Nutanix's JEDI play faces delay

Nutanix is facing delays to the launch of its public cloud offering that might jeopardize its chances of forming a team to chase the Defense Department's $10 billion JEDI contract.

Nutanix is still planning to launch a public cloud offering to rival Amazon Web Services but engineering challenges have delayed the company’s plans, according to Bloomberg.

Better known for its hyberconverged systems, the company wants to leverage its solutions into a cloud offering that targets small and mid-size data centers that share space with other companies. Nutanix says it will target existing customers as it rolls out the offering.

Executives also told Bloomberg that the cloud offering -- if it gets launched in time -- could position it as part of a team to pursue the Defense Department’s $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract many industry executives and observers believe Amazon is the clear frontrunner for.