Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 89 | Page 44

CIO OPINION
The network has fallen within the CapEx model , but NaaS flips it over to OpEx .
Jacob Chacko , Regional Director Middle
East , Saudi and South Africa at Aruba HPE

CFOs need to relook at network purchases

The advantages of Network as a Service exceed those of asset purchases or leasing and CFOs need to begin their diligence here , writes Jacob Chacko , Regional Director Middle East , Saudi and South Africa at Aruba HPE .

The mainstream adoption of cloud has created an environment where CFOs are increasingly comfortable with consumption of IT in a flexible , as-a-service model . However , when it comes to Network as a Service , NaaS , there is rising interest but also significantly more hesitation . NaaS , of course , is a new model of as-a-Service lifecycle solutions for the network combining hardware , software , services , sand support .

Traditionally the network , which until recently , has been largely hardware components , has fallen within the CapEx model , but NaaS flips it over to OpEx . You no longer purchase and maintain the network ; you instead consume the network as a service .
NaaS has been brought to CFOs attention given that financial efficiency has emerged as one of the anticipated benefits . The main reason for hesitating lies with proving NaaS is a better model than currently used . Deciding whether to transition from traditional consumption models requires CFOs to weigh up the costs between old and new approaches , gauging both direct and indirect costs over the lifecycle of the technology .
But the NaaS model incurs costs differently and uses different metrics , making financial comparisons difficult , but not impossible .
The financial benefits of NaaS impact many corners of IT operations , and today we want to speak to those
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