Gartner defines Network as a Service (NaaS) as a delivery model for networking products, with capabilities that include self-service, on-demand usage, ability to scale up and down, and billed on the opex model.
Companies participating in an Aruba study defined NaaS as when a company has over 50% of its network rollout, and operations and life cycle management delivered by a third party on a subscription basis. The study claims that NaaS is a concept that 90% of Singaporean companies are currently discussing in some capacity and a frequent top of discussion by 28% of the companies surveyed.
Business benefits
When asked about the reasons behind this interest, financial efficiency emerged as one of the main anticipated benefits, with more than 82% of respondents expecting NaaS to help reduce operational costs, and 44% think it could enable a shift from CapEx to OpEx. Greater flexibility – both in terms of the network and team time – and enhanced security were other primary drivers.
82% of companies surveyed agree that having the flexibility to scale their network based on business needs is key to their interest, and 90% see it as a potential game-changer in how they can manage activities.
79% of companies claimed that moving to the NaaS model will afford significant cost savings. Meanwhile, 54% are looking at NaaS to help them reduce IT staff levels – instead of believing it will free up team time for innovation and strategic initiatives (79%).
Barriers to success
The appetite for NaaS is evident. Unfortunately, the road towards implementation looks less clear, with the survey identifying several key barriers.
On the surface, it appears that internal processes may be the issue. Among the top concerns identified by technology leaders were finding the budget (78%), the time it will take to migrate (59%) and understanding the benefits (57%).
However, a deeper dive into the data reveals a much more fundamental barrier: a lack of overall understanding of NaaS. While 100% of technology leaders said they are familiar with NaaS as a term, more than one in three (36%) are unaware of what it truly means.
Although most companies discussing NaaS fully understand what NaaS means (64%) an education gap is still evident in the perception of NaaS’ viability. Only 39% of technology leaders currently see NaaS as an established and viable solution, the remainder either consider it to be a concept looking for a market (31%) or in its early beginnings (30%).
“As we emerge from the pandemic, the need for agility and flexibility in network ownership and operation is greater than ever,” said Justin Chiah, senior director, South East Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong (SEATH) at Aruba.
He added that NaaS can ensure the critical flexibility needed by businesses as they look to recovery and beyond, as well as solve a range of issues from security and scalability, to affording significant cost savings.
"While most businesses are aware of the benefits of NaaS, there is an education gap in the perception of NaaS’s viability. As such, we need to focus on bridging this gap to enable businesses to unlock the full potential of NaaS,” he concluded.
