Enterprises ripe for Network as a Service

Four out of five European enterprises describe themselves as very or somewhat interested in adopting Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), reflecting rapidly increasing or spiking bandwidth requirements faced today as well as the need for a more cost-effective connectivity model. The findings were published this week in a survey carried out by Vanson Bourne on behalf of network specialist Ciena.

Following on the adoption of outsourced IT services and the growth of cloud connectivity, enterprises are also willing to consider a ‘Data Centre Without Walls’ model where they can pay for connectivity according to usage ad adopt a model that adapts to peak and off-peak demands.

The researcher surveyed 400 senior IT decision makers from the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The German market appears particularly keen to adopt the NaaS model, with over half (56 per cent) stating they were very interested.

Meanwhile, Dutch and French enterprises were the most receptive to a pay-per-use model for WAN connectivity (44 per cent and 43 per cent respectively), followed by the UK (36 per cent) and Germany (32 per cent). About a third of French and British enterprises were attracted to the model by lower costs (30 per cent for both), while the Dutch favour predictability (35 per cent).

Across Europe, almost half of interviewees in the finance (48 per cent) and manufacturing (46 per cent) sectors describe themselves as very interested in a NaaS model, while the public sector seems more reluctant with only 14 per cent showing the same level of interest.

IT outsourcing is already widespread. About two-thirds (64 per cent) of companies have outsourced IT services, and among those more than a third (39 per cent) intend to outsource additional services. From the respondents who have not yet outsourced IT services, about half (49 per cent) are considering it and almost a tenth (eight per cent) already have plans in place.

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The majority of surveyed enterprises (84 per cent) have recognised the impact of outsourcing IT services on their connectivity and bandwidth requirements, but only around half (47 per cent) have not made an assessment of that impact. This is a concerning finding given that the cloud is only as good as the network that supports it. And because the outsourcing of services to the cloud is becoming an important part of CIOs’ strategies, the associated network planning should also be a priority.