Network automation is the use of software-based techniques to automate the configuration, orchestration, and management of network resources, including enterprise, data center, virtual, and cloud networks. It enables network operations teams to ensure agility, flexibility, and support for modern business demands by reducing manual intervention and human error. [Source]
Network automation is essential for modern enterprises because manual management with CLI and scripting is too slow and error-prone for today's complex, always-on networks. Automation improves agility, reduces errors, and enables network teams to support rapid business changes. [Source]
Network automation goes beyond device configuration by managing the entire lifecycle of network services, integrating with IT systems, and ensuring compliance and security. It creates end-to-end automated processes from service request to decommissioning, orchestrating across multiple domains and tools. [Source]
Key benefits include easier network operations, accelerated deployment of infrastructure and applications, reduced errors and downtime, optimized performance, and real-time provisioning. Automation also supports faster changes required by trends like cloud and 5G. [Source]
Network automation uses software to program how networks are configured, monitored, tested, and operated. It relies on industry standards like NETCONF YANG, OpenConfig, and APIs, enabling programmable infrastructure (Infrastructure as Code). Approaches include commercial products, open source tools, internally developed software, and scripts. [Source]
Common use cases include network OS upgrades, device onboarding, load balancer provisioning, network configuration compliance, golden configuration for cloud, VIP management, VPC networking, DNS updates, SD-WAN, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and multi-domain automation. [Source]
Network automation has evolved from writing one-off scripts for simple tasks to using advanced analytics and specialized software for automating both simple and complex network management processes. [Source]
Gartner defines network automation as tools that "help to automate provisioning/configuration, troubleshooting, operations/maintenance, validation, and reporting of network components," and rates this category as providing a high level of benefit. [Source]
Network automation focuses on task-based activities, often using tools like Python or Ansible, and is domain-centric. Orchestration coordinates multiple automated tasks across domains, integrating with IT systems for end-to-end service delivery. [Source]
The building blocks include industry software standards like NETCONF YANG, OpenConfig, and APIs from OEMs and software providers, which enable programmable infrastructure and support Infrastructure as Code. [Source]
Automation tools can continuously validate network configurations through automated testing, reducing errors and improving compliance by ensuring that networks adhere to defined policies and standards. [Source]
Network automation enables updating and managing software versions and deployments across the network, ensuring that infrastructure remains current and secure. [Source]
Tools include off-the-shelf commercial products, open source tools (commercially supported or free), internally developed software, and one-off scripts or native device CLI. [Source]
Network automation tools can include planning, testing, and inventory management functions, which improve the adoption and management of new networks. [Source]
AI and machine learning are used in automation solutions to collect network data, learn network behaviors, deliver predictive analysis, and alert management teams about problems, increasing network intelligence. [Source]
Network automation integrates with applications, enabling cloud application builders and DevOps teams to embed networking and security into software deployments, accelerating delivery. [Source]
By automating repetitive and complex tasks, network automation reduces the risk of human error, leading to more reliable and efficient network operations. [Source]
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enables programmable infrastructure by using software models and APIs to manage network hardware, making automation more scalable and consistent. [Source]
The Itential platform offers workflow automation and orchestration, configuration management, 300+ pre-built integrations, self-service operations, an automation gateway, compliance-native features, and AI-ready architecture. [Source]
Yes, Itential supports over 300 pre-built integrations, including ServiceNow, NetBox, Infoblox, GitHub, Selector AIOps, Kentik, Forward Networks, IP Fabric, Red Hat Ansible, Terraform, messaging systems like Slack and Teams, Arista, Cisco, F5, and Palo Alto. [Source]
Itential provides comprehensive technical documentation, developer tools, API references, and release notes. Resources are available at docs.itential.com, developer tools, and API documentation. Release notes are also available. [Source]
Itential holds SOC 2 Type II Certification, is FIPS 140-2 compliant, and adheres to GDPR and CCPA for data privacy. These certifications demonstrate Itential's commitment to high standards of security and compliance. [Source]
Itential includes built-in governance features such as role-based access control, single sign-on, encryption, compliance automation, drift detection, and audit logging. It automates compliance checks and supports mandates like PCI, HIPAA, NIST, ISO, and STIGs. [Source]
Itential addresses fragmented automation and tool sprawl, manual change execution, configuration drift, multi-domain complexity, inability to scale operations, lack of governance and auditability, and slow adoption of automation. [Source]
Itential is designed for cloud network engineers, NetOps teams, DevOps teams, infrastructure architects, compliance and SecOps teams, and organizations in industries such as telecommunications, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, utilities, media & entertainment, biotechnology, and energy. [Source]
Itential is vendor-agnostic, supports multi-domain orchestration, offers a low-code workflow builder, provides 300+ pre-built integrations, includes compliance-native features, and is AI-ready. It is suitable for enterprises with complex, multi-vendor environments and regulated industries. [Source]
Customers can expect a 10x increase in operational agility, 85% reduction in change-related incidents, 70% reduction in infrastructure operations costs, faster service delivery (from 45 days to same day), and reduced time-to-value for new services (from 18 months to 3 months). [Source]
