Networking-as-a-Service: A New Way to Consume Network Infrastructure
Consumers gravitate toward flexible, subscription-based services for everything from meal kits to dog food deliveries. The same is true for business owners. Modern SMEs and enterprises seek flexible, scalable, pay-as-you-go services, from HR solutions to technology investments like network infrastructure.
Here’s how things used to go: Traditionally, organisations consumed network infrastructure as a one-time capital expenditure (CAPEX) of hardware, software, licenses, and services, which may or may not have been packaged together. This required significant time to plan and deploy as well as in-house expertise to install and configure everything. It was expensive and it was clunky.
Yet, here’s how things could go: In recent years, savvy SMEs and enterprises are leaning into a new way of consuming network infrastructure with scalable subscription-based models that enable you to consume only what you need, through an affordable, flexible, operating expense (OPEX). It’s a smarter (and more secure) way for your business to consume critical network infrastructure.
Ready to make the shift? In this post, we highlight two exciting models and the benefits they deliver to your business.
What is Network-as-a-Service (NaaS)?
Today, more than three-quarters of enterprise organisations offer hybrid working, which means your network edge is ever-expanding. Business needs are changing in response, and resiliency and agility have become key considerations for any technology investment. Network-as-a-Service, or NaaS, offers a simplified, streamlined way to deliver reliable, scalable connectivity across your entire organisation. The NaaS model enables your team to outsource all networking services—inclusive of hardware, software, management tools, monitoring, and licences—to a trusted vendor for a fixed-cost monthly subscription.
NaaS ushers in a streamlined technology environment; it can replace VPNs, MPLS connections, and other legacy network configurations. It can also replace your on-premise networking hardware such as firewall appliances. With a NaaS vendor like Optec, you’ll also have access to an expert team of network engineers, best-in-breed technology, and unmatched customer service. Ultimately, NaaS allows you to reap all the benefits of modern enterprise networking, without the need to own, build, or even maintain your own infrastructure. And you get it all at a transparent, predictable, and cost-effective price.
What is Network Security-as-a-Service (NSaaS)?
In today’s world, the need for enhanced network security extends far beyond enterprises. Half of today’s cyber attacks target SMEs, making network security a topic that SME leaders can no longer ignore. Network Security-as-a-Service (NSaaS) is a networking-as-a-service solution designed specifically to deliver highly secure office networking for SMEs. With NSaaS, you can leave the heavy lifting to a trusted vendor, who will deliver the essential tools and support you need to keep your business productive and protected.
With NSaaS, you get a scalable, cost-effective, and flexible way to manage your network infrastructure and secure your business, without having to purchase hardware, such as NGFWs, upfront. A NSaaS solution provides you with access to a best-of-breed infrastructure platform, configured to your unique business requirements and supported by a highly skilled team of engineers - all for a transparent monthly price. Essentially, a NSaaS helps to alleviate the burden on your busy internal technology team and free them up to focus on other business-critical projects, while providing your SME with enterprise-level network security without an enterprise-level investment.
How Does Networking-as-a-Service Work?
Networking-as-a-Service solutions like NaaS and NSaaS allow your technology and leadership team to outsource the planning, deployment, and day-to-day operations of your network in a flexible consumption or subscription-based model. This includes critical software upgrades as well as around-the-clock monitoring and troubleshooting. With networking-as-a-service solutions, you gain access to the latest, greatest technology, while easing the burden on your internal technology team. You can also leverage the expertise of a vendor to optimise network performance and provide the best user experience.
Benefits of Networking-as-a-Service
With NaaS and NSaaS solutions from Optec, you reap all the benefits of a secure, modern network infrastructure without the headache or the price tag. Here’s a few key perks:
Flexible financing: Traditional network solutions come with a hefty upfront capital investment. Networking-as-a-service solutions offer a flexible, scalable, pay-as-you go model for consuming network infrastructure as an OPEX subscription. This should be a welcome shift given today’s dynamic business climate in which change happens often and rapidly.
Enhanced security: With NaaS and NSaaS, you’ll experience faster deployment of new features and functions to enhance your network security and ensure it remains in a good state operating at peak performance and protection. You can rely on experts to manage your network, eliminating the need for costly internal resources. You’ll essentially extend the capacity of your existing internal team!
Proactive management: NaaS and NSaaS mitigates the increasing risk your business faces every day with always-on, proactive expert management to correct any issues before they cause an outage. This keeps you safe and optimises your performance and operations.
Scalable infrastructure: As your business grows, you need your network infrastructure to grow alongside it. With NaaS and NSaaS, you can easily scale your network when and as you need to stay ahead of changing business requirements.
When it comes to consuming network infrastructure, remember that there’s the old way of doing things and then there’s the better way of doing things.
Ready for a better way to consume and manage your network infrastructure? Optec can help. Please get in touch with our friendly experts today for a free assessment. We can tell you more about our best-in-class Network-as-a-Service solutions for enterprise organisations and our Network Security-as-a-Service options for SMEs.
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