Hey everyone,
Just wanted to give a quick update on some recent changes with Data Lens. With the release of Data Lens On-Prem 2.1 this week, and a streamlined 2-tier SaaS licensing model, we are aligning the two deployment models.
So, whether you are running self-managed on-prem (often for dark sites or strict data sovereignty) or using the cloud-delivered SaaS, the choice of tiers, functionality, and licensing is nearly identical.
Update to SaaS Licensing
Starting in July 2026, both Data Lens On-Prem and SaaS are structured into two straightforward tiers:
- Starter Tier (On-Prem and SaaS): This is built for infrastructure and storage admins who just need core visibility and basic protection. It covers:
- Standard file metadata reports (Data Age, duplicate files, consumption, and capacity forecasting).
- Basic ransomware signatures and file blocking.
- 1 month of audit data retention (which can be bumped to 13 months with a retention add-on).
- Pro Tier (On-Prem and SaaS): This is for security and compliance teams who need active threat containment. On top of the Starter features, Pro adds:
- Advanced, behavior-based ransomware and anomaly detection.
- Permission mapping and access risk reporting (SMB/CIFS).
- 1 year of default audit trail retention (extendable to 2 years on-prem, or 3 years via SaaS with add-on SKUs).
What's New in Data Lens On-Prem 2.1?
To bring the on-prem version up to speed with the majority of SaaS features, the On-Prem 2.1 release adds several major capabilities:
- Nutanix Objects Support: On-Prem now fully supports Nutanix Objects (Objects 5.4+). You can now ingest audit events and manage ransomware protection directly within your local datacenter.
- User Behavior Analytics (UBA): The Pro tier on-prem now tracks activity deviations against historical baselines. This lets you catch anomalies or insider threats based on abnormal spikes in user activity rather than just static thresholds.
- Granular RBAC: We are moving away from the old binary Admin/Viewer model. You can now build custom roles using 28 granular operations (like a security admin or reports-only viewer) and scope access to specific file servers.
- Share-Level Subscriptions: Instead of monitoring an entire file server, Pro customers can now selectively subscribe to individual high-value shares (up to 200 total), so you can tune what you monitor, based on your requirements.
- Scheduled Dashboards: You can now export and schedule dashboard summary reports as PDFs or PNGs, bringing the reporting experience in line with SaaS.
Check out the Nutanix Software Options page for a feature comparison. Reminder, you can spin up a free 60-day trial of On-Prem 2.1 from the Prism Central Marketplace, or onboard SaaS via My Nutanix.
Heads up for legacy File Analytics users: FA is heading to End of Life. If you are using it today, talk to your account team about migration options to move over to Data Lens