How network automation vendors can support DIY tools

The current state of automation

"Homegrown network automation is everywhere," McGillicuddy said in the report's accompanying webinar, "From Scripts to Platforms: Why Homegrown Tools Dominate Network Automation and How Vendors can Help."

According to the 2024 report, 57% of respondents said their organizations use open source software without vendor support. More than 60% said they use custom code, such as scripts or homegrown software. However, 61% said DIY tools required at least six hours per week for maintenance and debugging.

"They're not using open core solutions," McGillicuddy said. "They're using pure open source stuff. … They are going at it alone."

Network teams take the following steps in a typical DIY automation journey:

1. Standalone scripts. This step might not apply to everyone, McGillicuddy said, but it's often where people start. This is a limited type of automation, as engineers use standalone scripts to automate simple tasks in Python. However, this less strategic automation approach results in challenges such as uneven script sharing or overlap. As a first step on the automation journey, it also has limited governance, visibility and documentation.
2. High-code workflow orchestration. The next step for automation systems is automating workflows rather than individual tasks. McGillicuddy said this step takes the standalone scripts network engineers have already written and coordinates them into frameworks. They might also use Ansible to build playbooks. This step requires engineers to have coding skills to build, integrate and execute new features.
3. Homegrown software. In this final step, engineers should abstract everything in the previous tiers, McGillicuddy said. Coding is still required at this stage, and software developers build applications to add any new platform features. According to McGillicuddy, automation truly ramps up at this stage because it's much easier to use. As a result, requests for new features can pile up in a developer's queue.

3 reasons DIY automation is popular

Network teams prefer to use DIY network automation for a variety of reasons, McGillicuddy said.

1. Budget-friendly

Though network automation has been in the conversation for 20 years, it's still not a mainstream focus, McGillicuddy said. It's only been taken seriously in the last few years, which has led to hesitancy from IT management to put it on the budget.

"IT management is still getting used to the idea of network automation being something that's worth investing in from a budget perspective," McGillicuddy said. "Network automation just isn't getting the respect it deserves yet."

McGillicuddy said, when it comes to networking, IT budgets primarily focus on infrastructure, security and observability. However, it isn't always about other network components taking priority; sometimes, it's hard to justify the spending.

One network automation engineer he spoke with from a large collaboration provider said, "You can make a claim about risk reduction and future efficiency improvements, but it's very hard to put a dollar value next to that."

Even if network automation engineers can put a price on the technology, it's likely echoing a vendor quote and might not be worth it. Average vendor prices can go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, in some cases, engineers can create the same in-house capabilities with a little more work for less money.

2. Customizability and control

DIY automation prevents vendor limitations, which is attractive for those running on a multivendor network. Respondents said vendor automation concerns included generalized use cases and vendor lock-in.

A network automation director at a large eastern U.S. university told McGillicuddy they chose DIY tools because vendor tools didn't apply to their specific use cases. Each team used a different application, so they all had different use cases.

Network engineers also want to avoid vendor lock-in. Sometimes, relying on one vendor's network automation tool prevents teams from adding a second vendor to the network, McGillicuddy said. This limits the tools, capabilities and equipment network engineers can use. As multivendor networks grow in popularity, one-vendor networks aren't as feasible today as they were before.

"What's appealing about using just straight Python is that we're able to interface with different vendor systems and we're not at the mercy of what the vendor gives us," a network engineer at a large multinational pharmaceutical company said.

3. Python and open source as industry standards

DIY automation is made easier by the fact that Python and open source are industry standards. McGillicuddy said this de facto status isn't due to a standards body, but instead because of the networking community.

"There is a massive community using, developing and supporting [Python and open source]," McGillicuddy said.

Some benefits of these tools are the following:

• No learning or access barriers.
• Large, collaborative communities willing to share knowledge and code.
• Easier to hire people with skills not limited to one vendor.
• Building tools without software licenses.
• Avoiding high learning curves on vendor devices.

3 ways vendors can transform DIY tool sets

While many automation vendors no longer force -- or expect -- organizations to trade in DIY tools, there's still more they can do. McGillicuddy said that most people he interviewed want to maintain some of the systems they have in place.

"Vendors are increasingly not asking you to rip out all the work you've done if you've grown a network automation tool set from scratch," McGillicuddy said. "They are interested in empowering what you already have in providing a path toward something else."

1. More flexibility

Network engineers want a single platform that enables them to build low-code/no-code automated workflows using vendor building blocks, such as GUIs and prebuilt components or templates. This type of platform helps them migrate, maintain and execute existing high-code automation, while preserving the ability to write new high-code automation.

"[Users] like the idea of no-code or low-code tools, as opposed to their high-code automation, but they don't want one or the other. They want both," McGillicuddy said.

2. Logging, reporting and dashboards

Vendors can provide networking teams with logging, reporting and dashboard features to enhance DIY automation and provide visibility. While open source tools provide some of these features, it's not in the way developers want, McGillicuddy said.

Network teams want visibility features to include better tracking and troubleshooting. These features also enable teams to provide reports and dashboards to upper management that demonstrate automation's value, which helps with buy-in.

"Being able to show upper management what is actually occurring will get buy-in," a network automation and tools engineer at a large western U.S. university said. "A dashboard that shows us that a script saved us 15 days this year would be great."

3. Governance and security

Security can be a challenge for DIY automation tools. Without tight controls around automation built from scratch, unauthorized users can breach the network. However, vendors can help with security. Some of the security capabilities vendors can provide to DIY automation tools are the following:

• Role-based access control.
• Review process changes.
• Integration with identity and access management systems.
• Integration with or native support for secrets management.

"There are vendors that can 'operationalize' your homegrown tools and take you further and empower more people in your organization to automate, regardless of their skill set," McGillicuddy said. "And they want the opportunity to continue coding in Python or what else."

Nicole Viera is assistant site editor for Informa TechTarget's SearchNetworking site. She joined Informa TechTarget as an editor and writer in 2024.