As we head into 2026, many organizations are facing a familiar reality:
Reliable infrastructure at odds with your cloud initiatives, exhausted ops teams on the brink, and haphazard tooling patched together without foresight.
At NXGN, we spend our time in the middle of that reality: helping customers modernize without rewriting everything. What we consistently see is that the most successful teams aren’t chasing the newest trend; they’re investing in platforms that stabilize the foundation, reduce operational friction, and create optionality for the future.
Below are a few leaders in Infrastructure and Operations that continue to show up as front-runners for our clients because they tackle tough issues effectively.
More than a VMware alternative
Nutanix often enters the conversation as a VMware alternative, but that framing undersells what the platform has become.
At its core, Nutanix provides a full multi-cloud infrastructure stack that helps organizations modernize their data center on their terms. Customers can standardize operations across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments while continuing to leverage existing investments.
What we like most:
A pragmatic path away from vendor lock-in
Strong support for existing infrastructure, including integrations with platforms like Pure Storage
A consistent operational model that simplifies day-to-day management
For organizations reassessing virtualization strategy, rising licensing costs, or long-term cloud flexibility, Nutanix has emerged as a steady, proven foundation — not just a replacement, but an upgrade in how infrastructure is operated.
Hands down the leader in modern backup and recovery
Backup is one of those areas where you only realize how important it is when something goes wrong. Rubrik has become the gold standard in this space.
From ransomware recovery to hybrid cloud protection, Rubrik delivers reliable, fast, and operationally simple data protection across environments. Going beyond just back-up & recovery and offering true cyber resilience.
Why Rubrik consistently stands out:
Clean, modern architecture that’s easy to operate
Strong cloud and SaaS coverage
Rapid recovery capabilities that matter when minutes count
For customers focused on reducing operational risk and improving recovery confidence, Rubrik is often the benchmark we measure others against.
Automated network visibility without the manual work
No one enjoys building and maintaining Visio diagrams and more importantly, static diagrams don’t reflect how networks actually behave.
NetBrain automates network discovery and mapping, giving teams real-time visibility into network topology and behavior. Instead of guessing or relying on outdated documentation, teams can understand the network as it exists right now.
What makes NetBrain valuable:
Automated, always-current network diagrams
Faster troubleshooting and root cause analysis
Reduced dependency on tribal knowledge
For complex environments where the network is business-critical, NetBrain turns visibility from a manual chore into a continuous capability.
Turning alert chaos into root cause clarity
Modern environments generate an overwhelming amount of alerts. The problem isn’t lack of data, the issue is knowing what actually matters.
BigPanda helps operations teams correlate events across systems and identify the true root cause behind incidents. Instead of reacting to symptoms, teams can focus on resolution.
Why BigPanda works:
Intelligent event correlation across tools and domains
Reduced noise and faster incident response
Clear ownership and operational accountability
As organizations scale infrastructure and tooling, BigPanda becomes a force multiplier that helps teams move from reactive firefighting to controlled operations.
Modern incident response, without the enterprise price tag
Rootly began as an incident response platform, but it has evolved into a strong, cost-effective alternative to PagerDuty for many organizations.
It brings structure, automation, and visibility to incident management without the overhead or complexity that often comes with legacy tools.
Where Rootly shines:
Simple, intuitive incident workflows
Strong integrations with Slack and modern tooling
A pricing model that scales more naturally with growing teams
For organizations looking to mature incident management without over-engineering the process, Rootly offers a practical and modern approach.
As we move into 2026, the organizations making the most progress aren’t chasing perfection, they’re choosing platforms that:
Strengthen the foundation
Reduce operational friction
Create flexibility for what comes next
These vendors continue to stand out because they meet teams where they are today, while setting them up for what’s ahead. At NXGN, we see them not as one-off tools, but as early leaders in a more intentional approach to infrastructure and operations.
If you’re evaluating where to invest next, these are strong places to start.