Juniper Networks launches network-as-a-service

Juniper Networks has launched its network-as-a-service (NaaS) enhancement to its AIOps platform.

The vendor’s reseller and MSP partners will be the point of contact for customers looking to get subscription-based networking.

Juniper claims that it stands out from the competition because of its  Mist AI and microservices cloud platform which means  wired, wireless, SD-WAN and security are all part of a single package for punters.

Juniper  group vice-president Gordon Mackintosh said: “Juniper’s unique ability to combine cloud agility, flexibility and scale with AI-driven automation and insight has always made the AI-driven enterprise portfolio ideal for our partners.

“As a result, both MSPs and resellers have played a big role in the tremendous growth we have seen to date. By making it even easier for these partners to obtain and manage full-stack networking services via the Juniper Mist cloud, our new NaaS capabilities promise to accelerate this momentum and increase our campus and branch market share.”

Some of the features of NaaS that Juniper emphasises should appeal to partners include flexible subscription management, fresh payment and purchasing options and the ability to have a dashboard that combines wired, wireless and SF-WAN network management.

Juniper has been enhancing its partner programmes and at the start of this year it changed the global Juniper Partner Advantage Program (JPA) to include a new top-tier Elite Plus level for the select few that qualify for greater rewards and investment.

For those that qualify, Elite Plus offers “superior support” and dedicated business development and demand-generation resources.

At the same time, the vendor has made positive soundings about MSPs and indicated that support for those partners was coming, which now includes the NaaS option.