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This article is part of: Network Innovation
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Enterprises want on-demand, highly performant connectivity services – and service providers are embracing NaaS delivery and commercial models to meet these expectations. This report provides a case study of disruption in the Indian market by NaaS provider Lightstorm.
How telcos can evolve towards a NaaS future
Enterprise connectivity requirements have changed dramatically over the last ten years, in response to and in line with changes to enterprise IT strategies. In particular, there are three key dynamics that now dictate what enterprises look for:
1. The amount and sensitivity of data being generated
2. The move from one IT environment to many IT environments
3. A shift in expectations around delivery and commercial models, primarily stemming from innovation from the hyperscale cloud providers.
Amount and sensitivity of data generated
The volume of data that enterprises are now generating and storing in IT environments has been significantly increasing, notably since the wave of adoption of cloud computing starting in the early 2000s. Expectations are that advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics will only fuel this further – in a recent survey, 42% of large enterprises (>1,000 employees) reported having actively deployed AI in their business already.
Not only is the amount of data being stored growing, but the criticality of this data to an enterprise’s operations is also increasing. The data being generated can be highly commercially sensitive and/or mission-critical to the running of the enterprise. Data capture changes have a knock-on impact on enterprise connectivity. Businesses increasingly need to grow their upstream bandwidth availability to allow more data to be sent from end devices, such as cameras, internet of things (IoT) sensors, laptops and smartphones, to compute locations where that data can be analysed and stored. Many, particularly in highly regulated industries such as financial services, also have to consider what types of data they are comfortable sending over the public internet. Direct or private interconnections are seen as necessary to ensure control and security of critical data transfer.
Enterprise connectivity is often a complex web of data centre interconnection
The move from a single to multiple IT environments
Where data should be stored is also an increasingly challenging question. There was a time when IT managers tended to focus efforts on large cloud transformation and migration programmes, with an expectation that lifting and shifting as much data as possible into the public cloud was the best IT strategy.
However, the picture today is less clear. Many enterprises find themselves in a position where multiple IT environments are needed. They may have legacy workloads that continue to run best at their premises, with either performance or vendor support limitations preventing them from moving these workloads to the cloud. They also may have decided that they wish to move other workload types into a proper data centre environment, opting for a colocation service which allows them to reduce their own liabilities and risks, while retaining control and customisability. Lastly, they are highly likely to have some workloads that are hosted for them – either in public or private cloud environments, or both. The above figure highlights the diversity of IT environments that most enterprises have today, from an STL Partners survey conducted this year.
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Table of contents
- Executive summary
- Enterprise connectivity: Catering to a changing market
- Service providers need to respond to these dynamics
- Lightstorm: A case study in successful disruption
- NaaS requires transformation across three key layers
- Foundational layer: A modern, cloud architecture is key
- Enablement layer: Automated orchestration via APIs
- Enablement layer in practice: Lightstorm’s approach focuses on creating a valuable and frictionless ecosystem
- Service layer: Customisation is key
- Service layer in practice: Lightstorm’s flexible network offerings
- Recommendations for the industry
Related research
- Network innovation as an engine for growth: A manifesto
- Hyperscalers in the telco vertical: Strategies and successes
- Network-as-a-service: APIs, AI and the open cloud
- Network APIs: Driving new revenue streams for telcos
