Network automation
Determine your maturity

It is and will remain a hot topic for now: automation. AI, ChatGPT, RPA, bots … Just some buzzwords that probably pass you by on a daily basis. When it comes to your IT network, automation is certainly a topic with a lot to gain. Are you considering deploying automation within your IT network? If so, it might be helpful to know where you are now and where you want to go. One of the tools we use at One Zero IT is our Automation Maturity Model. To get you started with your next automation step, we like to share this model with you.

Automation Maturity Model

You probably already see it coming, but just to be clear: with the Automation Maturity Model you determine how mature your IT organization is in terms of network automation. You can easily see what level you are at now, but also what your ambition with automation is. (And just for the record: going from level 0 to 4 is not something you do just like that 😉 )

Level 0: Manual work

A level of 0 actually says it all: there is no use of automation. Everything is done by hand, the way of working we know from way back when. Devices are configured individually via command-line interfaces (CLI) or GUI. There may be standardization in operations, but whether and how depends on the implementation by the individual engineer. For overviews, IP lists and templates, Excel sheets are mostly used.

Level 1: Scripting

This is the first phase toward automation. A small start is made on automation through a bottom-up approach. Individual engineers take time on their own initiative to work with automation. In the process, they improve their own work by writing scripts. The code used to do this lives on people’s laptops or in their own directories. Tools that make their appearance here are Perl, Python and Ansible.

Level 2: Shared tools and processes

In this phase, there is an ”automation initiative.” Management gives engineers a number of hours a week to develop automation. Within the team there is consultation and agreements are made about tools and languages. Code reviews and mutual demos of solutions are also often started. The code lives in a central place, in a Git repository for example. Standardization is applied mainly to new projects. Older parts of the environment still have a lot of non-standard legacy. Tools often used in this phase are Git, Netbox, Jinja2 and possibly some vendor-specific tooling.

Level 3: Infrastructure as a code

This phase focuses on a top-down approach. Engineers are expected to spend time on automation. It is an integral part of the work and not something you just “do on the side. The team uses an automation architecture and is developing an automation platform. For changes, there is a code-first approach. CLI and GUI are only used for troubleshooting. Standardization is enforced with code and older parts of the environment are also actively standardized. Examples of tools in this phase are Ansible Tower, Terraform and OpenConfig/YANG.

Level 4: Autonomous operations

At the highest level of our Automation Maturity Model, automation is no longer part of conversation, but implicitly secured in the environment. Automation systems provide daily operations and there is automatic self-correction in case of failures. Engineers are primarily concerned with data-driven operations and automation of customer-facing processes and Business Support Systems (BSS). Tools the conversation is now about are mainly AI and data visualization applications.

What will be your next step with automation?

Clearly, automation can bring a lot to organizations and engineer teams. Now you’re thinking: top, I’m going all in! Nice, but then we have a little bit of bad news for you: actually, you can’t skip levels. Each level of maturity builds on knowledge you gain and platforms you build in the stage before it. So going from level 0 to 4 in a year is too big a dream, but you can seriously accelerate if you know what you need to work on in the coming year and where you want to go eventually. In doing so, you can focus on the elements that are still missing for your organization.

Need help applying automation within your network? Our team of network automation specialists is ready to provide you with low-threshold advice.

Want to consult the maturity model at a later time? You can find a convenient slideshow here.