Budget cuts and the pressure to do more with less has pushed IT leaders in State, Local and Education (SLED) organizations to consolidate tools and resources to increase operational efficiency. Simultaneously, the dynamic of workflows are changing; modern-day students and Government workers need secure access to resources from anywhere, at any time.
Integrated solutions are helping SLED organizations eliminate the unnecessary complexity and costs associated with maintaining separate solutions for storage, compute and networking components. The recent partnership between Nutanix and Omnissa offers SLED organizations a platform for managing End-User Computing (EUC) across agencies, states, cities and school districts.
Vendor Choice and Pricing Flexibility
Faced with higher costs and more restrictions, many SLED organizations are seeking alternatives solutions that can provide similar functionality without the associated vendor lock-in risks. The Nutanix-Omnissa platform offers multiple licensing options, including per-user models that offer greater flexibility than traditional bundled approaches. Organizations can choose the licensing model that best fits their usage patterns and budget constraints.
The solution also works with a wide range of server vendors including Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Cisco and more, allowing organizations to leverage existing hardware investments or choose vendors based on their specific procurement requirements. This enables different agencies within the same Government entity to standardize on the same technology stack, eliminating disparate systems.
Hybrid Cloud Security, Compliance and Resilience
SLED organizations must be able to provide remote access to sensitive data while simultaneously meeting strict compliance mandates. The Nutanix-Omnissa Horizon platform supports certified Government cloud environments, including FedRAMP, GovRAMP and GovCloud, ensuring consistent enforcement of security policies across on-premises and hybrid deployments. Department of Defense (DoD) certifications validate the platform for regulated workloads, while unified access gateway appliances deliver secure, compliant remote access.
To strengthen resilience, Nutanix provides automated disaster recovery and replication across sites and clouds, maintaining workload availability even during outages. Agencies can extend their EUC environments across AWS, Azure and soon Google Cloud, balancing scalability with compliance while preserving consistent management and licensing. When paired with Omnissa Horizon Cloud-Pod technology, the platform can provide a true multi-cloud solution including on-premises hybridity.
Simplified Infrastructure Management
Outmoded infrastructure management often requires specialized expertise across hypervisors, storage, networking components and management tools, creating operational overhead and increasing the risk of configuration errors or security gaps. The Nutanix-Omnissa Horizon integration streamline operations through Prism Central, a unified management interface for multi-cluster and hybrid environments.
The platform includes built-in capabilities for replication, disaster recovery and automated maintenance that traditionally required separate tools and specialized expertise. Lifecycle management capabilities automatically update firmware, software and system components with zero downtime, allowing organizations to perform maintenance during business hours and reduce human error during update processes.
Technical Differentiators and Release Roadmap
Beyond EUC management, the Nutanix-Omnissa Horizon solution introduces technical advantages like Clone Prep technology that enables extremely fast, reboot-free provisioning, delivering near instant clone performance. Nutanix’s metadata-based cloning and data locality ensure low-latency performance for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) workloads, while built-in deduplication and erasure coding optimize storage efficiency. Additional features further strengthen the platform’s ability to meet complex SLED requirements, including:
- Nutanix Files – scalable file services that can be used for user profiles and Omnissa App Volumes
- Nutanix Flow – microsegmentation and network security
- Nutanix Data Lens – ransomware protection and data insights
The partnership is rolling out in phases to ensure stability and customer success. Limited Availability (LA) is currently offered, supporting Windows 10 and 11 automated pools, graphics processing unit (GPU) support and Unified Access Gateway (UAG) appliances. General Availability (GA) is expected between December and March, adding capabilities such as:
- Automated remote desktop service (RDS) farms
- Windows Server operating system (OS) support
- Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) mode
- Workspace ONE Access on-premises integration
Proven Partnership with Enhanced Capabilities
Thousands of organizations already run Omnissa Horizon on Nutanix infrastructure using vSphere, demonstrating the maturity and proven nature of the underlying technology platform. The addition of AHV hypervisor support represents an evolution of an existing partnership rather than an experimental new venture, validated real-world organizations that participated in the beta program.
The partnership brings together the complete technology stack and expertise from both organizations. Omnissa brings over 15 years of Horizon and Workspace expertise, while Nutanix contributes hyperconverged infrastructure capabilities. Together, they deliver mature, field-tested solutions that reduce operational complexity, consolidate infrastructure and enable future growth with confidence.
To learn more about how this partnership can transform your organization’s EUC strategy, watch the complete webinar, “Unlock the Future of EUC for Public Sector: Horizon 8 on Nutanix.”
Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, including Nutanix and Omnissa, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Explore the Carahsoft Blog to learn more about the latest trends in Government technology markets and solutions, as well as Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partner thought-leaders.
