Network as a Service (NaaS): Unlocking the Benefits of Cloud Computing
Introduction
Cloud computing has emerged as the most reliable and cost-effective way to deploy IT infrastructure, applications, and services. It has helped organizations save money and time while reducing their carbon footprint. The cloud offers a new way of thinking about business, where resources can be accessed on demand, when needed and how they’re needed. Taking Cloud Computing Courses can equip professionals with the skills and knowledge required to harness the full potential of this transformative technology.
But, many businesses are still not leveraging the full potential of cloud computing. This is because they have not fully understood the benefits of NaaS (Network as a Service) when compared to traditional data center architectures.
What is Network as a service?
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is a cloud computing service that provides users with a network infrastructure, including routers, switches, and firewalls. It’s also referred to as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV).
NaaS is a new way of thinking about networks, which allows one to consume their network without worrying about infrastructure, bandwidth, management, or security. NaaS enables businesses to connect their remote offices, users, branches, and customers with a secure SLA-based network.
No longer do you have to spend money on hiring scarce network employees, training them, and then losing them to your competitor.
NaaS (network-as-a-service) gives you the flexibility to scale up or down your network at any time without having to buy new hardware or hire additional staff. With Smart Session routing and SD-WAN we also reduce communications costs while improving data delivery.
Blue Chip, a provider of managed IT services in LA takes full responsibility for managing your network from end to end and applying state-of-the-art AI-based techniques to provide an extraordinary user experience.
What is the difference between NaaS, IaaS, and SaaS?
Network as a service (NaaS) is different from software as a service (SaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) because it is more specific and applies only to computer networking hardware, software, and services delivered in a “cloud-like” manner. Unlike SaaS and IaaS, NaaS refers only to network management while the day-to-day operations and management of an IT environment remain in the hands of the customer. Sometimes the term is extended to include overall network management by a 3rd party such as the networking service provider company.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is defined as the use of any IT hardware and software infrastructure components like compute power or storage through a cloud-based model in a flexible consumption or subscription-based model. Like Software as a Service (SaaS), it’s an all-inclusive category that can span the entire IT infrastructure portfolio from compute to storage to networks. IaaS lets you bypass the cost and complexity of buying and managing physical servers and data center infrastructure. Each resource offered as a separate service component; and you only pay for a particular resource for as long as you need it.
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software model that refers to any application delivered through the cloud as a subscription-based offering. SaaS spans across a variety of online applications utilised through the internet every day. Software as a service (SaaS) is sometimes called web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software. Regardless of the name, SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s servers; the provider manages access to the application, including security, availability, and performance.
Blue Chip and our Network as a service platform can also troubleshoot specific delivery of applications or services and isolate why delivery may be impacted. Through network analytics, we can easily identify hardware or application delivery problems.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a broad term that encompasses many different types of services, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). These services are delivered via the internet and accessed by customers using web browsers.
There are two major types of cloud computing: public and private.
Public clouds provide shared resources to many organisations, while private clouds only provide resources to the organisation that owns them.
Private clouds can further broken down into community or hybrid models – community models allow multiple organisations to collaborate on the same infrastructure while hybrid models allow you to use resources from your own data center with access to purchased capacity in another provider’s environment. This complexity can more easily managed with AI-based management from Blue Chip.
What is NaaS in Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a crucial component of the modern business landscape. It can help you save money, improve productivity, and make your company more agile. However, many of the benefits of cloud computing can only be realised when the right network infrastructure is in place.
Network as a Service (NaaS) is a cloud service model in which customers rent networking services from a cloud vendor instead of setting up their own network infrastructure.
NaaS allows businesses to enjoy the advantages of cloud computing without the hassle of dealing with complex infrastructure issues.
The Challenges of NaaS
While the benefits of NaaS are many, the technology is not without its challenges. In particular, you’ll need to be aware of the following:
Perceived Lack of control –
A perceived downside to using a managed service is that it means relinquishing control over your network infrastructure and operations. If your NaaS provider detects a problem or needs to make an update; they may need every effort to resolve the issue in a non-invasive manner. If more required an escalation management procedure will instituted so that you can plan for a repair event. Unlike a manually managed network, diagnostic tools can present you with the information needed to make an educated decision. A good NaaS provider will provide much more analytical data and performance monitoring than you have historically had to make the proper decisions.
