Understanding Network as a Service (NaaS): Revolutionizing Connectivity for Modern Businesses

Agneta Venckutė 2025-12-18

To maintain competitiveness and smooth operations, a lot of businesses nowadays rely on trustworthy network solutions. Network as a Service (NaaS) providers enable companies to access and manage their network infrastructure by utilizing cloud computing. Thanks to its ability to optimize network performance and guarantee secure data access, NaaS is revolutionizing the way businesses manage their connectivity. In addition, this approach has many benefits over standard networking models, including cost-effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility.

Discover the key elements of Network as a Service (NaaS), the challenges that you need to take into account, and the advantages of choosing this solution for your business.

What is Network as a Service?

Networking as a Service (NaaS) is a cloud-based service model that provides businesses with network infrastructure. Customers typically rent these networking services on a subscription basis rather than purchasing and managing their own networking equipment. This enables companies to quickly establish their network systems and easily make adjustments, without buying additional equipment.

Key components of NaaS

Virtualized network resources. Instead of relying on physical devices, network services are delivered through software that runs on cloud infrastructure. This provides the flexibility to customize network configurations as needed.
Automated network management. Networking as a Service providers use automation tools to monitor, manage, and optimize network performance, reducing the need for manual work.
On-demand scalability. With NaaS, businesses can scale network resources up or down based on real-time needs, whether adding more bandwidth or expanding coverage.

Why choose Network as a Service?

Simplified infrastructure management

The ease of managing network infrastructure is one of the key factors that lead businesses to choose Networking as a Service. Companies usually have to spend a lot of money on specialists, physical hardware, and time-consuming maintenance tasks. By removing these complexities, NaaS enables companies to concentrate on their core operations, while guaranteeing optimized, updated, and maintained networks.

Scalability and flexibility

Network solutions for modern businesses must be flexible enough to adjust to changing needs. Scalability offered by NaaS enables companies to modify their network resources easily. Flexibility and scalability are especially helpful for businesses going through rapid growth, mergers, or seasonal fluctuations.

Cost efficiency

Businesses typically choose a pay-as-you-go model for NaaS, only paying for the resources they really use. This is a big contrast to traditional networking, where investments in hardware can be significant, and ongoing maintenance costs can quickly add up. In addition, by closely aligning spending with operational needs, the subscription-based model enables businesses to predict and manage IT budgets better.

Better security

Security is a top priority for any organization, and NaaS providers typically offer advanced security features as part of their service. These features include encryption, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and more. NaaS solutions are also regularly updated to ensure they remain secure against the latest threats.

Improved performance

By leveraging Network as a Service, businesses can optimize their network performance with features like dynamic bandwidth allocation and geographically distributed resources. This is especially important for global organizations with a customer base worldwide. NaaS solutions can reduce latency and automatically allocate resources where they are most needed.

Challenges and considerations

While Networking as a Service offers numerous benefits, businesses must be aware of certain challenges when adopting this model.

Integration with existing systems

It can be difficult to integrate NaaS into an already-existing IT infrastructure. For instance, significant modifications might be necessary to resolve compatibility problems between cloud-based services and older systems. Companies should plan their transition carefully to minimize any impact on ongoing business operations.

Dependency on vendors

Once a company commits to a particular NaaS provider, switching providers can be difficult due to the complexity of migrating network configurations and data. To mitigate this risk, businesses should thoroughly evaluate service-level agreements (SLAs) and ensure their chosen provider can meet their long-term needs.

Data privacy and compliance

Businesses using cloud-hosted network resources must ensure their NaaS provider complies with industry regulations and data protection standards. Organizations may have stringent data privacy requirements depending on their industry, so it’s important to partner with a provider that adheres to these standards.

Future of Networking as a Service

Networking as a Service’s future is closely related to technological developments. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are predicted to improve NaaS solutions by facilitating predictive maintenance, enhancing network performance, and automating security responses.

In addition, edge computing and 5G integration with NaaS will continue to improve connectivity. As businesses rely on real-time data processing more and more, these technologies will enable faster, more reliable network services, particularly in industries like healthcare, finance, and autonomous cars.

