NaaS: A New Way to Think About Networks

At first blush, there is everything to like about NaaS (network as a service).

NaaS is a technology oasis for small to mid-sized companies that lack the resources and personnel to run an enterprise-class network. Instead, SMBs can subscribe to an outsourced service that comes with resident network expertise and can configure the network to do whatever the company needs it to do. When companies subscribe to a NaaS service, the NaaS network can be upscaled or downscaled as needed. You pay only for what you need, and you don’t have to worry about large capital expenditures making their way through three-to-five-year depreciation cycles.

But there are caveats, too, when it comes to taking best advantage of what NaaS offers. Many of these caveats apply principally to large organizations that have their own in-house network staffs, but some caveats are universal for all companies.

Some Points to Consider about NaaS

Here is some food for thought:

Do you lose control of the network?

If you outsource your network, it can be great for a small company that doesn't have its own internal network staff but not so optimal for larger companies that have their own internal network expertise. Outsourcing means that you have less "say" over the network beyond what vendor SLAs dictate, and many network managers don't like this. There is also the risk of losing highly qualified personnel because they don't see professional advancement paths or ways to use or increase their skills when there isn't an internal network to manage.

Related:What Is Network-as-a-Service? A Complete Guide to NaaS

Are there more security risks?

Cloud services get breached, and NaaS is a cloud service. NaaS providers work hard to secure their networks, and they work diligently to implement the appropriate security for a host of different industry verticals, such as finance, healthcare, or aerospace. Despite this, there is still a chance that the security standards used in NaaS can't meet all of your company's security and governance needs. One possible situation is an organization that has high-risk intellectual property that must be kept under strict "lock and key" rules on the network.

Does it cost to change?

It may not be a “slam dunk” to migrate all of your IT assets from internal networks to a NaaS—or to move from one NaaS to another if you want to change vendors. Network personnel will be called upon to effect these transitions. This requires time and money.

Does NaaS make application development harder?

A recent IT trend has been for network personnel to participate in early system and application design sessions with the application development staff. This move is being made because IT leadership now recognizes that the network (i.e., throughput, bandwidth, etc.) is an integral part of how an application is going to perform. However, if a company outsources its network, it gets more complicated to conduct joint application design sessions that include networks.

Related:NaaS 2024: A Look at the Future of Network Services

How will your staff respond to new vendor management responsibilities?

Network personnel will be called upon to closely manage NaaS performance on a daily basis and to get in touch with NaaS vendors when there are deployment, fine-tuning, or technical issues. Vendor management and coordination are not strong areas of network expertise—but staff will have to do it.

Planning for NaaS

Between now and 2031, the NaaS market is projected to grow at a rate of over 31% CAGR. Clearly, companies see the value of NaaS with its ability to scale both cost and infrastructure. This makes it important now for network managers to strategize in areas of control, cost, security, staff retention, and other areas that they will have to navigate as they move forward with NaaS.

It is likely that NaaS will follow a path similar to that of other cloud technologies. In other words, over time, more companies will migrate to NaaS, and a greater portion of enterprise networking will be on NaaS.

This puts companies directly into the space where they are now with other cloud-based applications: in an environment that is likely to be characterized by a hybrid network architecture that is part NaaS and part internal. Internal networks will maintain control over transaction-intensive and mission-critical applications, and to start, NaaS will host more general applications and functions.

NaaS will also present a unique opportunity for companies to effect bi-directional failovers should the internal network or a NaaS fail.

“Enterprises are under constant pressure to adapt to changing market dynamics, customer demands, and technology advancements,” said MEF CTO Pascal Menezes. “At the core of this transformation is the need for agile, scalable, and cost-effective networking solutions that can keep pace with the ever-evolving digital ecosystem.

Feeling the pressure, companies couldn’t agree more—and NaaS opens a new frontier.