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AppViewX 2018 Predictions: Looking Ahead to Automations Role in NetOps

VMblog Predictions 2018

Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2018.  Read them in this 10th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Murali Palanisamy, CTO, AppViewX

Looking Ahead to Automations Role in NetOps

2017 has seen its fair share of trends with IoT coming into its own and artificial intelligence being applied everywhere. We too have seen these trends and its impact on the network operations teams' ability to deliver faster and more agile services. Though these trends are not going away, they will continue to grow and spur additional trends like the ones I would like to share below. In 2018, keep your eyes squarely on automation and its role in software defined implementations and the long term need for advanced automation skills. Below are my predictions for 2018, let me know your thoughts. 

1.       Increased demand for advanced automation skillsets

The advent of automation and other new age technologies have created a new demand for both advanced and niche skillsets. The IT industry will witness a significant rise in the number of jobs for automation engineers who can skillfully and effectively deploy the sophisticated tools that help enterprises automate and orchestrate their networks. Automation allows enterprises to deliver faster, error-free, and cost-effective solutions, and as enterprises start to embrace automation, they will need more technically adept professionals to help them.

We will also see enterprises investing in applied learning courses to help their existing IT professionals keep pace with emerging trends and the new requirements that come with them.  Educational institutions - whether they be major universities or technical trade schools - will also start adding modules to existing courses that focus on automation.  

2.       With automation, the future of Artificial Intelligence will become more tangible

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was the talk of 2017, with predictions and ideas thrown loftily around by tech pioneers. In 2018 we will see the actual implementation of all these revolutionary ideas. It is no longer just a vision we're aspiring to- it is happening. In fact, major global organizations are already investing millions of dollars in AI.

One major reason for the booming growth of AI is the elimination of manual dependencies and the errors they inevitably spur. In enterprise tech, automation is already playing a major role in removing the need for manual intervention and therefore increasing business agility. However, when coupled with AI, users will introduce the essence of human intelligence that will effectively eliminate step-by-step programming and customization. To stay ahead of the curve, AI integration is a must as its presence becomes more and more tangible every day.

3.       Automation is quickly becoming a necessity

In 2018, enterprises will have little choice but to start replacing traditional work-flows with automation. Automation itself is not a new trend - it has been part of the discussion for quite some time. But, the actual need to automate is steadily increasing. In fact, it will no longer just be a "nice-to-have" item on your budget proposal. Instead, it will be a permanent fixture that you absolutely must invest in.

Automation is the key to balancing the large volumes of data and tasks that enterprises must manage on a daily basis. By introducing automation workflows, you can eliminate silos and improve day-to-day processes to increase overall efficiency. Migration to automation will not only help increase productivity and accuracy, but it will also make IT teams more agile - a necessity in today's business environment.

4.       Intent-based automation is on the rise

Enterprises want to be in complete control, and engineers want to have the ability to customize workflows and processes to best suit their needs. Intent-based automation takes software-defined automation to the next level. Automation gives enterprises the flexibility to customize and predefine internal network workflows. Once users define the pathway, intent-based automation will manipulate the network to enforce policies and deliver the desired outcome.

Intent-based automation eliminates the need for manual scaling by automating the process with pre-defined intent. Although it is still in its early stages, it has the potential to play an integral role in software-defined implementations by making automation smarter and more intuitive.

5.       Simplicity will override agility when it comes to automation tools

Enterprises are investing significantly in identifying new trends and finding ways to adapt to them. There are multiple vendors offering different tools that help users to automate their network infrastructure services. However, what many enterprises don't recognize is that by adding new tools, users can unintentionally complicate existing processes. They continue to procure different tools and in turn hit roadblocks when they don't know how to manage them all.

Keeping things simple is crucial for enterprises evaluating automation solutions. However, determining the right automation process for your unique infrastructure is no easy task. It is complex, and users cannot afford to tamper with the network. If the engineers are not satisfied with the simplicity of the solution, users must sell them on the agility it enables. In 2018, the simplicity of automation tools will be more important than the agility they can provide.

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About the Author

Murali Palanisamy 

As chief technology officer, Murali is responsible for the overall product vision, development, and technical direction of AppViewX. Before joining the company, he served as senior vice president at Bank of America, where he led an architecture and engineering team of e-commerce application delivery.  

Published Monday, December 11, 2017 8:02 AM by David Marshall
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