In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, enterprises face the daunting challenge of managing complex networks comprising of devices from multiple vendors. As networks grow increasingly intricate, traditional approaches to automation fall short, leading to inefficiencies, siloed operations, and heightened risks. Recognizing these challenges, organizations are turning to advanced solutions like IBM Rapid Network Automation to revolutionize their automation strategies and unlock their full potential. 

The evolution of network automation 

In the past, enterprises relied heavily on custom frameworks and homegrown tools to tackle the complexities of network automation. However, as networks expanded and diversified, these solutions became increasingly inadequate. Siloed implementations and dependency on senior resources hindered scalability and effectiveness. Furthermore, the widespread use of freeware tools introduced potential risks and security concerns. 

The development of automation scripts isn't the issue; rather, it's the effective management and integration of these automations across departments and teams.  

Introducing IBM Rapid Network Automation 

IBM Rapid Network Automation offers a comprehensive solution to overcome these challenges by enabling you to deliver automation value by capturing all aspects of your automation needs. It’s no longer acceptable to automate individual tasks, rather now it’s a requirement to automate the complete process within a single solution that reaches out to all of the sources, systems, and tools required to deliver the complete process.  

IBM Rapid Network Automation offers three core value drivers for organizations: 

Normalize automation in your organization and its employees, allowing wider spread utilization and impact across your business. Leverage the vast library of vendor building blocks for rapid automation development across your technology stack and move beyond siloed automation implementations. Leverage proprietary APIs alongside abstracted vendor APIs. Rapidly connect platforms and sync data in real-time as automations execute. Make your automation available to all other platforms in your organization with an immediate generation of API endpoint when deploying a workflow.  

Table 1: Broadest coverage in the industry: 1000s of out-of-the-box abstracted action blocks to automate across the entire stack. 

       2. Amplify existing automation 

With IBM Rapid Network Automation, onboarding a new automation tool does not mean rewriting that which already exists. Rather than starting from scratch, organizations can build upon their current automation scripts and tools, maximizing their investment and accelerating time-to-value. Utilize, combine, and amplify existing automation scripts and tools within minutes using automation building blocks for all major platforms like Ansible, Python, Chef, etc. Immediately use existing automation in a workflow and edit them inside of the workflow. Rapidly connect these automations with other platforms such as updating tickets, updating CMDBs, and performing follow-up actions.  

With many built-for-purpose tools, and teams using tools and frameworks that they are familiar with, IBM Rapid Network Automation can add a way to centrally and securely manage the automation in your organization.  

Figure 1: Using multiple automation tools with 3rd party applications is easy with Rapid Network Automation

3. Automation governance 

IBM Rapid Network Automation allows for effective automation governance ensuring centralized control, security, and compliance mitigating risks associated with automation initiatives. Use detailed logs and dashboards to monitor your automation activities and leverage cross-platform role-based access control to manage who can edit, view, and use automations. A single automation repository ensures workflows are available across teams, with proper versioning and accountability for upkeep.  

Figure 2: Leavarage live dashboards to keep track of automation performance and progress. 

Key Features and Benefits 

Users of IBM Rapid Network Automation typically experience these benefits with the product: 

• Accelerated mean time to resolution.  

• Reduction in time to market.  

• Increased security and compliance.  

• Automate across your IT stack. 

• Decreased dependency on senior resources. 

Unleash the full potential of automation for your entire organization 

In an era defined by digital transformation and relentless technological advancement, network automation is no longer a luxury but a necessity. With IBM Rapid Network Automation, organizations can embark on a transformative journey towards centralized, secure, and scalable automation management. By leveraging existing automation scripts, amplifying their capabilities, and applying robust governance measures, enterprises can navigate the complexities of modern networks with confidence and ease. Join us to revolutionize your automation strategy and unleash the full potential of your network infrastructure. IBM Rapid Network Automation is available today in both SaaS and client-managed offerings.