Reimagining Network Operations with AI and NaaS

When AI and NaaS come together - networks become more reliable, more automated, and easier to operate, while businesses get a more agile, modern network that supports digital transformation.

Shashikant Sharma, Chief Technical Officer – Airowire shares his insights on how Airowire transforms the way networks are managed and delivered by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) models -

What does “building networks with a soul” mean in your leadership style?

In today's world, the network has become the backbone of every business. So for any business, since the network is critical, it has to be resilient, secure and scalable. Above all, it has to be simple so businesses can make use of it.

What key problem does Day2.Work solve, and how is it different from traditional NOC tools?

The Network Operations Center (NOC) is the hub where an organization’s computer systems, telecommunications, and networks are monitored, managed, and maintained. Traditionally, the NOC is built  on  two key pillars - Tools that generate alerts for anomalies—such as device failures or unusual activity; and People—skilled, certified engineers who interpret those alerts and use their expertise to resolve issues.

As modern networks grow rapidly and new challenges emerge, we have introduced the next evolution - Day2.Work. In this model, both pillars are enhanced by AI agents. The first pillar, formerly just a monitoring tool, is now strengthened by LinkEye, our AI-driven, self-healing system. The second pillar—our engineering team—is supported by an AI-augmented NOC, where engineers work alongside AI agents that provide relevant insights and data, enabling faster and more effective decision-making.

Why is human insight and empathy still crucial in AI-powered operations?

AI is growing rapidly more than ever. It is also learning at the same time. However, AI looks at every problem as a machine, and tries to solve the problem from the point of view of a machine by figuring out patterns. However, human has evolved over time, and human understanding of problems and situations are different. So, it is critical and very important to have a human empathy and approach in mind while solving any issue. This human touch also helps AI to evolve and grow faster.

Why is NaaS the future, and how is Airowire scaling it for enterprises?

NaaS (Network as a Service) is key new businesses. Today, businesses are growing rapidly and decentralizing their operations, shifting from a single headquarters to multiple branch locations. For example, e-retailers that deliver products to our doorstep need local stores close to customer locations. When businesses scale in this way, the required IT infrastructure can become financially demanding, especially if they rely heavily on Capex investments. With our NaaS model, we convert this Capex into Opex, allowing businesses to pay through a subscription. This approach supports their growth while eliminating unnecessary financial burden. That’s the first key advantage.

Secondly, businesses often spend a significant amount of time figuring out which products, technologies, or solutions they need in order to operate effectively. This process can consume valuable time. We address this by helping customers shift to an outcome-based or results-driven approach. Instead of offering a specific product or solution, we provide a fully outcome-based service. During our discussions with clients, we focus on understanding the results they want to achieve, and then we tailor our network and service models to deliver the outcomes they are seeking.

Can you share a client success story where Airowire made a measurable impact?

Success stories always motivate us and keep us moving forward. One example I can share is from one of our retail chain customers. Our analytics showed that whenever an incident occurred—whether due to an issue or a ticket raised —it took our engineers about 30 minutes to resolve it. Given how critical connectivity and network uptime are for their business, 30 minutes was a considerable amount of time.

So we started applying our AI agentic approach, along with human expertise and we were able to bring that time shorter, from 30 minutes to four minutes. Now this is a huge impact. There's a huge time saving, and we call it MTTR - Mean Time to Resolution.

We acknowledge that, for unforeseen reasons, the network may occasionally go down. However, our approach remains consistent—through proactive analysis, we do everything possible to prevent disruptions, and if an issue does occur, we ensure the network is restored as quickly as possible.

What emerging tech or markets are top of mind for Airowire’s next phase?

When we started this organization almost 11 years ago, our initial focus was on a very niche but essential industry requirement—wireless services and network access control. As we have grown bigger, we added other crucial technologies, like cyber security and cloud to our business. Over time, as we expanded into enterprise-level markets, we broadened our portfolio to include enterprise applications and private 5G. So today we can proudly say that we cater to, or are able to provide enterprise business solutions to our customers.