The Network as a Service (NaaS) model for IT infrastructure is rapidly gaining popularity as organisations seek to improve their agility, align usage with budgets, and enhance efficiency.
A survey conducted by IDC for HPE focused on adopting as-a-service models found that most respondents (72%) believe that as-a-service consumption models provide better IT agility than traditional models.
67% agreed that XaaS solutions like Aruba deliver better value, and 64% recognised it as a strategic enabler for transformation efforts.
The benefits of NaaS highlighted in the survey include infrastructure optimisation, access to new technology, reduced management burdens, and improved operational costs.
Moreover, financial flexibility emerged as a critical advantage, with 62% of respondents preferring to fund IT expenditures with operating budgets or having the option to use OPEX, depending on the situation.
When choosing NaaS, financial flexibility was ranked higher than scale-up or scale-down capabilities by a ratio of 4:1. More than 65% of respondents saw eliminating upfront CAPEX and easing budgeting as essential factors in selecting NaaS.
Benefits and operational improvements
The benefits of NaaS can be categorised into three major areas: financial, technical, and operational.
Financially, NaaS offers predictable costs and easier budgeting. The survey found that organisations experienced a 45% increase in average savings for initial solution acquisition costs through adopting NaaS.
Technically, NaaS provides faster access to new technology, which respondents from Europe identified as the top benefit. NaaS models are ideal for network infrastructure deployments and offer access to cloud-based management platforms.
Operationally, NaaS models alleviate management burdens by allowing organisations to choose the level of network management they want to shift to a NaaS provider.
Network as a Service (NaaS) models typically include hardware, software, licenses, and life-cycle services provided through a subscription-based payment model. However, the management of NaaS can vary depending on the specific deployment.
Some companies prefer to outsource the entire NaaS offering, including network management, to a NaaS provider. This allows them to rely on the expertise and resources of the provider. On the other hand, some enterprises may choose to maintain aspects of network management themselves.
According to survey data, approximately 60% of respondents believe that NaaS should include complete network outsourcing to a third-party provider. However, around 40% of respondents believe complete network outsourcing is unnecessary for NaaS implementation. These respondents may prefer to manage certain aspects of NaaS themselves. Interestingly, European respondents were most likely to be interested in complete outsourcing.
