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Mplify Announces Winners of the 2026 NaaS Excellence AwardsBOSTON, Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mplify, the global alliance advancing NaaS for AI and AI-ready digital infrastructure, today announced the winners of the 2026 NaaS Excellence Awards. The awards recognize organizations and individuals delivering measurable progress in Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), automation, interoperability, secure connectivity, and next-generation digital infrastructure. Now in its fourth year, the program reflects the expanding scope of NaaS and the growing operational demands associated with distributed AI. This year’s entries highlight automation expanding beyond individual organizations into multi-provider service delivery, AI moving from observability and prediction toward workflow and lifecycle execution, and growing convergence between AI for NaaS and NaaS for AI. As automation becomes more distributed and intelligent, the submissions also reinforce the importance of standards-based interoperability, assurance, security, governance, and trust in supporting AI-ready infrastructure. Winners were selected by a panel of senior analysts and industry experts from ACG Research, Analysys Mason, Appledore Research, Atlantic ACM, AvidThink, CCSquared, Dell’Oro Group, Frost & Sullivan, IDC, Mplify, Omdia, STL Partners, TeleGeography, and Vertical Systems Group. Entries were evaluated for innovation, strategic relevance, measurable impact, and contribution to the broader ecosystem. “This year’s winners show how quickly NaaS is moving from vision to execution,” said Kevin Vachon, COO, Mplify. “These innovative companies are applying automation, standardized APIs, secure connectivity, and high-performance infrastructure to solve real operational challenges across a distributed ecosystem. Their work is helping establish the foundation needed to deliver and scale AI-ready digital infrastructure.” 2026 NAAS EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS NaaS for AI Vision Carrier Ethernet Service Innovation NaaS Ecosystem Collaboration NaaS for Enterprise Implementation NaaS Service Innovation Inter-Provider Automation Leadership Interconnection Infrastructure Leadership NaaS for AI Leadership Secure NaaS Leadership NaaS Service Provider of the Year TECHNOLOGY AND SOLUTION PROVIDER AWARDS LSO Solution Provider of the Year Secure NaaS Solution AI Network Infrastructure Innovation AI-Driven Orchestration Platform Carrier Ethernet Technology Multi-Party Lifecycle Coordination Platform NaaS Technology Innovation PROFESSIONAL AWARDS Mplify’s professional awards recognize the breadth of leadership shaping both the organization’s work and the wider industry, including sustained technical contributions, executive leadership, lasting industry impact, and pioneering innovation. Distinguished Fellow Award Recipient: Ron Insler, CTO and Head of Innovation Labs, RAD Insler was recognized for his contributions to Mplify’s technical work, including Carrier Ethernet standards and the development of Networking for AI certification. Industry Executive of the Year Recipient: Jeremy Villalobos, CEO, Orchest Technologies Villalobos was recognized for advancing connectivity automation across the Americas and turning NaaS, LSO automation, and AI into operational reality. Michael Howard Industry Impact Award Recipient: Dan Pitt, President, Palo Alto Innovation Advisors Pitt was recognized for decades of leadership in open networking, global standards, industry research, education, and mentorship. Nan Chen Vanguard Award Recipient: Pascal Menezes, CTO, Mplify Menezes was recognized for a 40-year career pioneering technologies including MPLS, Virtual Private LAN Service, and Metro Ethernet; co-founding MEF; and continually advancing the industry through LSO, NaaS, SD-WAN, SASE, and AI-driven networking and digital infrastructure. The winners were recognized during the NaaS Excellence Awards Gala at the Mplify Member Summit – Americas in Boston. The summit brings Mplify members together to advance NaaS for AI, NaaS Federation, Agentic LSO, and the standards and operational models needed for automated, multi-provider services. Learn More About Mplify Media Contact: 
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