Migrating from on-premises to cloud infrastructure can be disruptive — and not just in the positive sense. Couple that with the complexity of monetizing data, and it’s clear why “digital transformation” may be the most hated term in information technology, according to Mike Berthiaume (pictured, right), systems engineering manager at Nutanix Inc.

“We bring that non-disruptive perspective to being able to get to that next level,” Berthiaume said.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure combines on-premises hardware and a software layer with hybrid cloud capability, he explained. HCI is a means for these businesses to straddle both environments and digitally transform at a pace that allows companies to “keep the lights on.”

Berthiaume spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu) (pictured, left), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during an interview at the recent WTG Dell EMC Users’ Group in Boston, Massachusetts. (* Disclosure below.)

Nutnanix, along with Dell EMC, bring its HCI offerings to the table in their partnership with Winslow Technology Group LLC. Winslow, which consults customers on piecing together the best technology solutions for their businesses, is part of Nutanix’s robust sales channel 

Many customers are surprised at how much more there is to HCI than they see in the metal box, Berthiaume stated. Once they learn about the Nutanix-Dell EMC XC Series web-scale hyperconverged appliance or Nutanix’s Enterprise Cloud Operating System, they begin to see its hybrid cloud potential, he added.

“Typically, I’ll see a lot of light bulbs go off,” Berthiaume said. Customers often are not aware of Nutanix’s recently announced Google Cloud Platform integration.

Cloud is a verb

A lot of customers are also are not aware that “cloud” is more than a place to put applications, in Berthiaume’s view, or that lifting and shifting to cloud in one swoop may not be the wisest move.

“In reality, cloud is a way of doing business. It’s a new way of thinking about IT,” he said.

Many companies have legacy applications and some truly stateless applications (the latter don’t save client data from one session and roll it over to the next). While those stateless apps “probably belong in a public cloud environment,” Nutanix provides an on-premises option for legacy apps that may fare better there, Berthiaume concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of WTG Dell EMC Users’ Group. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for WTG Dell EMC Users Group. Neither Winslow Technology Group, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial influence on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE