Our readers likely know about NaaS: cloud-based network architecture that allows a WAN manager to stitch together different enterprise network components in a self-service, automated way.
At TeleGeography Explains the Internet, we've been watching the ways in which NaaS has emerged as specific products/solutions from vendors, as well as how it integrates with existing WAN strategies from the enterprise side.
Of course, there's a lot to cut through in terms of how vendors present their services to the market—and what enterprises can actually adopt right now to solve specific problems.
It only seemed fitting that we welcome back Jason Gintert, CTO and Co-Founder of WAN Dynamics, to the pod to break it all down.
Come for the network-as-a-service talk, stay for Greg's proposed new pronunciation of "NaaS" and the pair's take on if the private WAN is disappearing (gasp).
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Key Takeaways
NaaS is cloud-based, composable network architecture that enables organizations to stitch together different network components in a self-service manner.
It serves as a central connectivity hub for integrating elements like multicloud environments, SD-WAN, remote user connectivity, and data center/on-prem networks.
A key capability often included is the ability to integrate security for inspecting and filtering traffic between these disparate pieces, enhancing visibility and secure segmentation. NaaS is seen as a mature application of software-defined networking (SDN) principles for enterprise services.
The emergence of NaaS is driven by increased cloud adoption and the demand for automated, self-service network management.
It's viewed as a modern repackaging of existing technologies, similar to how SD-WAN combined elements like IPSec in a new way. The rapid shift toward public cloud usage, particularly accelerated by factors like COVID-19 and work from home, forced the network to evolve, creating real-world problems that NaaS architectures are now solving. T
he self-service way organizations have managed compute and storage in the public cloud for years is a model NaaS aims to bring to networking.
NaaS offers enterprises flexibility; it's expected to fundamentally change how network connectivity is managed and procured.
It provides more geographic flexibility for integrating solutions like SD-WAN and SASE, allowing organizations to compose their own network environment by choosing providers for SD-WAN, security, and remote access, and stitching them together with cloud and data center connectivity.
Looking ahead, the software-defined nature suggests a future where customers procure network services on demand via portals, selecting services based on criteria like SLA and performance, leading to faster deployments and greater visibility compared to traditional, often manual, provisioning processes.
While traditional private WANs may persist for specific use cases, the trend points toward dynamic private overlays built over underlying internet connectivity. Carriers face the challenge of modernizing their infrastructure and potentially adopting consumption-based billing models to adapt to this new paradigm.
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.
