Western Union zaps VMware and moves to Nutanix

Migration at scale

It has been reported that Western Union has begun a move off VMware and onto Nutanix, six months into what its VP of technology services Brandon Shaw described as a migration of 900–1,200 applications across a 3,900‑core server estate. The shift comes as the 175‑year‑old payments company retools to be more customer‑focused and open to new suppliers. It’s a big lift. Legacy apps are being refactored, some are being retired, and the work is exactly the sort of slow, stubborn wrenching you’d expect when untangling decades of infrastructure.

Why the split?

Shaw told the Nutanix .NEXT audience that Western Union had “decent lines of communication” with Broadcom but ran into “challenges partnering with them,” including licensing moves that essentially push customers toward Broadcom’s Cloud Foundation private cloud stack — powerful, yes, but often much pricier than previous VMware models. Western Union also cited Nutanix’s flexibility for workload placement — vital when you operate in more than 200 countries and some workloads must stay in‑country — and said Nutanix provided legal continuity assurances during sales talks, which eased acquisition‑risk worries. Who could blame them for wanting options?

Other migrants and the market view

It has been reported that South Korea’s largest theme park, Everland, also switched from VMware Cloud on AWS to Nutanix, saying product quality and Broadcom’s new licensing made the move necessary and time‑sensitive. Nutanix executives told the press the company is winning 500–1,000 new customers a quarter, and CEO Rajiv Ramaswami suggested Nutanix could be a fit for roughly 165,000 of VMware’s installed base — a wave that, if it comes, could reshape enterprise virtualization choices.

What’s next?

Nutanix views these early wins as momentum; Broadcom, meanwhile, has pointed to continued software growth and touted VMware innovations such as memory tiering as solutions to rising component costs. For customers, the choice is now as much about commercial comfort and supplier relationships as it is about technical capability. Expect more migrations, more legal fine‑print negotiations, and a few more corporate love affairs — and breakups — before the dust settles.

Sources: The Register