The standard licensing scheme for a service provider looks like this: the subscription is paid upfront, license volume is fixed for years, and it only pays off as the provider finds customers.
In practice, this creates a cash flow gap. Money goes out to the vendor before money comes in from customers, and the provider bears the risk for capacity that hasn’t been sold yet.
Nutanix solves this at the commercial-model level: licensing based on actual consumption (the consumption model). Let’s break down how it works and what it delivers for the business.
Nutanix states the idea plainly: license spending is synchronized with revenue from customers. The provider pays for what its customers actually consume, not for a sales forecast made at contract signing.
The mechanics in four points:
Agreed pricing (rate card)
A net price is fixed for each product. The contract term runs from 12 to 60 months, with a minimum monthly volume commitment. The billing cycle — monthly, quarterly, or annual — is the provider’s choice.
Hourly consumption tracking
Actual license usage is measured every hour via the Nutanix Pulse monitoring service. Consumption and billing data is available in the billing section of the partner portal, so costs are transparent and verifiable at any time.
Overage at the same rate, billed as it happens
If monthly consumption exceeds the minimum commitment, the difference is invoiced the following month at the same agreed price, with no overage surcharges.
The full portfolio under one contract
The provider gets access to the entire Nutanix product line without a separate commitment per product. A new service for a customer (virtualization, storage, backup, container platforms) is added under the existing contract, with no new procurement cycle.
For a business leader, the consumption model is first and foremost about managing financial risk. License payments grow alongside the customer base rather than ahead of it, keeping working capital in the business.
Demand for a new service can be validated with real customers, and only what actually sells gets scaled. Fixed Rate Card pricing also makes it possible to calculate cost of service in advance and forecast margins.
For providers moving away from VMware, the Nutanix consumption model has an added advantage: signing a new consumption contract with a term of three years or more makes program participants eligible for preferential commercial terms on Nutanix software during a promotional period.
This helps reduce the financial burden during the migration phase, when VMware and Nutanix run in parallel for a time.
The consumption model is available to participants in the Nutanix partner program for service providers. The fastest way to get access to it is through an aggregator.
Elcore is the only Nutanix service provider aggregator in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Providers work on the basis of Elcore’s already-confirmed partner status and certified team (Nutanix Certified Associate and Professional: Multicloud Infrastructure, Cloud Integration).
What a provider gets through Elcore:
Fast time-to-market, thanks to launch support for the first services
A local contract and currency, structured to fit local market conditions
Billing and financial administration handled by Elcore, reducing the provider’s workload
One contract for the entire Nutanix portfolio, with new services added as the provider is ready
Technical support at the start of working with the platform, from the Elcore team
Ready-made marketing materials from Elcore for promoting new services in the local market
On August 14, at the online webinar “How to Build a Profitable Service Business on the Nutanix Platform,” we’ll cover:
– Why Consumption Licensing on Nutanix is becoming a more advantageous alternative to CapEx
– Which services help increase ARPU
– How to organize a seamless VMware migration
Speakers: Roman Kalchenko, Head of Nutanix Solutions, and Kateryna Shcherbakova, Team Lead SPA Program.
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The Elcore team will help you choose a solution, launch services, and scale them alongside your business growth.