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Researchers from NTT suggest that nine in ten organizations want to outsource their network infrastructure to a single network-as-a-service partner. The model promises to change the market forever over the coming years.

NTT surveyed 1,300 networking professionals worldwide for a report on the state of network technology. 94 percent indicated that their current network does not provide sufficient capacity for cloud-based workloads. The majority believe new cyberthreats will lead to increased demands for network security. As a result, companies invest huge amounts in modernizing networks

Despite the investments, 70 percent state that the shape of their network has a negative impact on organizational performance. Companies fail to keep up with the growth of workloads and cyberthreats. The results of investments often disappoint.

86 percent outsource parts of the network’s management to separate vendors and departments. Although 88 percent prefer to work with a single partner, outsourcing all management to a single vendor is often constrained by tight budgets and partner limitations. It should come as no surprise that nine in ten prefer to switch to a network-as-a-service model, where companies only pay for the traffic consumed, and the service is provided by a single partner.

Fast growers look to network-as-a-service

In its research report, NTT suggests that network-as-a-service drives profit and growth. “Nearly three-quarters of ‘top-performing’ organizations plan to fully outsource to a managed service provider in the next two years”, the researchers said. NTT defines ‘top-performing’ organizations as companies with at least 10 percent year-over-year revenue growth and a minimum profit margin of 15 percent.

“We are in the midst of a modernization phase of network services”, said Amit Dhingra, executive vice president at NTT Network Services. “Many of the solutions now used by the minority will become standard for organizations within two years. Companies should turn their attention to a network-as-a-service model.”

Tip: Cisco ex-CEO challenges networking vendors