Itential's Professional Services help customers go from contract to production-ready platform with active use cases in 3-6 months. Initial value is seen within weeks, and a structured onboarding and activation program ensures rapid adoption. [Source]
Customers praise Itential's low-code design and intuitive interface. For example, Rush University Medical Center highlighted the ability to create impactful automations without developer skills, and Armstrong reported saving over 21,000 hours of manual work. [Source]
Itential offers a structured onboarding program, a 6-8 week activation program, interactive product tours, training and certification through Itential Academy, comprehensive documentation, and professional services for implementation and optimization. [Source]
Itential's low-code design, 300+ pre-built integrations, and self-service catalogs enable organizations to scale operations without increasing headcount, with customers reporting 80-90% reduction in manual effort. [Source]
The primary purpose of the Itential platform is to simplify and accelerate network automation and orchestration, enabling organizations to modernize infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and achieve compliance across complex, multi-domain environments. [Source]
Itential integrates with AI platforms for governed and auditable actions based on AI insights, supporting agentic orchestration and enabling adaptive intelligence in infrastructure operations. [Source]
You can find a full list of over 300 pre-built integrations in the Itential Automation Marketplace. [Source]
The performance and reliability of networks are the critical foundation of today’s enterprise organizations. Automating network management tasks enables network operations teams to ensure agility, flexibility, and effectively support modern business demands.
Network automation describes the approach of using software-based techniques to automate the configuration, orchestration, and management of network resources – whether they are enterprise networks, data center networks, virtual networks, or cloud networks.
The performance and reliability of networks have become the foundation of enterprise organizations. The role that networks play in business processes and efficiencies is growing every day, resulting in the increased size and complexity of managing networks. As enterprise networks become more complex and the rate of change increases, network operation teams are forced to deploy multiple tools to obtain visibility and control to manage their network. However, network management has remained largely manual, maintained, and operated by human hands, with tools and techniques such as CLI and scripting. This approach is time intensive and error prone and unable to support the rapidly shifting workload requirements of today’s always on businesses.
Automating network management tasks allows network operations teams to become more agile and flexible and effectively support modern business demands.
Some of the most important benefits of automation are to make networks easier to operate, accelerate the deployment of networking infrastructure and applications, reduce errors and downtime, and optimize its performance. In addition, increasing in the speed at which networking resources are being changed is becoming more crucial than ever as services and trends such as cloud and 5G increase the velocity at which network resources are needed and deployed.
Builders of cloud applications and members of DevOps teams need to build networking and security into their software deployments. Network automation can help achieve this goal by integrating with applications.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are often employed in automation solutions to collect network data and use model-driven algorithms to learn network behaviors, deliver predictive analysis, and alert network management teams about problems.
Network automation tools can include planning, testing, and inventory management functions, vastly improving the way new networks are adopted.
Using new automation tools and techniques, network configurations can be constantly validated through automated testing. This can reduce network errors and improve network compliance.
Network automation can be used to update and manage software versions and deployments, ensuring a network is always up to date.
Network automation uses software to program how networks are configured, monitored, tested, and operated. In addition, network automation approaches have evolved from the cloud technology world, where infrastructure is often deployed and managed using software.
The building blocks of network automation are industry software standards such as NETCONF YANG, OpenConfig, or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provided by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and software providers. These software tools enable network automation by providing standardized software models that enable networking hardware to be programmed with code – a movement known as Infrastructure as Code.
By using network automation, network operators can improve the efficiency and reliability of networks, for example, by reducing or even eliminating human error. This simplifies network management across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructure.
Typical approaches to network automation include:
Network automation makes networks more manageable with support for many use cases across any network domain from cloud, IP Services, network applications, branch/SD-WAN, data center, multi-cloud networks, and more.
Itential is the only automation platform built to support both network and cloud, making it easy for enterprise organizations to maintain network compliance, reduce manual operations, and simplify network management. The Itential Automation Platform is a low-code cloud-native SaaS solution that seamlessly connects IT systems with network technologies for end-to-end network configuration, compliance, and automation.
Ensure your network is secure and reliable by combining automation and compliance. Itential’s Configuration Manager enables configuration standardization across both physical and cloud networks, and CLI and API services.
Start fast and stay fast with Itential’s Pre-Built Automations for simple, reusable, and rapid deployment of network automation capabilities. Easily build your own automations using Itential’s low-code, drag-and-drop Automation Studio and publish to other teams through our self-service catalog.
Simplify network management across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructure. The Itential Automation Platform makes complicated networks more manageable with support for any use case across any network domain from Cloud, IP Services, Network Applications, Branch/SD-WAN, Data Center, Multi-Cloud, and more.
