The Network-as-a-Service model's promise to business seems irresistible: a network in the cloud, inclusive of all infrastructure and software, when your business needs it, at a fraction of the cost of physical infrastructure.
It also means that you trust a networking services specialist to do it for you.
Yet the majority (63%) of respondents to a recent NaaS survey admitted to not using a networking services company to manage their network.
The online survey was conducted by ITWeb in partnership with Infoprotect, with most of the respondents being C-level and line managers.
NaaS has all the benefits of the most skilled IT personnel in the team, without carrying the risk and investment needed to implement, maintain and support core networking equipment required to run successful structures, according to Infoprotect.
More than half (54%) of local organisations that participated in the survey admitted to having experienced network downtime recently. However, 83% of those were able to resolve the problem timeously.
"This shows that more and more consumers and businesses are taking steps to resolve issues of network downtime," says Sugan Ganasen, head of sales at Infoprotect.
He adds that downtime doesn't only keep the business from making money, but also means that it is spending money on resolving the issue.
"A good NaaS partner is vital to ensure that an organisation's business continuity strategy provides for any eventuality in order to continue with business as usual."
Of those who do have a NaaS service provider, 81% were satisfied with their services. Interestingly, almost half of the participants in this survey admit they do not know what equipment they have in their network.
Flexibility and scalability
The survey found that the main driver for adopting NaaS is the promise of more flexibility and scalability for a growing business without incurring huge cost.
The top benefits expected from NaaS are the flexibility in provisioning without having to re-architect networks (73%), on-demand purchasing (64 %), increased network availability and reliability (58.6 %).
"The flexibility of NaaS allows the scaling of network services almost at the flick of a switch, with most services now being available through a virtual 'cloud layer' and the introduction of software-defined networking capabilities.
"As a result, the need for expensive onsite equipment upgrades and additional provisions has been, or will soon be, reduced to a practice of the past," notes Ganasen.
However, business leaders also have concerns about NaaS implementation and cited migration process challenges (57%), concerns over building a good relationship with their NaaS service provider (51%) and lack of control over their network (45%). Almost a third are worried it may end up costing more than doing it themselves.
Failover strategy
Just over a half of respondents (54%) have a failover strategy in case of failure or scheduled down time.
"We find ourselves in an ever-connected world, with innovative and exciting ways to make use of the Internet to provide services and add value in ways we never thought possible," says Ganasen.
"A sound and resilient 'failover' strategy means that we can all remain effective in our connected roles the digital economy has presented us with."
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