Beyond the Island of Automation: Bridging Complex Networks with Purpose-Built Platforms
Summarizing Gluware's enterprise automation approach from AutoCon3
"Automation Builders already wear a Batman suit," quipped Olivier Huynh Van, Gluware's Chief Science Officer. "What we're providing is the belt that goes with the suit."
Speaking alongside VP of Product Management Michael Haugh, Huynh Van presented Gluware's vision for enterprise network automation—one that acknowledges both the power and limitations of traditional tools while introducing a new voice to the automation conversation.
The New Voice at the Table
According to Haugh, AutoCon has catalyzed an important shift: "There's a new voice at the table, and that voice is the Automation Builder."
This isn't just semantic positioning. Haugh chose the term carefully because "people as network engineers who start scripting and coding don't want to be called developers." Yet these Automation Builders are asking increasingly sophisticated questions:
Do you have Git integration?
What's your open data model?
How do I onboard my own APIs?
How extensible is your platform?
They're demanding vendor platforms be open and extensible while maintaining the network engineering perspective they bring to automation challenges.
Breaking Down Automation Islands
A recurring theme was the isolation of automation efforts. Even in organizations using Ansible extensively, network automation often exists as a separate "island" from server automation and other IT processes.
Gluware's partnership with Red Hat addresses this directly. With a certified Ansible collection of plugins and modules, organizations can now "drive Gluware complex network automation directly through Ansible," bridging the gap between simple automation and complex multi-vendor enterprise networks.
As Haugh explained: "Ansible automation for networking is very easy to get started... but sometimes you get to a point where maybe it's too complex a use case like EVPN and VXLAN or OS upgrades, and you decide you've got to take a deep dive into Python. We're offering an alternative to that."
The Transformation Model
Rather than prescribing a linear automation journey, Gluware's "transformation model" meets customers where they are. Whether the pain point is auditing, OS upgrades, or complex configuration management, they can start at that specific challenge, establish ROI, then expand from there.
This approach acknowledges a crucial distinction from Claudia de Luna's opening keynote: automating to solve your own pain versus creating business value. As Haugh noted:
"If you automate and solve your own pain but don't correlate that to your company's use case and make a business case... like 'I don't want to keep doing Cisco iOS upgrades because it takes me an hour and a half per one'—that's personal pain. But if I turn that into business value—'I'm helping eliminate CVEs and vulnerabilities by automating upgrades'—now it's a business return."
The Builder Tools: A Developer's Utility Belt
Gluware Labs represents their answer to the tooling needs Automation Builders are expressing:
Live IDE: Framework access for building, testing, and deploying custom data models and networking business logic, complete with AI co-pilot assistance.
Glue API: Integration capabilities with existing orchestrators, whether homegrown or third-party.
Network RPA: Ability to onboard and customize business processes, enabling integration with existing workflows.
Git Integration: Deployment capabilities that treat infrastructure as code with proper version control.
NetBox Integration: Two-way synchronization with granular field-level control.
VS Code Extension: Native support for Gluware constructs within familiar development environments.
Democratization and Operationalization
Two concepts emerged as critical for scaling automation impact:
Democratization: Making automation available to broader teams, not just the person who built it.
Operationalization: Providing visibility and handoff capabilities so operations teams can understand and manage automated processes.
"If you can't democratize the automation you're building... if you can't operationalize your automation, you're going to really limit the business value that you're delivering," Huynh Van emphasized.
This addresses a common automation failure mode: brilliant individual contributors creating powerful tools that die when they leave the organization or become unmaintainable by their teams.
The Community Response
Gluware Labs launches as a community program offering free access to their software, video training courses, Discord community support, and builder tools. This responds directly to junior engineer concerns about accessing professional automation platforms and learning resources.
The initiative acknowledges that automation education and community building are as important as the technology itself for advancing network automation adoption.
Enterprise Complexity Reality
Supporting over 55 network operating systems natively, with integrations to ServiceNow, NetBox, Splunk, and other enterprise platforms, Gluware positions itself for the messy reality of large enterprise networks.
Their approach acknowledges that enterprise automation isn't just about device configuration—it's about integrating with existing business processes, compliance requirements, and operational workflows that span multiple teams and systems.
The Platform Play
What distinguishes Gluware's message is the explicit recognition that complex enterprise automation requires purpose-built platforms, not just better scripts or more powerful configuration management tools.
Their vision suggests that as network automation matures, organizations will need platforms that can:
Handle multi-vendor complexity at enterprise scale
Integrate with existing automation islands (Ansible, Python scripts, etc.)
Provide development-grade tooling for Automation Builders
Enable teams to operationalize and democratize automation efforts
Support the full lifecycle from development through operations
The Broader Implications
Gluware's presentation reflects a maturing understanding of enterprise automation challenges. Rather than promoting tool replacement, they're advocating for integration and enhancement of existing automation investments.
The "Automation Builder" concept recognizes that network automation practitioners are evolving beyond traditional network engineering roles while maintaining their domain expertise. These practitioners need platforms that respect their networking knowledge while providing software development capabilities.
Their partnership with Red Hat and focus on open integration suggests the industry is moving toward ecosystem plays rather than monolithic solutions—acknowledging that successful enterprise automation requires multiple tools working together effectively.
As the network automation community continues to grow and mature, the conversation is shifting from "how do we automate" to "how do we build sustainable, scalable automation programs that deliver measurable business value."
Gluware's approach suggests the answer lies not in any single tool, but in platforms that can bridge the gap between individual automation efforts and enterprise-scale automation programs.
Watch the full presentation: Accelerating Sponsor: Gluware
