Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) combines on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity, and multi-cloud networking within a standards-based automated ecosystem—delivering the infrastructure agility required to succeed in the AI era.
Enterprises require advanced networking solutions that enable hybrid work, cloud applications, stronger cybersecurity, and AI-powered automation. NaaS provides dynamic, secure connectivity across distributed environments, tailored to enterprise performance and protection needs. It simplifies service consumption, increases agility, and abstracts complexity through software-defined, API-driven automation.
Mplify plays a pivotal role in architecting the foundational blueprint for NaaS transformation—providing a defined framework for standardizing and validating service components, certifying LSO APIs, and building scalable, programmable networking across an automated ecosystem.
This framework then empowers Service Providers to fully leverage NaaS to deliver differentiated, automated offerings aligned with enterprise priorities—accelerating time to revenue, enhancing customer experience, and amplifying success from AI, observability, and modular service tiers.
As demand rises for GenAI, agentic AI, and cloud-native applications, enterprises require low-latency, high-throughput connectivity spanning edge, cloud on-ramps, and data centers. Modern NaaS—underpinned by standardized and validated service components and LSO APIs—supports this need through programmable services that interconnect distributed infrastructure and drive real-time insights, scalable inference, and federated orchestration—solidifying NaaS as the backbone of the intelligent digital economy.
At the foundation of dynamic NaaS solutions, we have identified seven core attributes of NaaS:
These attributes are described in the NaaS Customer Experience White Paper, the industry’s first white paper written jointly by service providers. Release 2 of this insightful paper lays out what enterprises should expect from a NaaS offering.
The NaaS ecosystem is a layered, collaborative environment built on automated networks spanning providers and technology domains.
Networks supporting NaaS must be fully API-driven—from the enterprise edge, across multiple provider networks, and into the cloud. Automation must extend across the entire supply chain, with all parties implementing standardized processes and interfacing through LSO APIs—whether directly or via portals and adaptors—at both the business and operational layers.
Automation enables real-time quoting, ordering, performance monitoring, and settlement of services—accelerating service delivery and ensuring consistency across federated environments.
The ability for customers to tailor their services by selecting and combining explicitly defined and priced modular underlay and overlay service components clearly differentiates modern NaaS from traditional network services—unlocking agility and scale through an interoperable, unified ecosystem.
These offerings span:
A foundational resource for service providers, cloud providers, technology suppliers, and other ecosystem participants, our newest Network-as-a-Service Blueprint emphasizes the need for collaboration across multiple fronts to maximize market opportunities
The NaaS Blueprint identifies key areas for alignment and collaboration, providing progress updates to guide companies in these efforts, including:
Unified Definition of NaaS: Establishes a clear definition of NaaS integrating on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity, and multi-cloud networking within an automated ecosystem.
Key NaaS Features: Identifies 36 key features, including 20 essential customer-facing features highlighted in the NaaS Customer Experience White Paper.
NaaS Use Cases: Explores customer requirements and service provider solutions for four core NaaS use cases—on-demand connectivity, SD-WAN, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and multi-cloud connectivity.
NaaS Automated Ecosystem: Reports progress on the NaaS automated ecosystem built on standardized services and Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs that automate business and operational functions between ecosystem participants.
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Mplify provides a consensus-building environment where industry leaders define, shape, and scale the future of NaaS. Evolution to NaaS is more than a technical shift—it’s a strategic journey requiring alignment across business models, partner ecosystems, and operational execution.
Progress begins with shared frameworks and trusted partnerships. Mplify empowers members to drive interoperability and automation across organizational and geographic boundaries—fostering alignment in processes, data models, and LSO APIs that enable seamless service experiences.
As providers evolve, monetization becomes a key focus. Mplify supports the development of commercial models that enable usage-based services, dynamic pricing, and ecosystem-enabled marketplaces—helping members unlock new revenue streams and deliver business agility.
Service provider members are modernizing incrementally—beginning with internal BSS/OSS automation, advancing to standards-based automation with customers and partners, and evolving to flexible, on-demand experiences. Mplify accelerates this journey through LSO API test and certification programs that reduce onboarding time and speed time to revenue.
This evolution builds on Mplify’s legacy in standardizing and certifying automation-ready Carrier Ethernet services—establishing the foundational layer of secure, interoperable connectivity that underpins modern NaaS.
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Global NaaS Event
10–14 November 2025 | Dallas, Texas
Where digital transformation leaders converge to accelerate secure Network-as-a-Service offerings. Don’t miss the opportunity to join us at GNE 2025!
Here are some highlights from GNE 2024: