Consume Your Entire Network as a Monthly Service — Hardware Included
Network as a Service (NaaS) delivers complete network infrastructure — routers, switches, wireless access points, cabling, installation, monitoring, and support — as a single per-location monthly subscription. No capital expenditure, no hardware refresh projects, no vendor management complexity: just a managed network that works.
What RLM Delivers on Network as a Service (NaaS)
RLM advises enterprises on NaaS provider selection, contract structure, and the transition from CapEx networking to a subscription model — ensuring the NaaS arrangement delivers the operational simplicity and cost predictability it promises without hiding costs in contract complexity.
How We Approach Network as a Service (NaaS)
A structured path through the Network as a Service (NaaS) decision — current-state discovery, shortlist and benchmark, commercial negotiation, then support until it is actually working.
NaaS Requirements & Business Case
We define your NaaS requirements — locations, infrastructure scope, performance requirements, and support expectations — and build the business case comparing NaaS TCO against traditional CapEx networking over a 5-year period.
NaaS Provider Evaluation
We evaluate NaaS providers — Meter, Cisco Plus, HPE GreenLake for Networking, Juniper Mist NaaS, and regional managed network providers — against your requirements, focusing on hardware quality, management platform capability, and SLA commitments.
Contract Structure & SLA Design
NaaS contracts are more complex than hardware purchase orders. We review the contract structure — per-location pricing, hardware replacement commitments, upgrade rights, exit provisions, and SLA remedies — and negotiate terms that protect your interests.
Transition Planning & Execution Support
Transitioning to NaaS at existing locations requires coordinated cutover. We design the transition approach — parallel operation, cutover scheduling, and validation testing — that minimizes disruption during the switch to the NaaS model.
Network as a Service (NaaS) Evaluation Criteria
Before committing to any Network as a Service (NaaS) platform, these are the points worth forcing a straight answer on.
True Per-Location Cost
NaaS pricing must be modeled location-by-location against your specific infrastructure requirements — access point count, switch count, router complexity. Simple per-location pricing may over-charge simple sites and under-charge complex ones.
Hardware Refresh Policy
The hardware refresh commitment is a key NaaS value proposition. Evaluate the refresh trigger — technology generation, failure rate, age-based — and whether it guarantees you receive current-generation hardware.
Support SLA Quality
NaaS providers vary significantly in on-site support response time. Evaluate the support SLA — time to dispatch, time to resolve, spare hardware availability — against your location criticality and tolerance for connectivity downtime.
Exit & Portability
NaaS lock-in risk is real. Evaluate exit provisions — notice period, equipment return requirements, data portability, and the cost of transitioning back to CapEx or to a different provider mid-contract.
Network Visibility & Control
NaaS means the provider manages the infrastructure, but you still need visibility. Evaluate the management portal access available to your IT team — what you can see, change, and troubleshoot without contacting the provider.
Upgrade Included vs. Upgrade Available
Some NaaS contracts include automatic upgrades to next-generation hardware; others make upgrades available at additional cost. Evaluate the upgrade terms carefully — the value of NaaS diminishes if you're paying for hardware that doesn't stay current.
The benchmark comes first. Without a baseline, “savings” is just a number a vendor gave you.
Where This Matters Most
Sector-specific considerations we see repeatedly in advanced networking engagements.
A Sample of the Advanced Networking Providers We Evaluate
RLM is vendor neutral. These are among 600+ providers in our evaluation set — inclusion here is not an endorsement, and we are paid by the provider you choose, not by any provider in particular. How that works →
Thinking About Network as a Service (NaaS)?
Start with a no-cost conversation with an RLM network advisor — vendor neutral, no agenda, just clarity on the right path forward for your environment.
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