In the rapidly evolving enterprise network market, Nile is emerging as a disruptive force, modernizing IT operations with its groundbreaking AI networking architecture. Karthik Nathillvar, Head of Data, SaaS, and AI/ML at Nile, sat down with VMblog to discuss the company’s innovative approach to delivering enterprise networks entirely as a service. Nathilvar explains how Nile has reimagined the enterprise access network from the ground up, employing a cloud-native architecture that integrates zero trust security and offers performance guarantees for connectivity, coverage, and availability.
Addressing the confusion surrounding Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), Nathillvar clarifies Nile’s definition, which goes beyond a financial model and focuses on an architectural approach. He describes Nile’s fully integrated network infrastructure, vertically integrated data model, and 360-degree view of the network via sensory infrastructure, powering AI applications that provide IT teams with control and visibility. This new architecture redefines innovation principles for enterprise networks by combining cloud-native service delivery and AI-powered closed-loop automation, setting Nile apart from traditional offerings.
VMblog: Before we get into the news, tell me a bit about Nile.
Karthik Nathillvar: Nile is disrupting the enterprise network market by modernizing IT operations with a new AI networking architecture, delivering enterprise networks entirely as a service. That means everything, from equipment to installation to ongoing network management and even network upgrades, is delivered via a monthly subscription. The Nile Access Service is also the only network solution to integrate zero trust security and offer performance guarantees for connectivity, coverage, and availability.
What sets us apart is that we’ve really reimagined the enterprise access network from the ground up to meet IT’s priorities today in the cloud era. To use an automobile analogy, to design a fully electric vehicle with autopilot software, we can’t expect to retrofit a 1992 Toyota Corolla to make it work. You must form a new design and build with new architecture principles that can translate every bit of the data collected via its sensors to watch the road and take action in software. That’s what Nile has done with the enterprise network.
VMblog: There seems to be a lot of confusion in the market today regarding Network-as-a-Service. How does Nile define this term?
Nathillvar: Our brand of NaaS is designed to deliver a wired and wireless Local Area Network (LAN), as opposed to the Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity many service providers sell. From a market definition perspective, NaaS, from Nile’s viewpoint, is, first and foremost, an architectural approach and not a financial model. Most legacy NaaS offerings are traditional wired and wireless access networking products-each with its own software releases, distinct product models and SKUs, and relevant configuration complexity-hidden by a curtain of professional and consulting services wrapped inside a monthly or annual billing cycle.
In contrast, Nile is the only cloud native networking solution on the market today. This new architecture boils down to three core elements:
- A fully integrated network infrastructure is delivered as a service, with a deterministic and standardized design that eliminates “snowflake” installs.
- A vertically integrated data model that enables real-time observability of the service levels within the network and drives continuous optimization.
- A 360-degree view of the network via sensory infrastructure, powering AI apps that provide IT teams the control and visibility they require.
The idea behind a standardized network architecture is to eliminate the need to build separate configurations with a high degree of variability for every deployment. Short of designing physical infrastructure to determine optimal coverage and performance, each access network should leverage the same APs and switching infrastructure powered by cloud native software. This is highly differentiated from today’s network model, which requires IT to choose from 20 different kinds of AP and multiple switch models on a building-by-building basis.
VMblog: What exactly is Nile announcing today?
Nathillvar: We are introducing a brand new solution architecture for our Nile Access Service that leverages AI as its core DNA to deliver significant benefits to today’s IT organization. The architecture’s components include Nile Service Blocks, Nile Services Cloud, and two categories of AI applications: Nile Copilot and Nile Autopilot. This new architecture redefines innovation principles for enterprise networks by bringing together cloud-native service delivery and AI-powered closed-loop automation to campus and branch IT infrastructures.
Nile Services Cloud and Nile’s AI applications don’t just help identify wired and wireless network issues; they enable real-time observability of the network state, eliminate the potential for any future problems with predictive maintenance, and continuously optimize the network performance towards coverage, capacity, and availability guarantees. As a result, we’re proud to say we’re the only enterprise network solution providing such guaranteed outcomes to its customers, fully supported by financial penalties if these guarantees are unmet.
VMblog: Multiple companies have announced AI Networking functionality. How do these new capabilities compare to what’s already in the market for AI networking?
Nathillvar: Most other claims for AI networking have centered on what is usually called “AIOps.” These solutions may point out something is wrong with the network but leave the effort to fix these problems to the IT staff, i.e., they do not close the “loop.” In contrast, Nile follows the “Closed Loop Automation” approach. Nile not only identifies the network problem ahead of time but also automatically applies the fix, thus closing the loop. Nile uses comprehensive data collection and a wide-ranging set of machine learning and analytics technologies to completely automate the traditionally manual lifecycle of enterprise networks, from design to implementation to ongoing operations.
For example, the design and activation of the Nile Access Service at a customer site are fully automated, from site survey to bill-of-material creation to management of installation work orders. The service itself maintains its best state by proactively identifying and resolving deviations from its baseline performance. It automatically tackles trouble tickets without costly troubleshooting and tech support workflows.
The result is that IT teams virtually eliminate network-related trouble tickets, resolve external issues faster, and maintain continuous security compliance. IT basically never has to project manage another software maintenance, capacity planning, or hardware refresh cycle. Traditional headaches and challenges of product-centric enterprise networks are simply eliminated.
VMblog: How does incorporating AI impact how customers view network management?
Nathillvar: To be clear, it’s essential to distinguish between “AIOps,” which is primarily limited to “Day 2” activities such as device offline issues, user connectivity issues, and configuration errors, from the real potential for AI and the network. We often talk about a “Shift Left” strategy with our customers, where they see a role for AI from Day 0 (design and implementation) to Day “N” activities, where AI is responsible for continuously optimizing the network for performance guarantees such as availability and coverage.
The biggest benefit of leveraging AI is saving IT time wasted on ongoing management and time-consuming troubleshooting tasks. AI will serve as a copilot that will enable IT to solve problems more quickly and provide better performance while having to do less work. Most AI solutions for network management today simply identify problems for IT to fix. We should be using it to proactively address issues without human intervention. No IT person looks forward to grunt work like addressing minor connectivity issues or other day-to-day drudgery of managing a network. AI can and should eliminate that wasted effort and allow teams to focus on activities that generate real value for their companies.
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About Karthik Nathillvar, Head of Data, SaaS, and AI/ML at Nile
Karthikeyan (Karthik) Nathillvar is the Head of Data, SaaS, and AI/ML at Nile. With a rare mix of product development expertise across AI, analytics, networking, and the industrial Internet of Things, Karthik has extensive experience in bringing new AI and networking innovations to market. His current role at Nile is focused on leveraging LLMs and other AI technologies to deliver new operational efficiencies for enterprise networks through Nile’s AI Networking service. While at Juniper Networks, he led several engineering teams in building leading enterprise and service provider networking products. Karthik also has extensive experience as a product leader focused on AI, having brought multiple platforms and solutions to market (spanning all data categories – time series, images, and natural language) with Honeywell, Petuum, and Landing AI.
