What is NaaS (Network as a Service)?

Madrid, 30 March 2023.- If there is one concept that has generated a lot of hype in the industry lately, it is undoubtedly “NaaS” (Network as a Service). It is seen as a massive game changer because it enables users to easily operate their network, a virtualized one, in a smart way and achieve the outcomes they expect from it without owning, building, or maintaining their infrastructure.

Enterprises are demanding simple, rapid, and consistent provisioning of network services. This is driving them to adopt new multi-cloud NaaS platforms that meet these changing requirements and enable companies to reduce service complexity by consolidating their connectivity suppliers.

According to Analysys Mason, 5 are the main characteristics and features that define NaaS:

• Connectivity from anywhere to any application in any cloud.
• Self-service portal.
• L3-7 services marketplace (SD-WAN, security, remote access, cloud, and unified communications services).
• Flexible commercial/pricing models.
• Exposure of platform capabilities through open APIs.

The potential of NaaS can transform the telecommunications world and change the Internet paradigm, leading to the creation of a future where applications and networks interact in a limitless and frictionless way.

“We have conducted a proof of concept (PoC) with an user who, from his home in Europe, and with a residential internet connection, wanted to perform in HD in real time in an Asian country. Thanks to our Dynamic Network solution, we were able to reduce latency by 30% compared to the internet, improving the quality of its performance.”

Diego QUIRNO
HEAD OF STRATEGY & TRANSFORMATION

Dynamic Network: Our immediate transformation into NaaS

Our present and future experiences rely on connectivity more than ever before. The network has become the key asset for the services of the future. As cloud and communications converge, enterprises´ networking requirements are changing significantly and cannot be fully met by traditional, fragmented connectivity services and technologies. Especially since the pandemic, the vast majority of enterprises are accelerating the move to the cloud. Many of them are opting for multi-cloud strategies. As much as 85% of businesses are using two or more cloud platforms, and 25% are using at least five. This situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. Connectivity is being transformed from a communication between headquarters and the datacenter, to a communication mainly through cloud applications.

Over the past decade, enterprises have gained familiarity with “as a service” consumption models. Now those models are being applied to networking. Since companies have been comfortable with this cloud consumption concept, there is an important demand to deliver solutions with this same structure applied to on-premises. For this reason, customers have begun to adopt Internet-based or hybrid solutions (+89%), the use of SD-WAN or Cloud Connect solutions (+20%) to access the cloud through private ports to improve application performance.

According to Gartner, by the end of 2024, on-premises NaaS will be adopted by 15% of all enterprises, up from less than 1% in 2021. Our value proposal for our customers’ connectivity is based on the idea of managing your network as easy as your cloud. To make this possible, we are transforming our network value proposition, focusing on these pillars:

• Strengthen our connectivity portfolio with differential quality and capillarity.
• Manage traffic to multiple Clouds implementing SDCI solutions.
• Simplify multivendor environments & E2E management, developing integration capabilities.
• Enabling and easy consumption of our service through platforms and APIs.

In short, we seek to deliver to our customers the best of each world: the economic competitiveness of the internet access, with the guarantees of our international network while transforming the consumption and administration of the network.

What benefits will it bring to our customers?

Our expertise in the management of local accesses, the capillarity of our international network and our integration capabilities allow us to be the technological partner of choice of our customers in the transformation of their networks. The main benefit of this solution for large customers will be the reduction of costs of deployment and administration of network infrastructure, as well as greater flexibility, scalability, and reliability.

• Reduced network maintenance and operation costs.
• Achieve greater scalability and flexibility to adapt resources to changing needs.
• Benefit from the inherent security of a traditional communication network, reducing risks, vulnerabilities, and incidents.
• Management console and complete catalogue of APIs.
• Enjoy predictability of network latency and reliability: For example, we have conducted a proof of concept with an user who, from his home in Europe, and with a residential internet connection, wanted to perform in HD in real time in an Asian country. Thanks to our Dynamic Network solution, we were able to reduce latency by 30% compared to the internet, improving the quality of its performance.

In addition, we would deliver a cloud-based UX thanks to our management console integrated in the Customer Control Center. By doing this, we ensure that customers can manage their cloud as easily as possible.

By Diego Quirno and Marcos Picazo