The definitive guide to

Network-as-a-Service
Introduction
Despite the great advancements in IT infrastructure consumption
models that have been enabled by the cloud, the underlying
network remains the last - and long awaited - piece of the digital
transformation puzzle to fall into place.

As with any ‘X-as-a-Service’, Networks-as-a-Service (NaaS) is

the continuation of a trend towards renting rather than owning
infrastructure and applications, which for businesses also means
a shift from capex to opex and an increase in agility as digital
transformation rolls on.

With NaaS offerings now reaching a stage of maturity, CIOs

finally have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for
digital transformation, and achieve some basic cost and service
improvement goals as well. In this guide, we explore:

• What is driving NaaS adoption

•W hy more CIOs are considering the move
to a NaaS model
• The core benefits of implementing NaaS
• The role of NaaS in cloud connectivity
• How to identify the right NaaS partner

2 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

NaaS: The story so far
Historically, the enterprise network has been limited in purpose and
singular in terms of function.

CIOs and network managers often end up wrangling a patchwork

of networks from different providers, many with overlapping
propositions, along with a stable of ageing hardware, also from
different vendors and with singular functionality.

This all adds up to an ever-growing technology debt and an inflexible,

high-maintenance infrastructure that is becoming increasingly less
tenable as the cloud and the adoption of ‘X-as-a-Service’ diverges the
requirements of the network further from its capabilities.

The accelerating adoption of infrastructure, platforms and software

as-a-Service (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS) extol the three key benefits of a
cloud environment. These are:

Flexibility Scalability Speed

But it’s a transformation that can only be fully realised with the
support of the underlying network.

3 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

How networks are
becoming more agile
Most enterprise functions still require physical hardware - switches and routers - and
an MPLS network to transport data to-and-from endpoints within the data centre or
across the internet.

These functions reside in network Layers 1 to 3 and historically, this meant owning or
renting expensive pieces of hardware that will eventually become obsolete, and being
locked in to multi-year contracts for a bandwidth-specific circuit.

Provisioning of network services routinely required several months, which kept

networking planned and budgeted for as a fixed capital cost needing to be
apportioned over lengthy periods.

Yet through developments in Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network

Functions Virtualization (NFV), the provisioning of networks is now possible on-
demand and in real-time, through specialist Network-as-a-Service platforms such as
Console Connect.

Powered by a leading global

MPLS network

4 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

NaaS adoption gathers pace
Enterprise adoption of NaaS is being spurred by several factors, not least of which is
the ‘technical hangover’ exposed by the global pandemic. Estimated growth of global NaaS market

According to Gartner, the shift to cloud-centric infrastructure is accelerating, with

public cloud spending forecast to eclipse traditional IT spending by 2025. In the next
two years, 51% of IT spending in the application software, infrastructure software,
business process services and system infrastructure markets will have moved to the
public cloud, compared to 41% in 2022. In addition, more than 75% of infrastructure
in edge locations and up to 50% of data centre infrastructure will be consumed as-a-
50
$45.03
billion
Service by 2024, according to IDC.

Other analysts have arrived at the same conclusion - organisations need to be able 40
to respond faster. According to Forrester: “The events of 2020 meant IT plans and
priorities had to change. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of IT leaders began accelerating the
shift of IT spend from capex to opex and to consider flexible consumption models like
as-a-Service for the future.” 30

Forrester identifies that this shift allows firms to invest in the services they need today,
instead of waiting for future funds and stalling advancement. In the next 12 to 18
months, 41% of IT leaders expect to consume their infrastructure IT services via an 20
as-a-Service model.

