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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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Telecommunications is expanding at an unprecedented pace ... But progress brings complexity. As WanAware's 2025 Telecom Observability Benchmark Report reveals, many operators are discovering that modernization requires more than physical build outs and CapEx — it also demands the tools and insights to manage, secure, and optimize this fast-growing infrastructure in real time ...

As businesses increasingly rely on high-performance applications to deliver seamless user experiences, the demand for fast, reliable, and scalable data storage systems has never been greater. Redis — an open-source, in-memory data structure store — has emerged as a popular choice for use cases ranging from caching to real-time analytics. But with great performance comes the need for vigilant monitoring ...

Kubernetes was not initially designed with AI's vast resource variability in mind, and the rapid rise of AI has exposed Kubernetes limitations, particularly when it comes to cost and resource efficiency. Indeed, AI workloads differ from traditional applications in that they require a staggering amount and variety of compute resources, and their consumption is far less consistent than traditional workloads ... Considering the speed of AI innovation, teams cannot afford to be bogged down by these constant infrastructure concerns. A solution is needed ...

AI is the catalyst for significant investment in data teams as enterprises require higher-quality data to power their AI applications, according to the State of Analytics Engineering Report from dbt Labs ...

Misaligned architecture can lead to business consequences, with 93% of respondents reporting negative outcomes such as service disruptions, high operational costs and security challenges ...

A Gartner analyst recently suggested that GenAI tools could create 25% time savings for network operational teams. Where might these time savings come from? How are GenAI tools helping NetOps teams today, and what other tasks might they take on in the future as models continue improving? In general, these savings come from automating or streamlining manual NetOps tasks ...

IT and line-of-business teams are increasingly aligned in their efforts to close the data gap and drive greater collaboration to alleviate IT bottlenecks and offload growing demands on IT teams, according to The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses from Jitterbit ...

A large majority (86%) of data management and AI decision makers cite protecting data privacy as a top concern, with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization, according to a new Harris Poll from Collibra ...

According to Gartner, Inc. the following six trends will shape the future of cloud over the next four years, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact ...

2020 was the equivalent of a wedding with a top-shelf open bar. As businesses scrambled to adjust to remote work, digital transformation accelerated at breakneck speed. New software categories emerged overnight. Tech stacks ballooned with all sorts of SaaS apps solving ALL the problems — often with little oversight or long-term integration planning, and yes frequently a lot of duplicated functionality ... But now the music's faded. The lights are on. Everyone from the CIO to the CFO is checking the bill. Welcome to the Great SaaS Hangover ...