, allowing us to have full trustin our system and peace of mind.” This shift underscores ThinkAgile HX's role in sustaining continuous
operations and safeguarding against potential revenue losses and damage to brand reputation.

•

Fewer interoperability issues and simplified troubleshooting. ThinkAgile HX Series further reduces therisk of potential downtime impact to workloads by ensuring all hardware components seamlessly work
together, facilitating smoother third-party interoperability and providing a simplified troubleshooting process. Its
advanced system architecture, characterized by pretested and preconfigured updates, minimizes the risk ofcompatibility issues that can disrupt IT operations. Nutanix Prism and Lenovo XClarity enhance visibility,
enabling rapid resolution of issues and significantly reducing troubleshooting times. With a single point ofcontact for both hardware and software issues, operations are streamlined, eliminating vendor disputes over
responsibility and significantly mitigating risk by maintaining operational consistency and reliability. A customer
shared, “With ThinkAgile HX, we reduced our troubleshooting times from five hours to just two
minutes,” marking a substantial improvement over their previous three-tier architecture.

Enterprise Strategy Group Analysis
Enterprise Strategy Group utilized vendor-provided materials, public and industry knowledge of economics andtechnologies, and insights from customer interviews to construct a five-year return on investment (ROI) model. Thismodel compares the costs and benefits of deploying the ThinkAgile HX series for virtualized workloads in a hybrid
cloud environment against a traditional three-tier architecture. Enterprise Strategy Group’s interviews withcustomers who have recently made the transition, combined with experience and expertise in economic modelingand technical validation of Nutanix and ThinkAgile HX solutions, helped to form the basis for our modeled scenario.
Our model focused on a typical enterprise organization with an existing three-tier deployment consisting of 24servers, two Fibre Channel (FC) SAN switches, and an enterprise all-flash storage array with approximately 161 TB
of effective storage capacity. The organization was considering whether to continue leveraging and expanding its
aging architecture; refresh their server environment with fewer, higher-density servers; or consolidate and simplify
the infrastructure on to Lenovo ThinkAgile HX650 V3 nodes. Based on the relative technical specs of the servers(shown in the Appendix), we assumed that each HX650 V3 node and refreshed server would consolidate the VMs
currently running on four existing servers. We also assumed the organization would continue to grow theinfrastructure by adding the equivalent of two HX650 V3 nodes of compute and storage capabilities per year going
forward (see Table 1).

4 Source: Lenovo, ITIC 2023 Global Server HW, Server OS Reliability Report, September 2023.

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Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Table 1. Five-year Assumed Infrastructure Requirements for Virtualized Workloads
Use Case

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Continue to use
existing 3-tierinfrastructure

24 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

32 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

40 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

48 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

52 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

Refresh 3-tierinfrastructure
environment

6 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

8 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

10 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

12 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

14 servers
2 FC switches
161 TB of allflash storage

Consolidate onto
Lenovo ThinkAgile
HX

6 HX650 V3
nodes

8 HX650 V3
nodes

10 HX650 V3
nodes

12 HX650 V3
nodes

14 HX650 V3
nodes

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

For each of the use cases, the model considered the expected costs of hardware and software acquisition, supportand maintenance, power/cooling/floor space, infrastructure administration, and application administration. Ourmodel predicted that Lenovo ThinkAgile HX series could provide a five-year TCO that is 61% lower than continuing
to operate and grow the existing three-tier infrastructure and 50% lower than refreshing and consolidating withthree-tier infrastructure. The results are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Expected Five-year TCO Comparison

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

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Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

What the Numbers Mean
By consolidating workloads to ThinkAgile HX series, the organization could realize savings amounting to $3.75M
over five years. This represents a potential ROI of 320% to 418%+, highlighting the significant economic advantage
and improvements the ThinkAgile HX series offers over traditional three-tier architectures in supporting virtualized
workloads on hybrid cloud environments. As shown in Figure 4, this $3.75M in total savings was calculated basedon the following:•

Hardware and software cost of acquisition. The “continuing to operate the three-tier architecture” caseconsidered only the cost to purchase equivalently configured servers for growth since all other hardware andsoftware were already owned. The “refreshed three-tier” case considered the cost to purchase all servers, SAN
switches, and the all-flash storage array with associated software. The ThinkAgile HX Series acquisition costreflects all-inclusive pricing of the hardware, software, support and maintenance, and deployment services. We
did not consider any hypervisor-related costs, and it should be noted that organizations could save substantial
costs if using the included AHV hypervisor rather than VMware.

