Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) burst on the scene about 15 years ago, using virtualization to combine server and storage resources – and in some cases, network resources – into an all-in-one appliance that’s managed through a single console.

HCI took hold and became a mainstream data center solution because it’s easier to deploy, manage, and scale than traditional three-tier architecture, providing IT organizations with cloud-like management and potential cost savings.

But it requires enterprises to scale compute and storage together, even if they only need extra capacity for one. Some organizations now want to scale servers and storage separately while keeping HCI’s ease of management. Enterprises that need more compute can add servers without having to buy more storage, for example.

As a result, vendors like Nutanix, Broadcom’s VMware, Red Hat, and others have evolved their software platforms to enable that disaggregation.

Here’s a look at how the market has changed to make disaggregation attractive and how enterprises are choosing between HCI and disaggregation.

What’s driving the move toward disaggregation?

What some vendors call disaggregated HCI is really just disaggregated infrastructure or traditional three-tier architecture, and it’s trending because of three factors – all related to storage, said Julia Palmer, a research VP at Gartner and former IT practitioner.

First, HCI simplified storage management, which was a huge benefit, but storage arrays today are no longer complex to manage.

In the past, storage engineers needed five-day classes to learn how to manage storage arrays, but now most modern storage systems take two hours to learn, Palmer said. Storage vendors have also added predictive analytics and predictive maintenance to diagnose potential issues and resolve them faster.

Second, storage arrays have become more cost-competitive, making it attractive to separate storage from compute. Flash and memory prices are currently high because of supply chain constraints, and flash costs the same whether it’s in an HCI system or a separate storage array. But today’s modern storage arrays are more efficient through deduplication, compression, and specialized controllers, delivering more capacity and performance per dollar, Palmer explained.

Third, modern software platforms now support third-party storage, allowing enterprises to manage disaggregated storage and compute through a common control plane, Palmer said. As a result, they can get the ease of management without having to use all-in-one appliances.

How software platforms enable disaggregation on-premises and in the cloud

Nutanix and VMware are pioneers of the HCI software market, and over time they evolved their platforms to support containers and hybrid cloud deployments. It’s a software category that Gartner calls distributed hybrid infrastructure (DHI).

VMware dominated the market for years with Nutanix a strong No. 2. But in late 2023, Broadcom acquired VMware and made sweeping changes, including switching to a subscription model, consolidating products into two primary bundles, and increasing prices for many customers.

That has resulted in customers seeking alternatives, prompting other vendors to pursue the market more aggressively. Today, Nutanix offers the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) while VMware’s primary offering is VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).

Other vendors in the mix include Red Hat OpenShift and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Morpheus VM Essentials, while cloud providers have introduced their own on-premises HCI solutions, such as Microsoft’s Azure Local, Amazon Wed Services (AWS) Outposts, and Google Distributed Cloud (GDC).

Most software vendors support disaggregation. Ketan Shah, VP of products at Nutanix, explained that the vendor has long offered compute-only nodes and storage-only nodes as part of its HCI solution. More recently it has added a disaggregated option.

Customers can retain their existing storage and run Nutanix’s compute platform on their servers to re-platform virtualization, for example. Or they can reuse their existing servers and use external storage. Shah noted that Nutanix has added support for external storage hardware, including from Dell Technologies, Everpure, and soon NetApp.

At Broadcom, HCI remains the dominant way customers deploy its vSAN storage software and adoption continues to grow, but interest in disaggregation is growing, according to Tom Nagelmeyer, head of product marketing for VCF Storage. Nagelmeyer noted that VMware offers vSAN Storage Clusters for disaggregated storage and supports third-party storage, such as Dell PowerFlex.

HCI vs. disaggregation: what’s being adopted?

The HCI market continues to go strong, but disaggregated infrastructure or three-tier architecture has never gone away and remains strong as well, Palmer said.

The influx of software platforms gives customers many choices. When Palmer speaks to customers, they choose a platform first, then decide whether HCI or disaggregated infrastructure is the best fit.

For large organizations that can’t predict compute or storage needs any given year, a disaggregated infrastructure is the right choice because they can scale them independently. HCI makes sense for small offices or edge locations. Some large organizations use both: disaggregated infrastructure in the central data center and HCI for smaller locations, Palmer said.

The upshot: enterprises want the flexibility to deploy HCI or disaggregated infrastructure where they need it, while having the ability to control it centrally, Palmer added.