Network as a Service: Understanding the Cloud Consumption Model in Networking

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Network as a Service:
Understanding the Cloud
Consumption Model in
Networking
Sponsored by
Shamus McGillicuddy
Vice President of Research
Network Infrastructure and Operations
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA)

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Watch the On-Demand Webinar
• Network as a Service: Understanding the Cloud Consumption Model
in Networking On-Demand Webinar:
https://info.enterprisemanagement.com/network-as-a-service-resear
ch-webinar-ss
• Check out upcoming webinars from EMA here:
https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/freeResearch
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates,
Inc.

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Featured Speaker
Shamus is a Vice President of Research at EMA,
where he leads the network infrastructure and
operations practice. He has nearly two decades of
experience in the IT industry. His research focuses on
all aspects of managing enterprise networks,
including network automation, AIOps-driven network
operations, multi-cloud networking, and WAN
transformation.
© 2024 Enterprise Management Associates,
Inc.
Shamus McGillicuddy
Vice President of Research
Network Infrastructure and Operations
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA)

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Sponsors
© 2024 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc.

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Research Goals and
Methodology
(What on Earth is NaaS?)

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Research Goals
Understand the buyer’s perspective on:
What NaaS is
What buyers expect from it
Benefits of adoption
Barriers to value

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Job titles
27% IT or security executive
27% IT or security middle management
29% IT or security technical personnel
17% Finance executives/managers
Departments/Functional groups
47% Information technology
28% Cybersecurity/Information security
11% Accounting/Finance
7% Purchasing
7% Executive/General management
Top industries
26% Finance/Banking/Insurance
26% Manufacturing
16% Construction
10% Retail/Wholesale/Distribution
4% Transportation/Logistics
4% Health care
Region
61% North America
39% Europe
Company size (employees)
27% Small enterprise – 250 to 2,499
50% Midsized enterprise – 2,500 to 9,999
23% Large enterprise – 10,000 or more
Research Methodology: Wisdom of the Masses
Survey of 250 Enterprise Stakeholders

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Which Aspects of Networking do Stakeholders Associate with NaaS?

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What Stakeholders Expect from a NaaS Solution

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NaaS Definitions: Paradigms Versus Connectivity Types
Demand-driven definition:
A networking solution delivered via a cloud consumption model, with
integrated security services, comprehensive observability, and robust
integration into existing digital infrastructure.
NaaS providers need to specify in messaging the kinds of
networks they offer
Current perception:
• WAN/Cloud interconnectivity
• WAN services
• SD-WAN/SASE
Emerging options:
• Data center networking
• Campus/Branch LAN

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How Should You
Consume NaaS?

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Look for These Capabilities from NaaS Providers
Enterprises want to bundle NaaS with these managed services:
63% Network security
57% Security monitoring
53% VPN/ZTNA
43% IAM
Customization priorities:
44% Scalability options
33% Security policies
32% Billing/Licensing
31% Network topology
28% SLAs

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How do Enterprises Want to Pay for NaaS?

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Integrating NaaS into Network Operations
Only 11% want to outsource
NetOps to NaaS providers
64% seek a hybrid (shared)
operating model
Most enterprises achieve
observability with a combination
of existing tools and NaaS
providers’ tools/reports
NaaS customer perspective:
“I want access to their observability right now.
Otherwise, I don’t know what’s going on. I open a ticket
and I wait. I have a dean asking why wireless is down,
and I don’t have any update or anything to look at.”
Network engineering manager
Large university

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Benefits and
Roadblocks

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Top Inhibitors of NaaS Adoption
Higher TCO
over time
Lack of
visibility into
service
quality
Security
concerns
Regulatory
compliance
issues
Fear of losing
control over
change
management
“The switch from CapEx to OpEx piles up over time.
Predictable costs are nice, but over time, it’s higher.”
Network engineering manager
Large university
“We’re in the defense industry, so there’s a lack of trust by default.
We’re not going to trust you with any sort of data off-premises.”
Network engineer
Fortune 500 aerospace and defense company
38% 35% 26%
35% 26%
1 2 3 4 5

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Anticipated Benefits of NaaS Adoption

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NaaS as Network Engineering Force Multiplier
Only 32% of companies have enough
networking talent to support any task
or project
Key skills gaps:
44% Network security
38% Monitoring/troubleshooting
36% Cloud networking
35% Network automation
How companies will apply time freed up by NaaS adoption
47% Enable end-user experience optimization
46% Enable AI projects
44% Enable cloud transformation
43% Enable IT/network automation projects
Only 28% see opportunity to reduce network team head count

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Final Thoughts
NaaS offerings are as diverse as networking in general
Most respondents reported some interest in adopting all varieties of NaaS
Security risk is a concern
Bundled security services are also a major requirement
NaaS provides rapid access to cutting-edge tech, closes skills gaps,
and improves overall network performance

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© 2024 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 22
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The Network as a Service (NaaS) Report is Now Available!
Learn more and download:
https://bit.ly/ema-naas-report

Network as a Service: Understanding the Cloud Consumption Model in Networking

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