Network as a Service (NaaS): Definition, Use Cases, and Providers

Network as a Service (NaaS) is a cloud delivery model in which networking capabilities — including routing, switching, firewalling, WAN connectivity, and monitoring — are provided on demand over the internet under a subscription or consumption-based pricing model. This page covers the definition, structural mechanics, key drivers, classification boundaries, tradeoffs, and a provider comparison matrix for NaaS. Understanding NaaS is increasingly relevant as enterprises move away from capital-intensive hardware refresh cycles toward flexible, operationally expensed infrastructure.

• Definition and scope
• Core mechanics or structure
• Causal relationships or drivers
• Classification boundaries
• Tradeoffs and tensions
• Common misconceptions
• Checklist or steps (non-advisory)
• Reference table or matrix

Definition and scope

NaaS abstracts physical network infrastructure into software-controlled services delivered through a provider's backbone or cloud platform. Enterprises consume bandwidth, routing, security policies, and performance SLAs without owning or managing the underlying hardware. The model sits above traditional managed network services and below full Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) DIY deployments on the management-responsibility spectrum.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in its ITU-T Y.3510 framework for cloud computing infrastructure requirements, identifies network capability as a discrete abstraction layer that can be delivered as a service — a position that formal NaaS definitions have since built upon. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-145, which defines the five essential characteristics of cloud computing, provides the reference framework most NaaS vendors use to position their offerings: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

Scope boundaries for NaaS include:

• In scope: virtual routing and switching, cloud-delivered firewall, SD-WAN delivered as a managed service, bandwidth-on-demand, network-as-code provisioning APIs
• Out of scope: co-location services where the customer owns hardware, raw dark fiber leases, and traditional MPLS contracts with no self-service control plane

For a broader taxonomy of delivery models, the networking services types overview provides context on where NaaS sits relative to managed and unmanaged alternatives.

Core mechanics or structure

NaaS operates through four functional layers that work in sequence:

1. Physical and virtual underlay — The provider owns or leases physical network infrastructure (points of presence, fiber paths, data center interconnects). Customers never touch this layer directly.

2. Control plane abstraction — A software-defined control plane, typically built on SDN principles defined in the Open Networking Foundation's SDN architecture, separates routing decisions from packet forwarding. This layer exposes APIs that allow customers to configure topology, policies, and QoS programmatically.

3. Orchestration and provisioning portal — Customers interact with a web console or infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tooling (Terraform providers, REST APIs) to spin up or modify network segments, assign bandwidth tiers, and apply security policies. Provisioning time for a new virtual circuit in mature NaaS platforms is measured in minutes rather than the weeks typical of legacy MPLS orders.

4. Monitoring and analytics plane — Telemetry data (latency, packet loss, utilization, security events) streams to a dashboard or SIEM integration. This layer is tightly related to network monitoring services and is often bundled into the NaaS subscription.

Traffic flows from customer endpoints through encrypted tunnels (IPsec or WireGuard-based) to the provider's nearest PoP, traverses the provider backbone under the agreed SLA, and exits at the destination PoP or cloud on-ramp. Multicloud connectivity — reaching AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud over a single NaaS contract — is a distinguishing architectural feature; see multicloud networking services for the technical detail of that pattern.

Causal relationships or drivers

Three converging forces have accelerated NaaS adoption:

Cloud workload migration — As enterprise application portfolios shifted to hyperscaler environments, the branch-to-data-center hub-and-spoke topology of legacy MPLS became a bottleneck. IDC research on cloud infrastructure spending (IDC Worldwide Public Cloud Services Spending Guide) has consistently tracked double-digit annual growth in cloud-delivered infrastructure, creating parallel demand for cloud-native networking.

Capital expenditure pressure — Network hardware refresh cycles historically run 5–7 years and require large upfront capital commitments. NaaS converts that spend to operating expense, aligning with CFO preferences following accounting standard ASC 842 and IFRS 16, which changed how operating leases appear on balance sheets.

Zero-trust security architecture — NIST SP 800-207, the federal reference for Zero Trust Architecture, requires continuous verification of every network session regardless of location. NaaS platforms with integrated identity-aware proxies and micro-segmentation capabilities are structurally aligned with ZTA requirements in ways that static perimeter hardware is not. The zero trust network services page covers this intersection in detail.

Remote workforce expansion — The shift to distributed work patterns increased the number of network edge points enterprises must secure and connect, making a consumption model more operationally tractable than deploying and managing hardware at each site.

Classification boundaries

NaaS is not a monolithic category. Four distinct delivery variants exist:

NaaS differs from managed network services primarily in the degree of programmatic customer control — managed services typically involve provider-controlled change management windows, while NaaS exposes self-service APIs. It differs from pure SD-WAN services in that SD-WAN is an overlay technology that can run on any underlay, while NaaS includes the underlay infrastructure as part of the service.

