Nutanix is the leading hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) software vendor, according to IDC’s second quarter 2018 numbers, narrowly beating VMware for the top billing by less than 1 percent.

Technically IDC calls this a statistical tie because there is a difference of 1 percent or less in the revenue share between the two vendors.

But it also represents the first time Nutanix has bumped VMware from its No. 1 HCI software spot since the analyst firm started ranking vendors two ways: by the brand of the hyperconverged product and by the owner of the software providing the core hyperconverged capabilities.

Systems running Nutanix’s HCI software represented $497.7 million in total second quarter vendor revenue, or 34.2 percent of the market. Systems running VMware’s HCI software represented $495.8 million in second quarter vendor revenue, or 34.1 percent market share. Both amounts represent all software and hardware revenue, regardless of how it was ultimately branded.

In terms of branded HCI devices and appliances, Dell maintained its No. 1 position on the list. It was the largest supplier with $418.7 million in revenue and a 28.8 percent share. It sells HCI systems running VMware and Nutanix software. Nutanix came in second, generating $275.3 million in branded revenue and an 18.9 percent market share. Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) were once again statistically tied for the quarter, with $77.7 million (5.3 percent) and $72 million (4.9 percent) in revenue, respectively.

Another HCI market report — The Forrester Wave — that tracks HCI vendors for the third quarter of 2018 also published this week and ranked Nutanix as the leading hyperconverged provider for its “innovation, R&D investment, strong sales momentum, partnerships, and acquisition of new customers from all segments and geographies.” Forrester ranked VMware No. 2.

IDC’s hyperconverged numbers are part of its Worldwide Quarterly Converged Systems Tracker, which follows three segments: certified reference systems and integrated infrastructure, integrated platforms, and hyperconverged systems.

Overall, worldwide converged systems market revenue increased 9.9 percent year over year to $3.5 billion during the second quarter of 2018. Of the three market segments, only hyperconverged systems saw growth with the other two declining year over year. Revenue from hyperconverged systems sales grew 78.1 percent year over year during the second quarter, generating $1.5 billion worth of sales. This amounted to 41.2 percent of the total converged systems market.

Meanwhile, certified reference systems and integrated infrastructure generated $1.3 billion in revenue during the second quarter, a year-over-year decline of 13.9 percent and 38.1 percent of total converged systems revenue. Dell was the largest supplier in this market segment with $639.8 million in sales and a 47.5 percent share. Cisco and NetApp generated $481 million in sales of their joint FlexPod product, representing the second largest share of 35.7 percent. HPE generated $108.4 million in sales, an 8.1 percent market share.

Integrated platforms sales also declined during the second quarter, dropping 12.5 percent year over year and generating revenues of $729.4 million. This amounted to 20.7 percent of the total market. Oracle was the top-ranked supplier of integrated platforms during the quarter, with $440.6 million in revenue and capturing a 60.4 percent share of this market segment.