How Network as a Service Actually Works: Architecture and Delivery

While NaaS is described as a cloud-based networking model, it’s helpful to understand how it operates under the hood. NaaS platforms typically rely on a combination of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) to abstract traditional network elements (routers, switches, firewalls) and deliver them programmatically. SDN separates the control plane from the data plane, allowing central software to define policies and routes dynamically. NFV virtualizes specific network functions so that firewalling, load balancing, and VPN services can run on commodity hardware or cloud infrastructure. Together, these technologies allow providers to offer networking services as on-demand APIs, dashboards, or automation workflows rather than fixed hardware devices.

NaaS Delivery Models: From Public to Private and Hybrid Options

NaaS isn’t one size fits all – providers often offer different models based on customer needs:

Public NaaS: Delivered over shared cloud infrastructure where network resources are multi-tenant but isolated logically. Ideal for organizations without strict isolation or compliance needs.
Private NaaS: Dedicated network services provisioned exclusively for a single organization. This model is appropriate for regulated industries or workloads with sensitive data.
Hybrid NaaS: Combines on-premises networking with cloud-managed components, often integrated via SD-WAN or VPN overlays. This allows enterprises to extend existing network investments while adopting cloud scalability.

These models help businesses match performance, compliance, and cost needs more precisely.

Comparing NaaS to Related Cloud Service Models

To understand NaaS more clearly, it helps to compare it with adjacent cloud services:

NaaS vs IaaS: IaaS provides virtualized compute, storage, and basic networking building blocks. NaaS abstracts networking further into consumable services like managed VPN, WAN connectivity, or dynamic bandwidth without infrastructure management.
NaaS vs SaaS: SaaS delivers software applications over the internet. NaaS delivers network infrastructure capabilities. They differ in scope but can be complementary when networking is embedded in application delivery.
NaaS vs SD-WAN: SD-WAN is a technology that can be part of NaaS offerings, providing optimized paths across multiple links. However, NaaS generally includes broader services (security, analytics, automation) beyond SD-WAN routing.
NaaS and SASE: Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) combines networking with security services (e.g., CASB, FWaaS). NaaS can offer the networking layer that a SASE architecture consumes but does not inherently include full security stacks unless packaged by the provider.

How to Evaluate a NaaS Provider: Practical Checklist

Choosing a NaaS solution is more than just picking the lowest price. Key evaluation criteria include:

Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Uptime guarantees, performance metrics, and remedies for breaches.
Security and compliance: Support for encryption standards, policy control, logging, and regulatory compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.).
Management and automation tools: APIs, centralized dashboards, automation capabilities, and monitoring integrations.
Scalability and flexibility: Ability to adjust bandwidth, add sites, or deploy features without long lead times.
Integration capabilities: Compatibility with existing cloud environments, SD-WAN, and network orchestration platforms.

Using a checklist like this helps ensure your NaaS choice aligns with both technical and business needs.

Challenges of Adopting NaaS: Risks and Mitigations

Adopting NaaS introduces several challenges organizations must plan for:

Vendor lock-in: Switching providers later can be difficult due to configuration and policy dependencies. Mitigation: Evaluate portability and open standards support.
Data privacy and compliance: Cloud-managed networking may introduce data residency concerns. Mitigation: Choose providers with strong compliance certifications.
Performance predictability: Shared public infrastructure can sometimes introduce variability. Mitigation: Use private or hybrid NaaS models for performance-critical workloads.
Security responsibility models: Understand clearly which controls the provider implements and which the customer retains.

Planning for these issues upfront improves the odds of a smooth NaaS adoption.

