Distinguished expert in the IT sector, Rajiv Ramaswami has 30+ years of experience spanning software, cloud services and network infrastructure. During his career, he worked for several renowned companies such as Cisco, Broadcom and VMware before serving as the President and CEO of Nutanix. We met him to discuss about Nutanix’s unique edge on the market, their strong entrepreneurial culture and much more.

In your perspective, what sets Nutanix apart from other players in the market? Could you pinpoint particular attributes or strategies that contribute to Nutanix's distinct advantage?

“At Nutanix, our primary objective is to assist businesses in running their applications seamlessly across various environments, including data centers, edges, or the public cloud. What sets us apart from our competitors is our focus on simplicity. We strive to simplify complex enterprise and cloud infrastructure, making it easy for our customers to manage even with limited resources.”

“As a software company, we prioritize streamlining management processes for our customers. We understand that organizations may encounter difficulties in having dedicated teams or accessing individuals with specialized expertise, so we design our solutions to enable large-scale infrastructure management with minimal staff. Our emphasis lies in ensuring that day-to-day operations are hassle-free. For instance, instead of solely focusing on building new features, our software developers prioritize making upgrades effortless for customers. We recognize that frequent security updates can be time-consuming and challenging, so we aim to provide the same user-friendly experience you enjoy when uploading apps on your phone. Simplicity is ingrained in everything we do at Nutanix.”

“Another key point is Nutanix's strong focus on customer satisfaction, which drives increased product adoption. This emphasis is reflected in our consistently high Net Promoter Score over the past seven years. Additionally, our technological expertise in data management and scalability sets us apart, allowing us to handle, protect, govern, and move diverse data types effectively. Moreover, the validation from our customers distinguishes us from competitors, as we rely on their testimonials to reinforce the advantages we offer. Ultimately, our success is rooted in our corporate culture and values, emphasizing the importance of people and their interactions within Nutanix.”

Do you find that the passionate and entrepreneurial culture observed within the Nutanix team in Luxembourg - where individuals express their ideas with the same sense of ownership as if they were founding their own startup - is consistent among Nutanix teams in other countries?

“Indeed, the passionate and entrepreneurial culture is consistent worldwide within Nutanix. We actively encourage and prioritize this culture, discussing our values and overall cultural vision at a top-level. Our core values, such as being honest, hungry, humble, and having heart, have remained unchanged since the company's inception. These values are deeply rooted in my personal journey as well, coming from India to the US and developing a strong work ethic and hunger for success.”

“Innovation was paramount during our startup phase, but as we expand, we recognize the importance of better cross-functional alignment to avoid fragmented efforts. This is driven by our focus on fostering growth and scaling from 1 to 5 billion. With this growth, we emphasize greater discipline and cross-functional accountability. However, it's important to remember that as the company expands, simplicity remains a key principle. The goal is to maintain a streamlined approach even as we grow in size and revenue.”

There has been a lot of buzz around AI and its potential applications in various sectors. Can you give us a hint about any plans or projects Nutanix has in the pipeline that leverage artificial intelligence?

“We have multiple initiatives in the pipeline that leverage artificial intelligence (AI). Firstly, we are focused on making our platform an excellent choice for running AI applications, which is becoming increasingly important to our customers. We have seen a growing interest from our customers in AI applications. For instance, retailers are using AI for fraud detection, car manufacturers are exploring automatic visual inspection of defects in production lines, and manufacturing companies are optimizing their processes. We have evolved our platform to support these applications.”

“Secondly, we are utilizing AI internally to enhance our products and operations. This involves employing AI technologies in customer service through chatbots and optimizing our cloud management with AI operations (AI OPS) in products like PRISM Pro. By leveraging AI in these areas, we aim to improve customer experiences and product functionality.”

“Lastly, we are exploring the potential of AI to enhance developer efficiency. While in the early stages, our goal is to investigate how AI can automate code generation and streamline the development process.”

“I finally emphasize the importance of working on technologies that are beneficial for the common good and the environment, by modernizing our data centers and cloud to make them more sustainable and energy efficient. We encourage efficient code writing and engage in social initiatives by giving employees time for volunteer work and supporting causes close to our hearts.”

What message would you like to send to the tech community in Luxembourg and, more broadly, to the Benelux ecosystem? How do you envision their role in Nutanix's journey and the overall digital landscape?

“I firmly believe that Nutanix has the necessary technology and mindset to excel in this area. What truly sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to our core values. We are deeply passionate and obsessed with the projects we undertake. This relentless drive is what empowers us to guide our customers towards success, utilizing our technology as a powerful set of tools to achieve that outcome.”