Partner Content - Insight Q&A: The Shift Towards Networking-as-a-Service

As networking becomes business-critical, more organisations are rethinking what it means to 'own' infrastructure

In this Computing Q&A we sat down with Steve Buhler, Practice Development Manager for HPE Networking plus Global Lead for Networking-as-a-Service at Insight, to explore the shift toward Networking-as-a-Service: consuming outcomes, reducing operational burden, and aligning network decisions with both technical requirements and financial models.

The move toward 'consuming outcomes' is a significant cultural shift for IT. For leaders who have spent their careers perfecting the art of infrastructure ownership, what are the most rewarding benefits of moving toward a utility-based networking model?

I love that you use the term utility-based model, because I refer to Networking-as-a-Service as the Fourth Utility. The expectation for networks is now the same as for electric, water, and gas: always there, always on, and doing what you need. More businesses are realising they don’t have to own networks any more than they need to own power stations or water works. They can consume networking without the capital expense of owning, maintaining, and running it, with predictable costs like a utility bill—simpler and easier.

Tech talent is at a premium right now. How does offloading the day-to-day management of hardware to a partner like Insight allow your internal engineers to focus on the high-level, creative projects they actually joined the company to do?

Insight is a global systems integrator and managed services provider at scale. We have the resources to manage and monitor contracted hardware, plus SMEs who understand how it interacts with the rest of the customer’s environment. This reduces day-to-day operational pressure. AI/ML in platforms such as Aruba Central and MIST, combined with our teams and inspection toolsets, helps move operations from reactive to proactive—freeing the customer’s engineers to focus on strategic objectives.

In an era where business needs can change overnight - whether through a merger or a sudden shift in strategy - how does the NaaS model provide the financial and technical flexibility that traditional CapEx models simply weren't designed to handle?

You hit upon an interesting point: today, networks are both a financial-engineering and technical conversation. Depending on the business, there are multiple ways to consume IT - CapEx, OpEx, or a mix. We aim to understand customers so we can enable them technically and financially.

For example, a global customer growing through acquisitions faced an overdue refresh of a hodge‑podge network bought via CapEx, plus a mandate to reduce cost and simplify operations. Insight can manage and monitor the legacy estate while we decommission it and bring a new network online as‑a‑Service (OpEx).

As the customer adds sites, they can be included via change orders under the Master Agreement. Sites can be standardised with “T‑shirt” sizes and bundled SKUs (hardware, software, power, mounting, and licences) so they can go into production quickly—supporting a CapEx‑to‑OpEx shift without disruption or major upfront outlay.

Managing technical debt and security patches is a relentless task for any organisation. How does this partnership provide a more sustainable 'safety net' to ensure your infrastructure stays current and secure without the usual refresh-cycle fatigue?

The Insight Networking-as-a-Service solution addresses both issues. On technical debt, I like to say “tech” years are like “dog” years—especially in wireless (WiFi and P5G), which is highly dynamic and mission critical. With more applications and IoT devices driving traffic and sensitivity to disruption, many organisations now refresh WiFi about every three years.

NaaS accommodates this with flexible terms (three or five years) that can be mixed by site or equipment type—for example, wireless on three years and layer 2–3 switching on five. At term end, customers can refresh, extend month-to-month, or renew for a new term at a reduced price if there’s more utility left.

For the safety net, proactive monitoring through HPE platforms plus Insight’s tool suite provides continuous visibility into network performance. Telemetry, trending analysis, and insights are reviewed on scheduled cadence calls (typically monthly) with dedicated Customer Delivery Managers—reducing surprises against purpose and KPIs.

There are many paths to modernisation, but Insight emphasises a data-driven, engineered approach. Why is having a partner like HPE and Insight who provides that deep-dive analysis, so critical for a leader who needs to justify these decisions to the Board?

Both Insight and HPE are focused on customer satisfaction and making value easy to demonstrate, which is why we take a data-driven approach. Our joint team typically runs workshops with stakeholders across the customer’s business, using a proven discovery methodology that leverages the customer’s own data. We then analyse it through HPE data lakes and analysis tools, and Insight refines the output with services considerations.

The result is a custom report showing CapEx vs OpEx scenarios and ROI by capability/feature set—including return on invested capital and cash flows—so leaders can take a board-ready, data-driven case forward with the maths visible.

The ‘network assessment’ is often the starting point for this journey. For a leader who wants to ensure their business is truly 'roadworthy' for the future, what is the most valuable piece of clarity or 'hope' they walk away with after that initial health check?

As you noted at the start, this is a cultural and paradigm shift. The “muscle memory” of buying, managing, and modernising your own network has been ingrained for years. But, as in the industrial revolution when vertically integrated industries stopped running their own power stations and water/gas works, shifting networking to a utility model can free capital for higher-ROI investments and growth.

Our hope is leaders leave the assessment with a clearer view that networking is both a technical and financial-engineering decision—and that consuming it as a utility is a viable option.

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This article is sponsored by Insight.