In my last blog, I explored why aligning network automation with business goals is essential for driving meaningful outcomes. But once you’ve established that alignment, the next critical step is measuring the impact. How do you quantify the return on investment (ROI) of automation initiatives in a way that resonates with business leadership?
While cost reduction is a common starting point, focusing solely on operational savings overlooks the broader value automation can deliver — especially as automation initiatives scale and mature.
To demonstrate value, secure future funding, and continue down the path of automation, it’s critical for teams to define the right metrics/KPIs. Measure the full ROI of network automation, demonstrating how it can shift from being an IT efficiency tool to a powerful growth driver, and you’ll be able to continuously build on your automation success.
Revisiting the Foundation: Align Before Measuring
As discussed in our previous post, automation efforts need to be strategically aligned with business objectives — whether that’s reducing operational costs, accelerating time-to-market, or reducing risk and complying with regulations.
Once that foundation is laid, the next challenge is selecting the right metrics to capture both tangible and intangible returns.
The ROI Spectrum: Moving Beyond Cost Savings
1) Operational Efficiency & Cost Savings
- Improved productivity across teams.
- Enhanced network reliability resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
- While important, savings from reduced manual tasks, fewer errors, and less downtime are just one piece of the ROI puzzle.
2) Risk Mitigation & Compliance
- Reduction in compliance violations through standardized, automated processes.
- Lower risk of outages and security breaches.
3) Revenue Growth Opportunities
- Automation speeds up service delivery, helping you outpace competitors and seize market opportunities.
- By freeing IT resources from repetitive tasks, organizations can focus on innovation — leading to new products and services.
- Robust, modular orchestration allows organizations to easily adopt new IT and network vendors, switch vendors, and integrate new technologies with automated workflows — ensuring you’re always ahead of the curve.
Framework for Measuring Network Automation ROI
To effectively measure ROI, business leaders need a comprehensive framework that ties automation efforts directly to business outcomes.
Identify Key Business Metrics
Focus on metrics that matter to your organization’s broader strategy. Common examples:
- Workload Unit Cost: Track how automation reduces the cost of executing specific tasks or processes.
- Time-to-Complete: Measure reductions in the time required for service delivery or issue resolution.
- Efficiency & Productivity: Quantify improvements in task throughput and resource utilization.
- Versatility & Reach: Evaluate how automation expands capabilities, such as enabling hybrid cloud deployments or improving compliance reporting.
Leverage Tools & Resources
To streamline the process, consider using these Itential resources designed to help you assess the business impact of automation and plan next steps:
- Measuring the Business Impact of Network Automation provides key metrics to track automation success.
Learn more - The 4 Key Metrics Needed to Build Your Business Case for Network Automation offers guidance on selecting impactful KPIs.
Learn more - Itential’s Automation Value Calculator helps uncover high-value automation opportunities.
Start Calculating
Real-World Examples of Automation-Driven ROI
Below are some examples of measurable, transformative results Itential customers have achieved recently. Follow the links to explore any of the stories in full:
Financial Services: The network team at a global bank saved 1,500 hours of work per device upgrade cycle by orchestrating software upgrades, delivering a total of 3,000 FTE hours saved annually and reducing incidents by over 90%.
Read the full story
Healthcare: A multinational biotech company leveraged Itential to ensure 100% network reliability for SD-WAN services, improving customer experience and reducing risk by automating 60% of total network activity (and rising) and accelerating innovation by delivering self-serve networking.
Read the full story
Manufacturing: Armstrong World Industries reduced delivery time for network services from 5 days to <10 minutes, saving a total of 7,114 days of waiting that would have slowed down application development and innovation. The network team saved 15,324 FTE hours to focus on higher-priority tasks.
Read the full story
Making the Business Case: Articulating the ROI of Automation
When presenting automation’s value to stakeholders, focus on the bigger picture:
- Highlight Growth Potential: Emphasize revenue opportunities created by faster innovation and market responsiveness.
- Quantify Risk Reduction: Showcase cost savings from improved compliance and reduced downtime.
- Demonstrate Strategic Alignment: Position automation as a cornerstone of digital transformation and competitive advantage.
Measuring the ROI of network automation goes beyond cost savings — it’s about demonstrating how automation drives business growth, improves efficiency, and mitigates risk. By applying a metrics-driven approach, organizations can transform their automation initiatives into measurable business success.
Ready to unlock the full ROI of your network automation efforts?
See our white paper, Aligning Automation to Business Value: A Framework for Metrics-Driven Impact, to discover how to turn automation into a catalyst for business growth. Or, schedule time with our automation experts to learn how Itential’s Platform can drive value for your business and position your network as a strategic asset.
Morgan Stern
Vice President, Automation Strategy ‐ Itential
Morgan Stern serves as the Vice President of Automation Strategy for Itential, where he is responsible for assisting Itential’s global customers in developing, implementing and deriving value from their automation strategies using the Itential Automation Platform. For the majority of his career, Morgan has focused on assisting large enterprise and service provider organizations in maximizing the business impact of new technologies as an architect, consultant, author, and industry speaker.
