Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise touts network on demand service

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) is offering businesses a way to reduce their IT budgets with a “comprehensive” pay-per-use offer for LAN and Wi-Fi services.

The supplier points out that the pay-per-use model allows firms to avoid hefty upfront capital expenditure on new networking infrastructure, and instead means they can better match technology expenses with real world business needs, without worrying about acquiring new skills to operate the new tech.

Indeed, it points out that analyst house IDC has forecast that by 2020, 80 percent of IT infrastructure will be on a pay-as-you-go basis. HPE meanwhile has offered pay-per-use networks since 2012.

“Network on Demand is a unified and secure LAN/WiFi managed service delivered via ALE Business Partners,” said the company. It incorporates its Intelligent Fabric, Unified Access and Network Analytics offerings. It also offers automated, “out-of-the box” cloud managed tools for businesses.

It is not hard to see the appeal of the pay-per-use model. Customers will only be charged for the daily use of network devices. So, for example, a school that has virtually no network activity on a weekend or holiday, would not be charged for the parts of the network not being used. Likewise, hotel rooms would only be charged when they are occupied.

“Looking at the increased acceptance of IT on demand via cloud application services, we wanted to be the first to offer our customers the benefits of a new set of network services,” said Stephane Robineau, EVP and general manager, Networking Business division, ALE.

“Designed with our partners, Network on Demand changes the game by making it possible to offer OPEX consumption-based, unified, on demand LAN and WiFi managed services,” said Robineau.