GigaOm Key Criteria for Evaluating NetDevOps Solutionsv3.0

1. Executive Summary

Managing networks has become increasingly complex and resource-intensive due to the scale, distribution, and dynamic nature of modern infrastructure. Despite advances in network observability enabled by AI/ML, many critical network management tasks still require manual intervention and judgment from highly trained personnel. Moreover, supporting both full-scale on-premises environments and remote access for increasingly distributed workforces often overwhelms network operations teams. Combating these challenges has necessitated a closer integration of networking best practices with DevOps tools and methods.

NetDevOps is the application of DevOps principles and techniques to network operations (see Figure 1). This practice minimizes operator interactions and optimizes programmable network processes to configure, deploy, and manage the environment.

Figure 1. The NetDevOps Process

By applying DevOps principles to network operations, NetDevOps alleviates challenges and increases agility by minimizing manual administrative tasks (such as configuration changes, service provisioning, and security tasks) and reducing human error as one of the root causes of network downtime. Furthermore, by automating the planning, configuration, testing, and deployment of network infrastructure, a NetDevOps pipeline reduces the lead time between development and implementation. It also allows small, incremental changes to be injected into the network with minimal effort and zero end-user impact, resulting in increased agility, quality, and speed of operations.

Moreover, by prioritizing alignment with business objectives over network control, NetDevOps fosters collaboration between network and development teams. Deploying a NetDevOps solution breaks down information silos and promotes better collaboration between network engineers and IT operations, resulting in improved efficiency and communication and ensuring that network changes are performed in a more automated, efficient, and reliable manner.

Business Imperative
NetDevOps increases the efficiency of network changes, reduces errors, and enables more automated and scalable operations. This approach helps organizations manage the increasing complexity and scale of modern networks by providing a more reliable, cost-effective, and agile approach to network management.

NetDevOps solutions can improve operational efficiency and enhance governance by streamlining workflows and transforming infrastructure testing and deployment to support strategic objectives with faster deployments. By prioritizing alignment with business objectives over network control, deploying a NetDevOps solution breaks down information silos and promotes better collaboration among development teams, network engineers, and IT operations.

Sector Adoption Score
To help executives and decision-makers assess the potential impact and value of a NetDevOps solution deployment to the business, this GigaOm Key Criteria report provides a structured assessment of the NetDevOps sector across five factors: benefit, maturity, urgency, impact, and effort. By scoring each factor based on how strongly it compels or deters adoption of NetDevOps, we provide an overall Sector Adoption Score (Figure 2) for NetDevOps of 4.2 out of 5, with 5 indicating the strongest possible recommendation to adopt. This indicates that NetDevOps is a credible candidate for deployment and worth thoughtful consideration.

The factors contributing to the Sector Adoption Score for NetDevOps are explained in more detail in the Sector Brief section that follows.

Figure 2. Sector Adoption Score for NetDevOps

This is the third year that GigaOm has reported on the NetDevOps space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This report builds on our previous analysis and considers how the market has evolved over the last year.

This GigaOm Key Criteria report highlights the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and non-functional requirements (business criteria) for selecting an effective NetDevOps solution. The companion GigaOm Radar report identifies vendors and products that excel in those decision criteria. Together, these reports provide an overview of the market, identify leading NetDevOps offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.