“Modern networks are becoming increasingly complex, requiring specialized skills and resources that many organizations lack,” Chua said. “At the same time, they are also experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining networking and security IT engineers. NaaS provides a simplified, managed solution.”
In addition, the shift to cloud-based applications and hybrid work models demands a more flexible and agile network infrastructure. NaaS offerings can adapt to these evolving needs.
And with cyber threats on the rise, organizations are prioritizing network security. Campus NaaS providers such as Nile that integrate robust security features will make the solutions more attractive, Chua said.
Startups face competition from major networking and security vendors that are also looking to offer subscription-based, converged security and network offerings.
“From Cisco, which is trying to integrate their security and networking but a little behind in as-a-service offerings, to HPE Aruba, which have been more aggressive with an as-a-service approach and which has zero-trust, SASE, and networking assets, to a bunch of NaaS upstarts that include Nile, there are multiple players in the ecosystem,” Chua said.
“Nile appears to be the first out of the gate with zero-trust conveniently baked into a campus NaaS solution, and with what appears to be an easily manageable solution that integrates into identity and authentication systems. Their approach of L3 segmentation versus relying on VLANs is helpful and more scalable, though we will want to see how it scales as all the traffic needs to be processed by a gateway device,” Chua said.