•$167K to $308K avoided cost of support and maintenance. 24/7 four-hour support and maintenance wasincluded for ThinkAgile HX Series, avoiding up to $308K in support and maintenance costs over five years.

•

13% to 68% lower cost of power, cooling, and floor space. ThinkAgile HX savings were realized because
there was less hardware to deploy, power, and cool, including fewer nodes (versus servers), no SAN switches,and no separate storage array. Power and cooling requirements were calculated using vendor-provided power
calculators for each solution at an assumed 70% utilization. We assumed a cost of $0.13/kWh for electricity
and a floor space cost of $286 per rack unit.

•

64% to 74% lower cost of infrastructure administration. This is the cost to deploy, manage, and maintainthe physical infrastructure, including the servers, network switches, and storage arrays. Our models predictedthat continuing to operate the existing environment would require an average of 1.6 system administrators. By
refreshing and consolidating to 4x fewer servers, the organization could manage infrastructure with only 0.8
system administrators, and by consolidating to the ThinkAgile HX Series, this burden could be reduced to only
0.3 system administrators.

•

75% to 79% lower cost of cloud and application administration. We also modeled the expected cost to
manage and operate the hypervisors and cloud instances, as well as to deploy, manage, and scale
applications running on the systems. We assumed that continuing to operate and scale the existing
deployment would require the equivalent of 1.2 administrators. By refreshing and consolidating to fewer
servers, the organization could manage infrastructure with a single system administrator, and by consolidating
to the ThinkAgile HX Series and leveraging the automation and playbooks provided by Prism and Self-Service,this burden could be reduced to only 0.25 administrators. We assumed a 75% reduction in effort due to Prism
and NCM Self-Service playbook automation (Enterprise Strategy Group has validated up to 91% savings in aprevious report).

Enterprise Strategy Group also conservatively modeled potential savings and benefits resulting from reduced
impact of downtime and improved revenue due to added developer agility. It should be noted that both of thesebenefits are highly dependent on the details of the organization’s business, workloads, existing infrastructure andoperations, and revenue. These savings may not be relevant to some organizations and may save otherorganizations millions of dollars more.
•

Avoided cost of downtime. Our models predicted that ThinkAgile HX series could potentially save theorganization lost revenue due to planned and unplanned application downtime. We assumed an annualcompany revenue of $25M was generated by production applications, and there would be an average of 6
events annually in which production systems had to be updated or restored. With the three-tier architecture, we
assumed each event would impact 2 hours of availability, and with ThinkAgile HX series we assumed that non-disruptive updates and faster restores could cut the impact down to only 15 minutes.

12Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform•

Improved revenue due to developer agility. The ability of ThinkAgile HX series to integrate into the DevOps
process, provide quick and easy access to Dev/Test copies, and automate operations with Prism and Calmenabled developers to operate in a more agile manner. This can result in faster product updates, quicker
integration of new features, faster release of new products, and improved product quality. We assumed that theorganization had 25 developers working to maintain the $25M revenue stream generated by applications. We
conservatively estimated a 0.5% improvement to revenue due to added development agility. In some cases,
this benefit could be far larger for organizations.

Taking all of these potential savings and benefits into consideration, Enterprise Strategy Group calculated an
expected five-year ROI of 320% based on TCO alone and up to 418% or more when considering the benefits of
avoided cost of downtime and improved revenue (these benefits could be potentially substantially higher in somecircumstances). The results are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Expected Five-year ROI of ThinkAgile HX

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, Inc.

