How Carma’s Unified Data Model Makes Network-as-a-Service a Reality
By Frank McDermott, CEO
Truly automated Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) has historically been just a pipe dream. The reason traces back to a legacy model of fixed circuits, disconnected systems, and manual processes that simply cannot adapt dynamically to demand.
But that model is changing. Cirion Technologies just launched a groundbreaking Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) offering, and Carma is incredibly proud to be the orchestration platform making it possible.
The Reality of Legacy Connectivity
Most networks weren't built for the modern cloud era. Think about what it traditionally takes to allocate optical resources:
Checking inventory and validating service feasibility manually
Provisioning services through disconnected, static systems
Relying on traditional engineering projects rather than automated platforms
None of these steps were designed for real-time responsiveness. As a result, order-to-provisioning delivery times routinely stretch into days or weeks.
Bridging the Gap with API-Driven Orchestration
Unifying complex, fragmented systems into a single intelligent data model is exactly what sets Carma apart.
Cirion’s NaaS vision is for a complete, unbroken workflow that spans the full customer journey without manual handoffs, all made possible with Carma:
A customer logs into the self-service Portal and selects service endpoints and their product
The order flows automatically into a Carma-built Customer Portal, which submits a configuration request to Ciena Navigator
Navigator then activates the service on Cirion’s network and returns a completion confirmation to Carma
Carma then automatically updates the order status, generates the complete Circuit Layout Record (CLR) and initiates billing
The result: A fully provisioned, live network service with no manual intervention in approximately 90 seconds that is ready for invoicing.
This seamless integration enables the automated provisioning of wavelength services—the first product in this new framework—across Cirion’s massive 105,000-kilometer fiber footprint. By connecting Cirion’s portal to Ciena’s control suite through modern APIs, we've built a scalable foundation that supports rapid product expansion entirely without manual intervention.
What True Network-as-a-Service Delivers
When your foundational architecture is unified, your business operates differently.
Cirion's customers can now order, configure, and activate high-capacity network services directly through a self-service portal
They finally gain the elasticity, dynamic bandwidth management, and pay-as-you-use flexibility that made cloud computing successful, drastically reducing service delivery to near real-time.
AI Urgency Demands This Foundation
If your organization is exploring Agentic AI, that conversation must start with dynamic infrastructure.
At Cirion, the Agentic AI boom has made a unified data model a necessity. The Latin American cloud market is expected to reach $125 billion by 2030, and the urgency is driven by autonomous AI agents. An agent in Bogotá interacting with another in São Paulo requires a temporary circuit that can be established instantly and released upon task completion.
Static networks simply cannot provide this.
By transforming legacy infrastructure into a fully automated, service-on-demand platform, Carma and Ciena are helping Cirion deliver exactly what the region's digital economy needs.
Hear about this new generation of on-demand connectivity firsthand, in my interview at ITW 2026:
Author Bio: Frank McDermott
Frank is the CEO and co-founder of Carma. He created Carma based on his first-hand experience in the industry—from the construction, operation, and management of fiber, microwave, and cellular networks to neutral colocation data centers. Frank holds a Bachelor's from Georgetown, a Masters in Project Management from George Washington, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova. He separated from the US Air Force as a Captain in the Space and Missile career field.