Welcome Packet Pushers Listeners! 👋
We’ve been lucky enough to join a few Packet Pushers podcasts recently alongside our customers as they share their real-world automation journeys – evolving from individual pockets of automation to platforms that enable standardized and AI-driven orchestrated operations.
Check out our recent episodes.
The Network Engineer’s Evolution:
Thinking Like a Product Owner
“Developers don’t want to pick up the phone and call a networking person to ask for infrastructure. We don’t want those calls either, right? The future is meeting at an API layer where network teams and app teams can collaborate seamlessly.”
Peter Sprygada, Chief Architect at Itential
“The game-changer for us with Itential is how it abstracts the complexity of automation. In the past, scripting and automation were intimidating because they required you to be a programmer first and a network engineer second. But with Itential, you don’t need to be a developer to create impactful automations. You can take building blocks and create workflows that solve real problems quickly and effectively, without the need for manual intervention.”
Uzair Khan, Manager of Network Services at RUSH University Medical Center
Innovating Healthcare IT:
Automating NetOps at RUSH University Medical Center
From Automation to Orchestration for a FinTech Network
“Itential will make us more money by increasing our velocity to deliver infrastructure. It will save us money, because to deliver more, I won’t need any significant increase in headcount. And it keeps me off the front page by allowing me to ensure infrastructure is consistently secured everywhere.”
Michael Wynston, Director of Architecture & Automation at Fiserv
The Itential Platform
AI-Powered Network & Infrastructure Orchestration with Itential
Whether it’s training engineers on Ansible and Python, trying to centralize automation expertise, or evaluating new tools, most teams have learned that getting automation to scale is harder than it looks.
Let’s be real – automation has evolved. It’s no longer just about saving time with scripts. Today’s networks demand orchestration that brings together every tool, every domain, and now, AI-driven insights that help engineers detect issues, validate intent, and make better decisions in real time.
At Itential, we make that practical. Our platform connects your existing automations, data, domains, and systems into one intelligent framework for scale – combining your expertise with AI-powered context so the network can adapt, recover, and improve continuously.
Execute & Share Your Automations
Run and manage your Python, Ansible, and Terraform automations securely. Itential adds enterprise controls – RBAC, logging, and APIs – so teams can scale script automation safely across systems and pipelines.
Integrate & Orchestrate Everything
Unify your network automations with IT and cloud systems. With 300+ integrations, Itential connects controllers, ITSM, and AI-driven logic for true end-to-end orchestration across domains.
AI Guardrails with Itential MCP
Bring AI into automation safely. The Itential MCP Server connects LLMs and automation systems with built-in guardrails – enforcing policy, approvals, and context so AI actions remain secure, explainable, and under your control.
Validate & Maintain Confidence
Use AI and real-time data to verify intent, catch drift, and enforce compliance. Itential keeps configurations consistent and changes validated across every device, domain, and cloud.
Design Intelligent Workflows
Build and modify orchestration workflows in seconds with Itential’s low-code designer. Connect automations, data, and systems into adaptive, AI-assisted processes that scale easily.
Enable Self-Service Networking
Turn automations into products teams can run safely on demand. Itential powers self-service catalogs and pipelines with governance, stateful orchestration, and AI-assisted execution.
Check out all Itential @ Packet Pushers Episodes
TECH BYTES
Bringing AI Reasoning to Infrastructure with Itential FlowAI
Listen Now
TOTAL NETWORK OPERATIONS #018
The Network Engineer’s Evolution: Thinking Like a Product Owner
Listen Now
NETWORK AUTOMATION NERDS #076
Innovating Healthcare IT: Automating NetOps at RUSH University Medical Center
Listen Now
NETWORK AUTOMATION NERDS #066
Operationalize Your Automations with torero
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #726
From Automation to Orchestration for a FinTech Network
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #705
Evolving From Python to Platforms for Network Automation
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #675
Enabling Self-Service Automation & NetDevOps with Itential
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #621
Get Scalable Network Automation with Itential
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #591
Want Network Automation? Start with Compliance & Validation
Listen Now
HEAVY NETWORKING #503
Achieve Multi-Domain Network Automation with Itential
Listen Now
Learn More with Itential Content
Blogs
- From Friction to Flow: Why MCP Matters for NetOps
- How Network Engineers Can Build a Product Mindset for Automation
- In Network Automation, Platforms & Collaboration Are Synonymous
- AI-Driven Golden Configuration Trees: End Compliance Fire Drills, Forever
- Context as the New Currency: Designing Effective MCP Servers for AI
- MCP 101: Understanding the Model Context Protocol
- From Scripts to Systems: Why Orchestration is the Missing Link in AI Adoption
Other Resources
- Itential MCP Demo | Trigger Network Automation with a Simple Ask
- AutoCon 3: Throw Out the Playbook, AI Is Here to Stay
- From Automation to Agentic AI: Lumen’s Journey to Self-Driving Networks
- Packet Pushers: Itential MCP Server & AI-Powered Network Operations
- How to Leverage Itential MCP & Agentic AI For Network Config Compliance
- From Scripts to Platforms: What’s Really Holding Back Network Automation?
- From Vibe-Coding Automation Scripts to Self-Service with Itential & AI