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Network Automation Enables DevOps Programmability

Shamus McGillicuddy

Nearly 97% of DevOps teams are integrating their orchestration solutions with network automation tools, according to new research from Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).

EMA recently published The Future of Data Center Network Automation, a report based on a survey of 359 enterprises and services providers. The survey explored technology strategies and challenges for automating data center networks.

Integration between data center network automation tools and DevOps tools are nearly universal, but the depth of that integration varies. More than 50% of companies have or plan to have only loose integration between NetOps and DevOps automation, meaning that many NetOps teams are limiting the extent of network programmability that they offer to DevOps.

This conservative approach may mitigate risk, but it could be shortsighted. DevOps groups require agility to achieve their goals. When network engineers limit network programmability, they will inevitably have to respond to a larger number of change tickets from DevOps, leading to human latency in overall operations. Network engineers may maintain more control over how the network operates, but it comes at the expense of agility.

More than 46% of networks teams have or plan to implement tight integration between NetOps and DevOps automation, meaning that they are going to allow DevOps to program most or all aspects of their data center networks. This approach is most popular with best-in-class data center network automation strategies, suggesting that it is a best practice.

Network Automation Strategies are Cloud and DevOps Centric

The typical data center network automation strategy is multi-tool. More than 48% of network teams use two tools for network automation, and 45% use three or more. Quite often, DevOps tools are part of the picture, not just something to be integrated with. More than 42% of network teams use DevOps automation or infrastructure-as-code tools as one of their network automation solutions. DevOps tools are most popular as a network automation solution in companies that have many data centers (11 or more).

Beyond DevOps integration, EMA research found that most companies are thinking about how their data center network automation tools fit into their overall hybrid cloud architecture. Nearly 78% of companies require that their data center network automation tools be extensible to public cloud environments, thus allowing the orchestration of network automation across both data centers and clouds. This requirement is more common among best-in-class companies, against suggesting that it is a best practice.

"The push toward the cloud is one thing that is driving our [data center] network automation," a network automation engineer with a $3 billion retailer told EMA. "With day-to-day operations, we want to be able to provide our new cloud applications with access to resources that are sitting in a data center."

EMA's research is clear. As network engineering teams formulate a plan for data center network automation, DevOps and cloud will be a major factor. If you have a DevOps team, you must be prepared to integrate your network automation solutions with the DevOps toolset. You should also consider how your network automation strategy will be extensible to public cloud environments. And DevOps tools may offer solutions to some of your network automation requirements.

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Network Automation Enables DevOps Programmability

Shamus McGillicuddy

Nearly 97% of DevOps teams are integrating their orchestration solutions with network automation tools, according to new research from Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).

EMA recently published The Future of Data Center Network Automation, a report based on a survey of 359 enterprises and services providers. The survey explored technology strategies and challenges for automating data center networks.

Integration between data center network automation tools and DevOps tools are nearly universal, but the depth of that integration varies. More than 50% of companies have or plan to have only loose integration between NetOps and DevOps automation, meaning that many NetOps teams are limiting the extent of network programmability that they offer to DevOps.

This conservative approach may mitigate risk, but it could be shortsighted. DevOps groups require agility to achieve their goals. When network engineers limit network programmability, they will inevitably have to respond to a larger number of change tickets from DevOps, leading to human latency in overall operations. Network engineers may maintain more control over how the network operates, but it comes at the expense of agility.

More than 46% of networks teams have or plan to implement tight integration between NetOps and DevOps automation, meaning that they are going to allow DevOps to program most or all aspects of their data center networks. This approach is most popular with best-in-class data center network automation strategies, suggesting that it is a best practice.

Network Automation Strategies are Cloud and DevOps Centric

The typical data center network automation strategy is multi-tool. More than 48% of network teams use two tools for network automation, and 45% use three or more. Quite often, DevOps tools are part of the picture, not just something to be integrated with. More than 42% of network teams use DevOps automation or infrastructure-as-code tools as one of their network automation solutions. DevOps tools are most popular as a network automation solution in companies that have many data centers (11 or more).

Beyond DevOps integration, EMA research found that most companies are thinking about how their data center network automation tools fit into their overall hybrid cloud architecture. Nearly 78% of companies require that their data center network automation tools be extensible to public cloud environments, thus allowing the orchestration of network automation across both data centers and clouds. This requirement is more common among best-in-class companies, against suggesting that it is a best practice.

"The push toward the cloud is one thing that is driving our [data center] network automation," a network automation engineer with a $3 billion retailer told EMA. "With day-to-day operations, we want to be able to provide our new cloud applications with access to resources that are sitting in a data center."

EMA's research is clear. As network engineering teams formulate a plan for data center network automation, DevOps and cloud will be a major factor. If you have a DevOps team, you must be prepared to integrate your network automation solutions with the DevOps toolset. You should also consider how your network automation strategy will be extensible to public cloud environments. And DevOps tools may offer solutions to some of your network automation requirements.

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Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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