Conclusion

The way businesses manage their network infrastructure is being revolutionized by Networking as a Service. NaaS gives businesses the flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency they need to respond to changing market conditions without making large investments. While a few challenges remain, the benefits of NaaS in terms of simplified management, enhanced security, and improved performance make it a suitable choice for modern businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions about Network as a Service (NaaS)

Is Network as a Service just rebranded SD-WAN?
No. SD-WAN is a routing and traffic-optimization technology that often forms part of a NaaS offering. NaaS is broader and typically includes network provisioning, connectivity, policy control, monitoring, and sometimes security services delivered as a subscription. You can deploy SD-WAN without NaaS, but most NaaS platforms use SD-WAN under the hood.

How is NaaS different from traditional MPLS networks?
MPLS relies on fixed, provider-managed circuits with long provisioning times and rigid bandwidth allocation. NaaS replaces or augments this with software-defined, internet-based or hybrid connectivity that can scale bandwidth on demand, reroute traffic dynamically, and integrate directly with cloud services.

What technologies are typically used to implement NaaS?
Most NaaS platforms rely on:

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for centralized control
Network Function Virtualization (NFV) for virtual firewalls, load balancers, and gateways
Overlay networking (often IPsec or GRE)
Automation APIs and orchestration layers
Telemetry and analytics for performance and policy enforcement

These are not optional details – they define how flexible and reliable a NaaS solution actually is.

Who is responsible for security in a NaaS model?
Security is shared. Providers typically secure the underlying infrastructure, control plane, and availability. Customers remain responsible for access policies, identity management, segmentation rules, and how services are consumed. Misunderstanding this division is a common cause of security gaps in NaaS deployments.

Is NaaS suitable for latency-sensitive workloads?
It depends on the provider architecture. Public NaaS delivered over shared internet paths may introduce variability. Private or hybrid NaaS models with dedicated links or regional points of presence are better suited for latency-sensitive workloads such as real-time analytics, VoIP, or financial systems.

How does NaaS impact compliance and data residency?
NaaS does not automatically solve compliance requirements. You must verify where traffic is routed, where logs are stored, and how encryption is handled. Enterprises in regulated industries often choose private or hybrid NaaS to maintain control over data paths and residency.

Can NaaS replace on-premises networking entirely?
In some cases, yes – especially for cloud-first organizations. In many enterprises, NaaS complements existing infrastructure rather than fully replacing it. Hybrid architectures remain common where legacy systems, compliance, or performance requirements exist.

What are the biggest risks of adopting NaaS?
The main risks are vendor lock-in, opaque performance guarantees, and unclear responsibility boundaries. These risks are mitigated by choosing providers that support open standards, provide clear SLAs, and expose configuration and telemetry transparently.

How do pricing models typically work for NaaS?
Pricing is usually subscription-based and may include:

Base connectivity tiers
Usage-based bandwidth charges
Add-ons for security, analytics, or global coverage
Because network costs can scale with traffic, cost monitoring and forecasting are critical.

Is NaaS appropriate for small businesses or only enterprises?
While early NaaS adoption was enterprise-driven, many providers now target mid-market and distributed SMBs, especially those with multiple sites or heavy cloud/SaaS usage. Simpler offerings often trade flexibility for ease of use.

References

Network World – What is Network as a Service (NaaS)? Architecture, use cases, and benefits.
https://www.networkworld.com/article/970044/what-is-network-as-a-service-naas.html
Gartner – Market Guide for Network as a Service (NaaS).
https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/4012479
IEEE – Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Overview and Architecture.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6994333
ETSI – Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) Standards and Architecture.
https://www.etsi.org/technologies/nfv
Cloudflare – What is Network as a Service? Practical explanation and examples.
https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/network-layer/network-as-a-service-naas/
Cisco – Network as a Service explained: enterprise networking transformation.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/network-as-a-service.html
VMware – NaaS and SD-WAN: Architecture and operational considerations.
https://www.vmware.com/topics/glossary/content/network-as-a-service.html
A1 Digital – Network as a Service (NaaS) explained: benefits and challenges.
https://www.a1.digital/knowledge-hub/network-as-a-service-naas-explained/
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https://www.zenarmor.com/docs/network-basics/what-is-network-as-a-service-naas
IBM – Network as a Service and cloud networking models.
https://www.ibm.com/topics/network-as-a-service