Our data shows that most enterprises have more than one IaaS provider. For SaaS, that number can be dozens, hundreds, or even more. Most have moved the majority of their data centers off corporate premises to some kind of shared facility.
This means most companies are dealing with multi-cloud connectivity in some form; WAN managers, of course, have to handle that from a performance and cost perspective.
Today, we hear from a data center insider, diving into network-as-a-service models, multi-cloud connectivity, data center interconnectivity, and the intersection of these topics.
We're joined by Christian Koch, Senior Director of Interconnection at DataBank. You might know him as the co-founder of NYNOG, or perhaps you subscribe to his popular weekly internet infrastructure newsletter.
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Key Takeaways
Network as a Service (NaaS) is an Evolving Term With Multiple Interpretations
However, a core aspect is aligning network service delivery and economics with cloud computing models.
NaaS can refer to virtualizing network services, such as virtual cross connects within or between data centers, or connecting a data center to an on-premise location. It is also used in the context of SD-WAN and SASE products, and even for 5G network slicing.
A key differentiator of the "as a service" component is the economics and operating model: offering pay-for-what-you-use, consumption-based pricing, and on-demand delivery often via button clicks or API calls. While NaaS is commonly envisioned for data center to data center or data center to cloud service provider (CSP) connectivity, it's suggested to extend all the way to corporate premises, leveraging automated provisioning processes and software additions like SD-WAN overlays.
Data Centers Are Becoming Crucial Hubs in the Multicloud Landscape
Data centers have evolved from primarily being a real estate proposition to becoming technology companies that offer services demanded by their customers, often functioning like "mini telcos." This evolution includes augmenting or replacing physical cross connects with virtual ones.
This shift reflects the increasing need for enterprises to connect to multiple cloud infrastructure providers, numerous SaaS providers, and their own off-premises data centers. WAN managers must now think beyond connecting traditional offices and headquarters, focusing instead on connecting users and applications to distributed cloud resources and prioritizing desired application outcomes regardless of the underlying network technology (MPLS, DIA, private transport).
Despite Simplification Efforts Through Software and "as a Service'" Models, the Overall Networking Landscape is Getting More Complicated
While concepts like NaaS, SD-WAN, and edge networking aim to simplify certain aspects, the multitude of applications, diverse locations, and various connectivity options (dedicated connections, NaaS platforms, direct cloud connections like ExpressRoute or Direct Connect) make the overall process of designing and managing a WAN more complicated than the traditional MPLS world.
Evaluating these options requires enterprises to take inventory of their applications, understand where they reside, who offers connectivity on-ramps, and consider performance requirements, costs, and existing infrastructure like edge gateways.
The discussion also touches on the increasing need for managing connectivity between different clouds, which adds another layer of complexity to the multicloud entanglement. The traditional delineation between LAN and WAN is expected to blur as networks become a large, policy-managed entity, shifting the focus from network performance SLAs to application performance.
Greg Bryan
Greg is Senior Manager, Enterprise Research at TeleGeography. He's spent the last decade and a half at TeleGeography developing many of our pricing products and reports about enterprise networks. He is a frequent speaker at conferences about corporate wide area networks and enterprise telecom services. He also hosts our podcast, TeleGeography Explains the Internet.
