Andrew Lerner, VP analyst for Gartner noted the ton of hype lately over “NaaS” (Network as a Service). Enterprises generally like the notion of a flexible, consumption-based networking model regardless of user or application location (very cloud-like). 

He cautioned that not everything labelled NaaS is the real thing. “We’ve seen things marketed as NaaS that range from (basically) hardware leasing all the way to a true aaS offering,” he added.

To discuss in greater detail how it applies to businesses in Asia is Jon Green, Chief Security Officer for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

1.       What is Network-as-a-service (NaaS)? What is it not?

a.       What are the characteristics of a NaaS – viewed from a (i) CIO and a (ii) business user’s perspective?

2.       How does NaaS work? What infrastructure must exist on the customer side for NaaS to become feasible?

3.       What are the top three (a) business drivers and (b) IT driver for the adoption/use of NaaS?

4.       Why would a CIO consider adopting NaaS over the conventional in-house approach?

a.       How should a CISO get involved in the evaluation/implementation of a NaaS?

5.       What IT strategy is an alternative to NaaS? 

a.       When should this alternative be considered over NaaS and vice-versa? 

6.       Given that NaaS is a relatively new approach, would it make sense to (a) do a pilot first; (b) try a limited or small-scale NaaS implementation, or (c) go all in at the get-go?

7.       What should be the metrics/outcomes that will weigh heavily on whether a NaaS strategy is a success or not for a company?

8.       What questions to ask internally (to the CIO)?

9.       Is it possible to discover somewhere along the line that NaaS is not for us?