Gartner’s DHI report is really about VMware’s exits

The short version

VMware’s licensing turn created a market that did not exist two years ago. Running workloads everywhere became normal and managing them everywhere did not. Gartner’s 2026 report on distributed hybrid infrastructure shows which vendors are lining up behind that demand.

• Leaders are AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, and Nutanix.
• Nutanix is a Leader for the third year and positioned closest to VMware.
• The subtext is VMware. Gartner projects about half of enterprises will run proofs of concept for alternatives.
• Sovereignty is now a spectrum, and where a vendor sits on it matters as much as features.

My analysis of what the leader lineup says about the market. Read the full piece.

The economics behind this migration wave, including the three year cost model and why exits run long, are in the 2026 State of Enterprise Infrastructure report.