Vendor lock-in
is the risk of being locked into one vendor’s product or service or having to depend on one vendor to maintain your software. This can happen when you use a cloud service; which means that you are using a third-party’s servers and services to run your software. If you don’t have access to the source code for any part of your application, or if you can’t choose another provider; then it’s possible that you’ll be stuck with this vendor if they go out of business or change their pricing structure.
When it comes to networking this is less likely to be a problem if the NaaS vendor uses Open Source Standards based networking. Also, Make sure that your vendor supports multiple management platforms, automation tools, and development methods. Some vendors offer open-source options for their hosted applications, so you can switch providers at any time without losing access to the source code for any part of your application. Of course, others maintain their own proprietary tools to lock you in.
Migrations Issue –
Migrating from an existing on-premises environment to a cloud infrastructure can be a difficult and expensive process; requiring careful planning and execution. Make sure your NaaS vendor has the tools to integrate the old with the new so that you can progress in an orderly fashion.
Network as a Service (NaaS) Benefits
Improve operational efficiencies –
The network infrastructure and services, such as security and data management, can be managed from a central location. Also, This reduces the time spent on managing each individual part of the network; which frees up IT staff to focus on other tasks.
Scalable centralised management –
NaaS gives you the scalability you need, with centralised management. You can manage your whole network from one central location; which means you don’t have to worry about any one device failing or going down. You can also quickly deploy new devices, and then scale them up or down as needed. Multiple paths provided by SD-WAN can also help reduce downtime.
Increase innovation –
An organization’s ability to innovate is directly correlated to its ability to adapt, and NaaS allows organizations to do both.
Through NaaS, businesses are able to provide their employees with the tools they need in order to be more productive and creative. This can achieved by allowing employees access to new products or services that they might not have had access to before; or it could mean granting them access to new technologies that will allow them to work remotely.
Enhanced user experience –
NaaS brings together the benefits of a multi-tenant, cloud-based infrastructure with the control and security of a private network. The result a high-performing network that provides the agility and scalability needed to support applications, users, and services as they grow.
Enhanced security –
The Enhanced Security benefit of NaaS is that your data is encrypted, and only you have access to it. This means that if someone were to steal the data from the provider; they wouldn’t be able to access it—and even if they could get it, they wouldn’t be able to use it. Today with smart routing you can save bandwidth by not re-encrypting data that is already secure. This can save you up to 30% on data transmission costs.
Proactive management –
Network as a Service (NaaS) is managed by the vendor, so you can focus on your business. You don’t have to worry about technology or keep up with the latest developments in IT. NaaS lets you focus on what’s important: growing your business.
Time-saving –
NaaS can save you time by eliminating your need to configure, maintain, and manage physical hardware on your own. In addition, it allows you to pay for only what you use and not have to worry about paying for any unused capacity.
Financing flexibility –
NaaS offers you the ability to pay for only what you need. You can start with a small test environment and add more capacity as you go; or you can start off with a full-scale production environment and scale down later on.
Blue Chip would be glad to work with you on a Proof of Concept to ensure that you will get the Network you require.
Why consider NaaS for your business?
Today, businesses are more connected than ever before. As companies continue to grow and expand, it is important to have reliable and secure enterprise-grade networks that are fast and cost-effective.
Enterprise AI-driven networking provided by network specialists like Blue Chip, is the next evolution of enterprise networks. By adopting this new approach to networking, enterprises can improve productivity, simplify operations and reduce costs.
Essential Elements of Business-Critical Networks:
- Optimised For Assured Experiences
- Proactive AI-driven operations and support
- Open Source Standards and programmable cloud
Here are some specific questions to ask if NaaS is a right fit for your business:
If you’re considering NaaS, here are some specific questions to ask:
- How will transitioning to a network-as-a-service (NaaS) model help solve internal IT resource challenges and free up IT teams to focus on innovation?
- Will NaaS help the team respond to increasingly complex business and security demands that might outstrip the internal team’s ability to provide adequate service?
- Can NaaS best practices, as well as the expertise of the NaaS vendor, optimise the end-user experience?
- Do your company’s network team members have the bandwidth to keep up with your company’s constantly evolving and expanding initiatives?
Conclusion
Network as a service is an ideal way to get started with cloud computing. It offers many benefits and has become a popular option for businesses that need to maximise their IT resources. This service can help your organisation save costs, increase productivity and efficiency, reduce risks and threats, and improve customer experience.
NaaS also lets you focus on your core business, without having to worry about the complexities of managing and maintaining a network. However, as with any other technology or service, NaaS has its own set of pros and cons; that must considered before deciding whether it’s right for your company.
