Information Technology Services (ITS)

Network as a Service (NaaS)

Description

First launched in 2019 and in response to growing demand from departments for network management and support services, EIS provides a cost recovery managed network service called Network as a Service (NaaS).  This service allows departments to leverage the specialized skills and experience of the network experts in the EIS Enterprise Networking group to ensure fast and reliable local area network connectivity.  NaaS fills the skills and capacity gaps that often occur in departments where there may only be 1 or 2 IT staff who are spread very thin.  NaaS offloads the design, provisioning and ongoing management of the departmental network and makes it easier to predict and budget for costs associated with what has now become a utility as essential and ubiquitous as power, heating and cooling.  Pricing is based on a per port basis and includes the cost of network switches.  Departments that have recently completed a network refresh can opt for just the Network Management service.

Please read through the details below and feel free to contact us if you would like to find out more.

Benefits

  • Free up local IT capacity (and fill skills gaps)
  • Access to full range of specialized expertise and knowledge:  JOG, field services, network design, network engineering
  • Pro-active device monitoring, alerting and remote troubleshooting by ITS Joint Operations Group
  • Fast response to on-site network problems (2 hour SLO)
  • Predictable OpEx for network hardware, management & support
  • Improved network performance and reliability
  • Enhanced security

What’s included?

  • JOG Monitoring & Contact Centre
  • Remote & onsite troubleshooting
  • Firmware patching
  • Switch configuration changes
  • Free replacement of failed switches
  • 2 hour response time Service Level Objective (SLO)
  • DNS (Domain Name Service)
  • DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
  • IPAM (IP Address Management)
  • CGNAT (carrier-grade network address translation allows you to conserve public IP addresses)
  • Discounted hourly rate for ad hoc services by the network infrastructure team

COST

(updated November 2024 to reflect increases in hardware & salary costs since 2019)

Network Management Service: $12.50 per port* per year
Network Infrastructure: $22.50 per port* per year

NaaS Total: $35.00 per port* per year

*based on total port count

6-year cost comparison

Department with 10 x 48-port switches:
10 x 48 x 35 = $16,800 per year
6 year cost:  $100,800

Compared to:

1 x PB10 FTE @ $72,119 + 24.75% benefits = $89,968 per year
Plus OTO cost of switches:  10 x $3,725 = $37,250
6 year cost:  $577,058

Pre-requisites

  • The departmental network to be managed is in a building on the St George campus.
  • EIS must first do a network assessment ($1,500). Assessment fee is waived if department signs contract.
  • Department will need to address any deficiencies identified in the assessment (e.g. fibre and copper cabling, racks, cable management and labelling, etc) before signing up
  • EIS will complete the work based on the proposal provided
  • This is an OTO departmental cost that will vary depending on current state of the network

Before and after…

These images show a typical departmental network room before EIS came in and installed proper cable management systems, labelled patch cables and refreshed the network switches:

First image shows the network cables before and after the network modifications done by EIS.Second image shows the network cables before and after the network modifications done by EIS.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Next steps

If you are interested in signing up for NaaS, have any questions about the service or would like to arrange for a network assessment, please contact us.