Network infrastructure services covers the hardware-ownership model that NaaS is positioned as an alternative to.

Tradeoffs and tensions

Vendor lock-in vs. agility — NaaS platforms use proprietary APIs, routing policies, and PoP architectures. Migrating from one NaaS provider to another involves reconfiguring topology, re-establishing cloud on-ramps, and re-validating SLAs. This creates dependency risk proportional to how deeply IaC automation references provider-specific constructs.

Latency predictability vs. cost — Shared backbone NaaS platforms offer lower cost but less deterministic latency than dedicated circuits. Latency-sensitive workloads (real-time voice, financial trading, industrial control) may require dedicated bandwidth tiers that partially erode the cost advantage. The network performance optimization services page addresses measurement and SLA structuring for these scenarios.

Security boundary ambiguity — In NaaS, the demarcation between customer-controlled and provider-controlled security policy is contractually defined but operationally blurry. Incident response procedures, covered under network managed detection and response, must account for which party owns detection authority on the provider backbone.

Regulatory compliance jurisdiction — For organizations in regulated verticals (healthcare under HIPAA, government under FedRAMP), the provider's data handling practices and PoP locations affect compliance posture. FedRAMP authorization is held by specific cloud service providers and does not automatically extend to NaaS components unless explicitly assessed. The FedRAMP Marketplace (marketplace.fedramp.gov) is the authoritative registry for authorized services.

Common misconceptions

Misconception 1: NaaS means no hardware anywhere.
Correction: NaaS eliminates customer-owned core hardware but typically requires a customer-premises device (CPE) — a small edge router or software agent — at each site. The distinction is ownership and management responsibility, not physical absence.

Misconception 2: NaaS is only suitable for large enterprises.
Correction: Consumption-based pricing and zero upfront hardware cost make NaaS accessible to organizations with as few as 3–5 sites. The small business networking services segment has seen structured NaaS entry-tier packages from multiple providers.

Misconception 3: NaaS and SD-WAN are the same product.
Correction: SD-WAN is an overlay technology; NaaS is a service delivery model. SD-WAN can be delivered as part of a NaaS offering, but NaaS can also deliver non-SD-WAN capabilities such as dedicated Ethernet circuits, Layer 2 VPNs, and cloud interconnects.

Misconception 4: NaaS SLAs guarantee zero downtime.
Correction: NaaS SLAs specify availability targets (commonly 99.99% uptime, equating to approximately 52 minutes of annual downtime) with credit mechanisms for violations — they do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Credit structures and exclusions (maintenance windows, force majeure) are contract-specific.

Checklist or steps (non-advisory)

NaaS evaluation and onboarding process — discrete phases:

• [ ] Inventory current network topology — Document all sites, circuits, bandwidth utilization peaks, and existing contracts with termination dates.
• [ ] Define service requirements — Specify latency thresholds (in milliseconds), availability targets (in nines), geographic PoP requirements, and compliance constraints (HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2).
• [ ] Map cloud connectivity requirements — Identify which hyperscaler regions (AWS, Azure, GCP) require direct on-ramps and whether those on-ramps are included in the NaaS contract or billed separately.
• [ ] Assess security policy portability — Determine which firewall rules, ACLs, and segmentation policies must be re-expressed in the NaaS provider's policy language or API schema.
• [ ] Review SLA credit structure — Confirm the measurement methodology (per-circuit vs. aggregate), the reporting interval, and the maximum credit cap (often capped at one month's fees).
• [ ] Validate compliance documentation — Obtain the provider's SOC 2 Type II report, FedRAMP authorization status (if applicable), and data residency confirmation for each PoP region.
• [ ] Pilot a non-production segment — Provision a test virtual circuit covering at least 2 sites and validate throughput, failover behavior, and API responsiveness before committing production traffic.
• [ ] Establish exit criteria — Define portability requirements — exported routing tables, configuration backups, and contract termination notice periods — prior to signing.

Reference table or matrix

NaaS provider capability comparison (structural categories — not a vendor ranking)

References

• NIST SP 800-145: The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing — National Institute of Standards and Technology
• NIST SP 800-207: Zero Trust Architecture — National Institute of Standards and Technology
• ITU-T Y.3510: Cloud Computing Infrastructure Requirements — International Telecommunication Union
• ITU-T Y.1541: Network Performance Objectives for IP-Based Services — International Telecommunication Union
• Open Networking Foundation: SDN Architecture — Open Networking Foundation
• FedRAMP Marketplace — U.S. General Services Administration
• IETF RFC 8040: RESTCONF Protocol — Internet Engineering Task Force
• Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Controls Matrix v4 — Cloud Security Alliance