Oh man, what a ride it’s been to get here. If you’ve been in the network automation game for a while, you’ve seen some things, right? From the wild, experimental chaos of early scripting to where we are today, standing at the edge of something really exciting.
At AutoCon 2 in Denver, I had the chance to dive into this journey with the community, and I was struck by how far network automation has come. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see how we got here and look ahead to where we’re going.
From Chaos to Progress
We all remember what I like to call the Age of Chaos — the early days of network automation. Back then, it was all about tools like Tcl and Expect. Sure, it was fun the first few times we configured a router, but by the 643rd VLAN, we were ready to lose our minds. It was messy, but it was a start.
Then came the Age of Disillusionment, when element management systems promised to save the day. Remember those? Pretty chassis views, lots of clicking… and then chaos in your configs. “No mop enabled,” anyone? Yeah, that didn’t go as planned. Most of us crawled back to the CLI, frustrated but wiser.
Eventually, we hit what I like to call the Age of Hope. This was when the industry started thinking bigger. We saw real collaboration, like when Jeremy Schulman and I teamed up on the NetDev standard lib framework. It didn’t revolutionize the world like we dreamed, but it taught us an important lesson: network automation could be more than a dream. Network automation could work.
Now: The Age of Achievement
Fast forward to today. We’re living in the Age of Achievement, and it’s not just about writing code anymore. Sure, automation started with tools, frameworks, and getting repetitive tasks off your plate. But now, it’s about more than operational efficiency. It’s about creating real, tangible value for your organization.
Here’s the thing: many of us set out wanting to write code and make things faster and easier. But somewhere along the way, we found ourselves wearing 12 different hats — supporting that code, documenting it, training others to use it.
Before we knew it, we weren’t network engineers anymore. We were hybrid dev-ops-documentation-gurus. Sound familiar?
A Product Mindset: Building Value
So, how do we move forward? By shifting to a product mindset. Instead of thinking, “How can I automate this task faster?” we need to ask, “How can I build something valuable for my organization?”
Delivering network services as standardized products across the organization — that’s the game changer.
This mindset starts with automation, yes, but it doesn’t end there. Add orchestration to bring those automated pieces together into seamless workflows. Then, productize it. Build frameworks and interfaces that other teams — your developers, customers, or line-of-business folks — can use effortlessly. You’re no longer just saving time; you’re creating tools that enable them to do their jobs better.
At Itential, this is exactly what we aim to do. Our platform is designed to help organizations move beyond just “doing” automation and start building automation as a product. By combining automation, orchestration, integration across network and infrastructure systems, and the ability to productize workflows, we enable teams to create scalable solutions that deliver real, tangible value across the organization. With tools that simplify and streamline complex operations, we’re empowering our customers to not just automate tasks, but to transform how they operate.
This isn’t just about working faster — it’s about rethinking how we leverage technology to drive innovation and impact. I sat down with Ethan Banks from Packet Pushers at AutoCon to discuss this further and explain how teams can adopt a product mindset for networking. Check it out below.
The Road Ahead
This is what the Age of Achievement is about: moving from reactive to proactive, from delivering efficiency at the margins to creating real value. And you’re already halfway there. With the tools and frameworks we have today, the possibilities are endless.
Check out my full 10 minute main stage presentation below and let’s keep this conversation going! I’d love to hear how you’re thinking about the future of network automation and what your “Age of Achievement” looks like.
Thanks for being part of this journey. Now let’s go build something amazing.
ICYMI: Check Out Some of Our Customers’ AutoCon 2 Presentations
How Armstrong Leverages Itential for Automated Infrastructure Service Delivery
In this on-demand presentation recorded at NAF’s AutoCon 2, Eric Anderson, Senior Infrastructure Architect at Armstrong, discusses his team’s automation and orchestration journey and dives into the solution architecture at each stage. Using Itential’s platform and adopting an orchestration strategy, they’ve reduced manual operations and accelerated infrastructure delivery across the organization.
Intent-Based MPLS Router & WAN Provisioning at SCE
In this session, SCE IT Grid Automation Manager Matthew Deibel dives into how the company leveraged orchestration to accelerate provisioning for MPLS routers. You’ll hear the specifics of this use case and how they began their automation journey, plus a view into the future, their automation roadmap, and how they plan to continue transforming the way their infrastructure supports the business.
Peter Sprygada
Chief Architect ‐ Itential
Peter Sprygada serves as the Chief Architect at Itential after serving as the Chief Technology Officer at Pureport where he was responsible for their multi-cloud network as a service interconnect platform. Prior to Pureport, Sprygada was a Distinguished Engineer for Red Hat, where he played the role of Chief Architect for the Ansible Automation Platform. Sprygada also held senior technical and leadership positions at Arista and Cisco, as well as several networking startups.