Issues to Consider
While not part of this analysis, and depending on many factors, it should be mentioned that organizations
consolidating to the ThinkAgile HX Series may also realize significantly more benefits, including improved revenues
provided by faster business agility and avoided cybersecurity risk, to name a few. Enterprise Strategy Group’smodels are built in good faith upon conservative, credible, and validated assumptions, and no single modeled
scenario will ever represent every potential environment. Customer savings will depend on their particular use case,the nature of their applications, their compute and storage requirements, and existing automation capabilities andworkflows, along with many other considerations. Enterprise Strategy Group recommends that organizations
perform their own analysis of available products and consult with their Lenovo representative to understand anddiscuss the differences between the solutions proven through their own proof-of-concept testing.

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Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Conclusion
Organizations today are working to integrate on-premises and cloud-based systems into a single, smooth-runninghybrid cloud environment. This places a burden on IT teams that struggle to ensure immediate access to data,
maintain rigorous cybersecurity standards, and efficiently manage a broad spectrum of complex workloads.
ThinkAgile HX Series addresses these challenges by providing a unified infrastructure that streamlines these criticaloperations, facilitating a seamless flow among on-premises, edge, and cloud environments.
Decisions made today about the consolidation and deployment of critical business applications will shape anorganization's ability to adapt and scale in the future. While it's common to invest in powerful but separate compute,
network, and storage solutions from different vendors, this approach can lead to longer-term issues with system
integration and operation. ThinkAgile HX Series provides a cohesive alternative, combining Nutanix’s premierhyperconvergence software with Lenovo's advanced server technology and support to create a robust infrastructure
suited for virtualized settings.
The economic advantages of the ThinkAgile HX Series are concrete and measurable. Our economic model showsthat adopting ThinkAgile HX can lead to significant operational cost reductions, such as decreasing power, cooling,and space expenses by 13% to 68%; decreasing infrastructure administration costs by 64% to 74%; anddecreasing application administration costs by 75% to 79%. This efficient approach to workload management is
projected to lower an organization’s TCO by up to 61% and yield a five-year ROI of 320% to 418%+, strongly
supporting the decision for organizations to switch from traditional three-tier systems to an HCI solution such as
ThinkAgile HX.
Organizations appreciate ThinkAgile HX Series for its dependability and ease of use. One customer shared, “Itsreliability and simplicity define the HX Series for us—qualities that we depend upon daily,” highlighting thetrust in the system. This sentiment reflects its role in enhancing business continuity and operational agility. The
ThinkAgile HX Series is a strategic investment, enabling organizations to evolve and excel in a dynamic, hybrid
cloud world.
We hope that the information contained in this report and our modeled scenario can be used as guidance byorganizations to ask pertinent questions that help lead to well-informed infrastructure decisions. Through validation,
Enterprise Strategy Group confirmed that the combination of Nutanix software and Lenovo hardware presents acompelling functional and economic choice for many businesses. We encourage IT decision-makers to consult witha Lenovo representative or sales partner to determine if ThinkAgile HX is the right solution for their needs.

14Economic Validation: The Economic Benefits of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with Nutanix Cloud
Platform

Appendix
Configuration assumptions for modeled scenario use cases (see Table 1 for quantities) are as follows:

Existing Three-tier Deployment (Plus Annual Growth)•Compute (per server): 1 x Intel Gold 5416S (16 cores/32 threads); 4 x 32 GB memory; 2 x 960 GB SSD; 2 x
FC host bus adapter (HBA).

•

SAN switches: 2 x 48 Port 32 GB FC switches.

•

Storage array: Enterprise all-flash storage array with 161 TB of effective capacity; 4:1 space efficiency
assumed.

Refreshed Three-tier Deployment•

Compute (per server): 2 x Intel Gold 5420+ (28 cores/56 threads); 12 x 32 GB memory; 2 x 960 GB SSD; 2 x
FC HBA.

•SAN switches: 2 x 48 Port 32 GB FC switches.

•

Storage array: Enterprise all-flash storage array with 161 TB of effective capacity; 4:1 space efficiency
assumed.

ThinkAgile HX650 V3 Series Nodes•

Per node: 2 x Intel Gold 6430 (32 cores / 64 threads); 16 x 32 GB memory; 2 x 960 GB SSD + 6 x 3.84 TB
NVMe SSD; 2 x FC HBA.

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