Building the NaaS Experience: Connect, Innovate, Transform at MEF’s Global Event

MEF’s Global Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) event (GNE) in Dallas, Texas 28-30 October brings together the entire NaaS ecosystem to discuss the vision of a new generation of NaaS and provide a snapshot of the industry for service providers, technology vendors, wholesale providers, retail providers, hyperscalers, system integrators and of course, the end-user enterprise community. The event lays out how MEF’s high value open standards for connectivity, cybersecurity, and business automation together with assets such as Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs and blockchain and smart contracts will transform the digital economy. This year’s event will focus on evaluating the NaaS advancements that have occurred over the past year, identifying current challenges in the market, and forecasting future developments.

In the lead up to the event, the MEF membership has evolved its NaaS vision beyond that of individual NaaS providers utilizing the capabilities of cloud and connectivity partners in single ecosystem for a cloudified user experience. MEF will present a vision of evolving NaaS federations with participation and onboarding requirements defined by the MEF membership and based on open standards and assets from across the digital transformation industry. The roadmap for NaaS federations will enable enterprises, NaaS providers, cloud, data center and connectivity providers, security providers, solution providers and system integrators and many new entrants to the digital service economy to converge and collaborate on high value solutions for current and emerging NaaS use cases that use MEF’s LSO APIs, MEF standardized product models, cybersecurity standards, multi-party ERP solutions and certification.

In addition, the MEF membership is setting out a framework of common requirements of a NaaS user experience that defines the customer-facing aspects of NaaS offerings to provide enterprises and application developers a baseline to understand NaaS provider offerings. Enhancing this will be an update to MEF’s NaaS Industry Blueprint that is important to both the NaaS providers and the increasing number of system integrators working with them to implement their NaaS solutions.

MEF will kick off GNE 2024 with a half-day LSO Automation Summit where the participants will hear practical insights from industry experts across the entire automation ecosystem, including buyer to seller journeys to core processes and cutting-edge applications like blockchain-enabled billing. Sessions will cover business cases for LSO API automation, innovative concepts like product payloads and partner matchmaking, and address challenges such as global address validation. The next two days will cover the critical areas shaping the future of NaaS, including enterprise needs, service evolution, and the importance of automation in a global context.

Sessions and panels will revolve around key themes including:

  • Enterprise-Driven NaaS: Led by MEF’s Enterprise Leadership Council (ELC), enterprise executives will share their expectations and needs regarding NaaS, including consumption models and service provider roles. The event will explore forward-looking use cases and NaaS strategy from industry pioneers. Sessions will highlight executive perspectives on digital transformation drivers, cloud-first strategies, AI-enhanced networking, cyber threats, SD-WAN, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and NaaS adoption.
  • NaaS Offerings: There will be numerous sessions exploring the development and variety of NaaS offerings, including retail and wholesale services, and service demand and bundling innovations. Security will also be an important focus highlighting MEF’s new State of the Industry Report on SASE, the challenges in the cybersecurity landscape, including the increased risk of major cyberattacks and steps the industry needs to take to contain these attacks.
  • NaaS Ecosystem and Automation: GNE will explore the comprehensive view of global NaaS ecosystem evolution and its key players, including service providers, wholesale providers, data center operators, and technology vendors. With a focus on automation, sessions will delve into how automation and standardization are reshaping the landscape and provide strategies to excel in the evolving automated NaaS ecosystem.
  • NaaS in Action: Over a dozen live demos of the latest NaaS innovations and technologies in action will be on display at GNE. Demos will include service and technology provider organizations from across the NaaS ecosystem to showcase the power of automation and explore the industry collaborations shaping the NaaS landscape. Information about GNE 2024 happening 28-30 October in Dallas, Texas, including how to register can be found here.

About the Author

Kevin Vachon, COO, MEF. As MEF COO since 2006, Kevin leads a team that builds, supports and scales the MEF’s ever-increasing mix of global programs activities. He is actively engaged with MEF’s global member and partner community and has a broad perspective on the important role that MEF plays in the industry and how to deliver results.

Featured

  • Survey Shows Election Anxiety Crosses Party Lines

    New reports of election worker intimidation are raising concerns about election interference. A majority of Americans (71%) are worried about voter intimidation or safety at the polls, and 75% want security cameras at their voting place, according to a new national survey. Read Now

  • 66 Percent of Cybersecurity Pros Say Job Stress is Growing

    Sixty-six percent of cybersecurity professionals say their role is more stressful now than it was five years ago, according to the newly released 2024 State of Cybersecurity survey report from ISACA, a global professional association advancing trust in technology. Read Now

  • Live from GSX 2024: Post-Show Recap

    Another great edition of GSX is in the books! We’d like to thank our great partners for this years event, NAPCO, LVT, Eagle Eye Networks and Hirsch, for working with us and allowing us to highlight some of the great solutions the companies were showcasing during the crowded show. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • Research: Cybersecurity Success Hinges on Full Organizational Support

    Cybersecurity is the top technology priority for the vast majority of organizations, but moving from aspiration to reality requires a top-to-bottom commitment that many companies have yet to make, according to new research released today by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the technology industry and workforce. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings. 3

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions. 3