It has always been a matter of debate whether manual networking solutions are enough or it is time to deploy network automation solutions everywhere. The world belongs to technology. A huge but strong network is required for seamless transfer of data on an enterprise level. We think every enterprise at present requires secure, fast, and agile networking solutions for data sharing and transfer. No enterprise can survive without a high-performing, fully functional, and secure networking infrastructure.

The biggest flaw with manual networking solutions is the high error rate. For a complex networking environment like distributed workstations, cloud data centers, etc, operating networking manually becomes more difficult to manage. And, you always need specialized professionals to get the best-in-class solutions. Thus, it can consume a lot of investment of your company that can be utilized for other work.

Manual network management

A successful manual network management requires the presence of highly qualified, intelligent, and smart IT professionals. They will be the ones who will be engaged in configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting network devices. And, it is never possible that you get the right team to perform complex networking operations every time. Although there are networking devices, software, and a lot of programming is there. But, they are also meant to be managed by proficient networking professionals.

Automated network management

Now, you have an option in the form of a network automation technology to overcome the difficulties faced due to manual network operations.

Network automation technology provides enterprises with the ability to manage and maintain large and complex networking environments. Today, various network automation software is present in the market. For example, Ansible, Nornir, or vendor-specific platforms like Cisco DNA Center are there. Such a software solution aims for configuration, provisioning, monitoring, and troubleshooting without needing human help.

Analysis of Manual Network Management

An average manual network management setup can require 6-8 network engineers. Not to forget, qualified, proficient, and well-trained ones. The labour costs are high because more and more IT staff will be required to manage large infrastructures. Further, errors that occur during provisioning, configurations, and maintenance can lead to network outages. Network outage is a crucial problem that even hampers an excellent user experience.

Additionally, downtime recovery time is longer because manual diagnosis takes time. The longer the recovery time, the greater the loss in business. Further, the cost of scaling the business is also higher. It is because you have to employ more proficient people to work on your networking lines. Also, manual logs are prone to errors as they can fail to comply with industry norms. Even, it can be a tough time to make mistake-proof audits with manual networking techniques.

Analysis of Network Automation Solutions

The cost-wise analysis of a mid-sized firm for software purchase and training of IT personnel can be initially high. This upfront tooling cost can range from medium to high levels.

Moreover, the rate of error produced by the automated provisioning, configuration, and maintenance is relatively lower than manual networking solutions. Therefore, you observe negligible network outage while operating enterprise applications. Your end-user experience is never compromised.

The best part about using network automation solutions is the ease of scalability. Wherever your enterprise offices are located, within the borders or across the borders, the configuration, provisioning, and maintenance rules are uniform. Therefore, networking devices located at any workstation are uniformly managed. As a bonus, you can access all the networking devices at the same time, and can make any changes because of the centralized control methods.

With the help of real-time alerts and scripts, enterprises can take quick action to defend the network security threats. A single team can manage around 5 times more devices if network automation solutions are deployed.

If we talk about compliance and auditing, real-time logging helps a lot in maintaining the records in the right way. Additionally, network automation tools can be integrated easily with Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning(ML) tools. So, your networking infrastructure becomes more advance with time.

Manual network automation solutions Vs Automated network solutions

It is wise to be as technovative as your competitor is to survive in this competitive edge. If not you, then your rival will be adopting more efficient and more effective technology to get ahead of you.

Therefore, it is the time to focus on moving ahead with network automation solutions. You can take the good news as there are various network automation vendors around you to assist you in deploying the right network automation tools for your enterprise. In addition, you can take their help from budget estimation to post-purhase operations for establishing the right kind of automated networking system for your business.

At Last

We can conclude that deploying network automation solutions is undoubtedly the best solution to access high performance, scalability, agility, and security. The initial costs can seem high. But the rest of the benefits are greater than expected. Further, you gain security against the upcoming and continuously advancing cyber threats. Additionally, you get major benefits like extreme high performance and excellent end-user experience in the bonus using network automation technology.

FAQs

What are network automation solutions?

Network automation solutions provide ease in managing, maintaining, and upgrading networking devices without the real intervention of humans.

How successful can manual networking solutions be?

The biggest point where a manual networking solution lags or leads is the availability of highly qualified, well-trained, and brilliant IT professionals.  

Why is network automation technology the most desired innovation to manage complex networking infrastructures?

Network automation solutions provide ease in deployment, high rate of scalability, automated upgrades, and extensive security from the emerging cybersecurity threats in any complex and large networking environment.

In what terms are automated networking solutions better than manual networking solutions?

Automated networking solutions are 100% acceptable in complex and large networking environments. There is a rare possibility of errors in the case of automatic networking management. While a lot of errors can be produced during manual operations in complex and large networking environments. In addition, automated networking solutions can be economically efficient in comparison to manual ones.