Raisha Cobb
Associate Provost & CIO,
Winston-Salem State University
NaaS or No NaaS
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | 11:15AM–12:00PM CT | W178a, Level 1
Session Type:
Breakout Session
Delivery Format:
Presentation/Panel Session
Discover the benefits and drawbacks of the emerging Network as a Service (NaaS) models for universities through insights shared by a panel of higher education CIOs. Some of the biggest hurdles in networking are the cost of replacing infrastructure, ongoing maintenance expenses, and justifying the investment as a nondifferentiating utility to finance administrators. CIOs face difficulties deferring network costs and stretching the life cycle of network replacements for up to a decade, while increasing security. Furthermore, senior network engineering talent is scarce and expensive. Budget cuts limit the campus ability to sustain the capital expense of contemporary and advanced networks, while other technology platforms have transitioned to subscription-based cost models. We will address some key questions: is now the time for campuses—specifically, network administrations—to transition to a NaaS (Network as a Service) model, or No NaaS ("I'll give you my switch/router when you pry it from my cold, dead hands")—
