"NaaS means different things to different customers"

Brink Sanders, Vice President of Global Networking Sales at Cisco Systems, has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's approach to networking solutions since joining the company in 2007. With extensive experience across sales, operations, and business development, Sanders' leadership journey includes notable roles such as VP of Transformation Strategy and Planning. Before Cisco, he held senior positions at Trianz and webMethods (now Software AG), driving innovation and strategic growth.

- Minu Sirsalewala

In this exclusive conversation with Minu Sirsalewala during Cisco Live 2024 in Melbourne, Sanders shares insights into Cisco's transformative vision for enterprise networking. He discusses the evolution of networking technologies, highlighting how concepts like Network as a Service (NaaS), Al-driven operations, and Cloud-native models are reshaping enterprise connectivity. Sanders also delves into the challenges of navigating regulatory complexities, ensuring seamless multi-Cloud integration, and achieving sustainability without compromising performance-key factors driving Cisco's innovative solutions for businesses worldwide. Excerpts:

NaaS is gaining momentum as organisations look for more flexible and scalable solutions. What is Cisco doing to deliver value around this?

NaaS is an interesting space because it means different things to different customers. For most, it is less about the network itself and more about moving from a Capex to an Opex model; essentially paying for what they use and when they use it. But it goes beyond economics. It is also about simplifying how businesses consume network services.