Etisalat has selected NEC/Netcracker’s Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) to deploy a complete virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE) solution for enterprises. Etisalat’s use of NEC/Netcracker’s NaaS solution is part of the service provider’s larger virtualization initiative and builds on its recent deployment of the NaaS platform for residential vCPE.

Etisalat is the leading communications provider in the Middle East, offering a wide range of 3G, 4G and fiber-to-the-home services to more than 142 million customers across the region.

As part of the enterprise vCPE program and larger cloud initiative, called the Sahaab program, Etisalat is using NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack Network-as-a-Service solution comprised with Self-Service Portals, Service Orchestration and MANO offerings. The initial service includes security virtual network functions selected from NEC/Netcracker’s Ecosystem 2.0 marketplace. Because NEC/Netcracker NaaS includes many pre-integrated VNFs from its Ecosystem 2.0 program, the VNF and service onboarding process was extremely fast, both technically and commercially. Virtualizing enterprise-focused customer premises functions, distributed in the customer premises or centralized in the data center, will enable Etisalat to deliver higher-value services to both large and small business customers faster and at a lower cost.

The new capabilities enabled by the vCPE program will help Etisalat’s enterprise customers to securely order, manage and control their services on demand, becoming more agile and ready to succeed in the rapidly expanding digital ecosystem.