$8.04
10 billion

2020 2026
Source: Mordor Intelligence

5 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

Core benefits of
adopting a NaaS model
Increased uptime: Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are created with Enhanced security: With NaaS, service providers can offer more granular
network providers to guarantee levels of availability, uptime, and response control to protect and secure sensitive data, applications, and resources.
for addressing network issues. Enterprises can end up with an overlapping
patchwork of SLAs from different providers that apply to different parts of Because the links created by a NaaS such as Console Connect are direct
their WAN. and therefore private, data doesn’t cross the public internet, and the
network can provide a barrier against DDoS attacks.
With the ability to grow the network as your organisation grows, using a
NaaS model, enterprises can consolidate the number of providers and thus Reduced costs: Although cost savings enabled by the cloud are much
the differentiation between SLAs. The private connections established via debated, when it comes to the network infrastructure benefits can be
NaaS is one way to ensure consistently reliable and high-quality delivery realised by offloading maintenance costs of the infrastructure to the
of services and applications. Private links can be configured to prioritise service provider.
certain classes of service, ensuring applications that are more latency-
sensitive have their specific demands met. This comes back to taking the historical capex model of hardware,
software, and skills needed in house, and turning it into an opex model
Continuous maintenance: The NaaS model offloads ownership of the similar to a ‘subscription’ to the network with none of the caveats of
network infrastructure to the provider, along with maintenance and ownership.
monitoring of all the hardware and software. This removes the burden of
technical debt from the organisation as well as the need to have specialist
skills in-house.

Furthermore, the benefits of Software Defined Interconnection and

• Drives innovation across an organisation
virtualisation technology make it easier for the provider to offer a
• Frees the enterprise IT staff from monitoring tasks with no real
continuous monitoring service that makes threats easily preventable, and
ensures notifications so major issues can be identified and resolved. ability to fix issues
• Consolidates SLAs
• Reduces the need for specialist skills in-house. Let’s take a
deeper look at some of the core benefits of embracing NaaS….

6 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

NaaS use case:
Cloud connectivity
Cloud applications can be, and historically have been, reached via
the public internet. But while it’s clear that the public internet is a
convenient and affordable way to deliver access to a large number of
people quickly, it does not meet increasingly stringent requirements
around security and performance.

To meet these requirements organisations are increasingly turning

to private connectivity options such as MPLS, VPLS and dedicated
Ethernet links, especially when it comes to the more mission-critical
cloud apps. The downside of these connectivity types, at least
historically, is that they have slow and unwieldy deployment and
management processes that fail to keep pace with modern business.

Using a NaaS platform, enterprises can now experience all the

benefits of dedicated, private connections, coupled with the
flexibility of a flexible, scalable, cloud model for management
and deployment.

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Three ways NaaS can
enhance your cloud access
1 Cloud interworking
There is a very real use case for moving workloads between clouds - both
public and private - and doing this over a faster, more secure and resilient
private network is much more efficient than the unreliable alternative.
Furthermore, the ‘cloud marketplace’ model championed by the likes of Console
Connect gives your organisation one place to connect to many different clouds
and services, making your network assets less complex.

2 Cost efficiency
Although the ‘cloud is cheaper’ rhetoric has been largely debunked from a
purely financial perspective, when it comes to cloud connectivity, dedicated
links can actually optimise infrastructure ROI.

While moving data into the cloud is free, moving data out results in egress fees
which can be unpredictable. So a dedicated connection could be less volatile in
terms of pricing.

Simplified management tools also mean you can focus on transporting mission
critical traffic across your premium links, and offload non-critical traffic to the
public internet.

3 Automation
In a digitally transformed environment over 50% of all B2B collaboration occurs
via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). NaaS essentially unlocks new
ways to generate value from traditional Layer 2 and 3 network capability by
moving it up to Layer 7, giving businesses the agility to orchestrate connections
in an instant. Something that would have been a 30 to 60 day cycle previously.

8 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

Identifying the right
NaaS partner
Ultimately, NaaS offers companies greater flexibility and performance
gains in their network infrastructure. With on-demand purchasing
and scaling, companies can pay only for the networking services they
need, achieving greater flexibility in provisioning without having to
re-architect networks or rework unwieldy contracts from the ground
up. The right NaaS partner can make the digital transformation
journey as smooth as possible, minimising expenses related to
the implementation of new processes and equipment. Simplified
control over how the network is used also means you can focus on
transporting mission critical traffic across your premium links, and
offload non-critical traffic to the public internet.

Things to consider when selecting

From the offset, NaaS should help CIOs migrate and transform their
infrastructure and going forward provide them with many more
a NaaS partner:
different network options that are better suited to the demands of
modern business. •H ow extensive is the underlying network reach?
•H ow does the cost of the NaaS solution compare to a
traditional network?
•W hich of your existing cloud and SaaS partners are
integrated with the NaaS platform?
• How stringent are the networking SLAs?
• Does the partner provide access to the right APIs?

9 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service

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10 Console Connect eBook | The definitive guide to Network-as-a-Service