MEF Launches First Network-as-a-Service Industry Blueprint

The blueprint also helps enterprises make informed decisions about which NaaS offerings are right for their specific needs and customers. The MEF NaaS Industry Blueprint was unveiled this week at MEF’s inaugural Global Network-as-a-Service Event, a multi-day event designed to propel the advancement of NaaS offerings across an automated ecosystem.

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MEF defines NaaS as on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity and multi-cloud-based services across a standards-based automated ecosystem. With NaaS organizations achieve business outcomes without having to build and maintain their own infrastructure. Up to now, there has been no industry alignment on defining NaaS or the core components and capabilities of NaaS solutions which challenges both service providers and enterprises. The MEF NaaS Industry Blueprint is designed to address this by providing a common framework for understanding and defining NaaS.

Specifically, the blueprint will:

• Define NaaS and its core components and capabilities;
• Propose primary building blocks of NaaS solutions, including services, automation platforms, ecosystem, and certifications;
• Reference available MEF service and Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) automation API standards and other industry tools for building and delivering NaaS services; and,
• Present initial NaaS use cases in the areas of on-demand transport, SD-WAN, SASE and multi-cloud.

"The MEF NaaS Industry Blueprint provides a foundation for the industry to build on as it develops the NaaS ecosystem," said Nan Chen, President, MEF. "By providing a common framework for understanding and defining NaaS, the blueprint will help service providers develop and deliver innovative offerings and enable enterprises to make informed decisions about which are right for them. We are confident that the MEF NaaS Industry Blueprint will play a major role in driving the growth of the NaaS market and helping businesses achieve their digital transformation goals."