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Guest Spotlight: Roy Chua, Founder and Principal, AvidThink
In this episode of Executives at the Edge, Pascal welcomed Roy Chua, the founder and principal of AvidThink. With a background in technology analysis and a deep understanding of infrastructure technologies, Roy shared valuable insights into the world of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS).
In the rapidly evolving NaaS landscape, as enterprises increasingly adopt cloud technologies and require more flexible, scalable networking solutions, NaaS has emerged as a significant trend in the industry.
As a complement to MEF’s Executives at the Edge podcast series, this episode recap provides key take-aways and highlights from our expert guest.
MEF’s Executives at the Edge podcast series brings you the latest insights and perspectives from industry leaders driving enterprise digital transformation. Hosted by MEF CTO Pascal Menezes, the podcast delves into the innovations shaping the future of digital transformation.
Defining NaaS
What exactly does the latest industry buzzword entail? Roy breaks it down, explaining that NaaS is essentially a business and consumption model similar to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). It emphasizes short-term commitments, rapid provisioning, consumption-based pricing, and often fully managed services.
Roy highlights the evolution of NaaS and its current landscape. From carrier-provided on-demand networking to managed campus WiFi and SD-WAN services, NaaS encompasses a wide range of offerings. The conversation touches on the increasing adoption of NaaS by enterprises of all sizes and the role of MEF’s Global NaaS Event (GNE), the only global gathering dedicated to NaaS, as a pivotal event for industry-wide collaboration to fuel the advancement of NaaS for enterprises.
Why NaaS, Why Now?
The shift towards NaaS is driven by a few factors.
- Cloud influence: Enterprises’ positive experiences with cloud services has created a demand for similar consumption models in networking.
- Changing business preferences: Companies are increasingly looking to simplify their networking needs, favoring OpEx models over CapEx-heavy investment.
- Technological advancements: Improved automation capabilities, SDN, and programmable network stacks have made NaaS more feasible for providers.
The mid-market segment appears particularly ripe for NaaS adoption, as these companies often lack the resources to maintain complex networking infrastructures in-house. Smaller businesses may benefit from streamlined, security-inclusive NaaS offerings, while larger enterprises might adopt NaaS more gradually as they balance unique needs with efficiency demands.
Challenges and Opportunities: Carriers and Enterprise IT
Pascal and Roy discuss the challenges carriers face in transitioning to NaaS models. These include the need for cultural, technological, and operational shifts to support virtualization, automation, and multi-tenancy. Those that can successfully navigate this transformation stand to benefit significantly from the growing demand for NaaS solutions.
A key concern for enterprises considering NaaS is the potential impact on their IT staff. Roy points out that rather than displacing IT professionals, NaaS can ease understaffing issues and allow IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
MEF’s Role in the NaaS Ecosystem
Pascal highlights MEF’s efforts in defining and promoting standards for NaaS, including its work on SD-WAN, SASE, and multi-cloud networking. MEF’s certifications provide a level of assurance for enterprises looking to adopt NaaS, ensuring that these services meet rigorous performance and security standards.
Looking Ahead
The future of enterprise networking is increasingly service-oriented, with NaaS poised to play a central role in digital transformation strategies. As the market matures, we can expect to see continued innovation in service offerings, pricing models, and integration capabilities, ultimately delivering more value and flexibility to enterprises of all sizes.
Learn More
- Listen to the complete podcast episode with Roy Chua of AvidThink, Driving NaaS Adoption: IT Professionals Prepare.
Executives at the Edge podcast is brought to you by MEF, an industry association of 200 service, technology, and cloud providers who together accelerate enterprise digital transformation.
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Melissa Power
Communications Director | MEF