How do organisations benefit from network automation?

EM360 TECH

Published on
20/04/2020 01:53 PM

Automation is gaining prominence as a means to solve modern enterprise problems. Today, the cyber skills shortage and budget restraints are both putting pressure on organisations and, unfortunately, it looks like it'll stay this way a little while yet. Companies then have to juggle these two challenges with the ambition of improving overall efficiency across the enterprise.

Automation is a natural answer to all the above. Not only that, it comes with a number of other advantages that businesses get to enjoy along the way. One area that benefits from automation in particular is the enterprise network.

Networks today are bearing down on IT teams everywhere. As they become increasingly complex, IT professionals often find themselves crushed under the weight of the plates they are trying to spin. Network automation works with, not instead of, IT teams (so that 'technology is taking over jobs' narrative doesn't apply – woohoo!) in line with digital transformation initiatives to work smarter and more efficiently.

The advantages of network automation

IT professionals will be able to appreciate the peace of mind that network automaton gives them. Firstly, the impact of human error is less likely; for basic, repetitive, and tedious tasks, employees may innocently take shortcuts that cost a business greatly. Automation can carry out steps per task to a highly accurate degree, leaving no scope for mistakes and improving network performance and security as a result. Not only that, but it frees your team to work on more meaningful, strategic tasks.

Network automation can also alleviate some of the panic if a problem does arise. In particular, it allows organisations to better pinpoint and troubleshoot network or security problems. A complex network is no match for network automation, which can provide a more complex network analysis in turn. This is because network automation can correlate data from multiple sources to provide more detailed insights. Thus, IT professionals can pinpoint problematic activity quickly and efficiently.

Furthermore, network automation promises demonstrable return on investment. With IT professionals being able to repurpose their efforts elsewhere and overall lower operational expenses, a network can do more without spending more.

Where to begin

Rather than leave you empty-handed, we want to shine a spotlight on one of our favourite network automation solutions. Forward Networks is a highly innovative network automation vendor, with capabilities that stretch beyond your typical offering.

The company's offering, Forward Enterprise, takes the shape of your network's digital twin. In particular, it creates an always-accurate software copy of your entire network infrastructure to document, search, verify, and predict network behaviour. What's more, you can deploy the solution on-premise or via cloud-hosting, better meeting your business's unique needs.

One of Forward Networks' most notable features is its verification capabilities. Organisations can use Forward Networks to ensure their own network infrastructure is behaving exactly how they'd wish. Businesses can set, check, and customise policies, while taking advantage of continuous network audits. These alert teams to any non-compliant activity, enabling organisations to be more proactive about any issues in this field.

The perks of network automation are pretty obvious, but if you're hesitant about jumping on the bandwagon, rest assured that you're in good hands with Forward Networks.

What is the impact of shadow IoT devices on the enterprise? Find out in this article here.

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