According to a recent IDC report, around 60-80% of APAC organisations are finding it difficult or extremely difficult to fill vacancies in IT roles.¹

On top of this, the report finds:

• 53% of organisations are taking 3-4 months longer on average to fill technology roles
• 55% of organisations experienced a greater number of employees quitting jobs in 2022
• 37% of organisations have had to delay tech initiatives, and 36% have had to change the direction of tech initiatives¹

Mounting job vacancies are leaving understaffed teams to bear the demands of IT operations.

However, the rise of innovative managed services opportunities, expert partners, and as-a-service offerings may not only bring respite to the tech skills shortage but also provide the means to boost business operations and enable digital transformation.

Dubbed by some as the ‘next big thing’ for managed services is network-as-a-service (NaaS). The solution delivers network and security functions as-a-service and can be delivered in an on-demand, consumption-based model. As a virtual offering, it enables users to manage and track networks remotely. It’s a primary example of how as-a-service offerings can support IT teams.

At its core, NaaS helps reduce complexity and easily manage the configuration and operation of routers and protocols, WAN optimisers, security components, SD-WAN endpoints, and more - depending on the business needs. Users can subscribe to each service or cover all NaaS requirements with usage-based charging.

Top providers such as Singtel offer centralised control with a single portal instead of managing various networking components through different tools and hardware stacks. A single portal enables IT teams to maximise the use of hardware and software and rapidly respond to changes or issues.

Keeping functionality high and costs low and reducing the time and skill required to maintain network connectivity, NaaS offers the potential to:

• Enhance uptime, especially with the functionality of SD-WAN
• Enable scalability and accommodation of unexpected spikes in activity
• Improve time-to-value of investment
• Enhance security and threat detection
• Open doorways for global deployments and operations

To realise the benefits of NaaS and empower short-staffed IT teams instead of burdening them further, it’s crucial for organisations to partner with the right managed services provider.

According to the Asia Pacific ISG Index, in Q2 of this year, demand for managed services rose 30% from the prior year.² However, the researchers also highlighted that businesses are looking to prioritise spending and are being more careful to yield results amidst economic uncertainty.

To maximise spend and reap rewards from IT investments, there are various factors to consider. To use NaaS as an example, the right managed services provider will focus on delivering network and security functions as-a-service in an on-demand, consumption-based model that streamlines management for the internal IT team, rolling out patches and updates on solutions to ensure maximum uptime and functionality.

In addition, the right provider will enable advanced features such as proactive user experience monitoring, incident automation, and AI-driven predictive analytics to ensure rapid response to incidents. These core features can be tailored to suit a business’s specific needs while delivering expertise built up over years of research, development and on-the-ground experience.

Singtel’s recently announced CUBΣ offering is an excellent example of NaaS and managed services to support IT departments. The unified suite of network solutions and services is designed to modernise the digital network infrastructure of enterprises so they can work smarter, more efficiently and cost-effectively.

With a NaaS approach, Singtel CUBΣ makes it easier for enterprises to subscribe and manage desired services and multiple vendors, and gain insights on network utilisation, workload performance and sustainability metrics via a single sign-on digital portal, while also leveraging advanced features and functionality.