The network automation market is estimated to be valued at USD 14.27 Bn in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 25% over the forecast period (2024-2031). Network complexity is witnessing a steep rise owing to increasing network scalability, mobility needs, and security threats. Cloud adoption among enterprises has also been rising at a high pace to support their digital transformation journeys.
Market Dynamics:
The growth of the network automation market is primarily driven by the increased network complexity and growing adoption of cloud computing solutions among enterprises. The network infrastructure in most large enterprises has expanded significantly in recent years due to rapid digitalization and rising mobility needs of employees. Managing such large and complex networks manually has become challenging which is contributing to increased demand for network automation solutions. Furthermore, many enterprises are shifting their workloads and applications to public and private clouds to reduce costs and improve scalability. This has resulted in higher network traffic and interconnections which network automation tools help to streamline and optimize seamlessly. Network automation solutions enable centralized monitoring and management of hybrid cloud networks for better visibility, compliance and security.
Market Drivers
- Growing Demand for Network Automation Solutions to Streamline Network Operations and Reduce Costs: The rising complexity and scale of enterprise networks is driving greater demand for network automation solutions that can streamline network operations and reduce costs. As networks grow larger and more distributed, with increasing numbers of devices, manual network configuration and management is becoming less feasible. Network automation provides the ability to centrally manage and automate routine network tasks through software tools and APIs. This helps improve the efficiency of network operations teams and reduces human errors. By automating repetitive manual tasks, network automation also helps reduce operating costs for enterprises. The ability of network automation solutions to simplify network management as networks scale up is a key market driver boosting their adoption.
- Focus on Enhancing Network Agility and Supporting Business Innovation: Another major driver for the network automation market is the need for enterprises to enhance the agility of their networks and support faster business innovation. In today's digital economy, businesses need to be able to quickly launch new applications, services and make network changes. Network automation allows rapid provisioning of network resources on demand through software. It helps streamline processes like onboarding new users or branches onto the network. By automating routine changes, network teams can focus more on strategic initiatives that enable new revenue opportunities. The push for businesses to deliver new digital services and experiences faster is compelling more organizations to adopt network automation to enhance network agility.
Market Restraints
- Lack of In-house Expertise Hinders Adoption of Complex Network Automation Solutions: One key restraint holding back the adoption of advanced network automation solutions is the lack of in-house expertise to deploy and manage complex automation systems. Network automation often requires skills in areas like DevOps, programming and infrastructure as code that many network engineering teams lack. This shortage of skilled networking professionals familiar with software-defined approaches is a challenge, especially for smaller enterprises. The technical complexities involved and steep learning curve associated with some network automation platforms also discourage adoption. Unless vendors offer simplified deployment models, expertise shortfalls will continue limiting the market uptake of high-end network automation products.
- Security and Compliance Concerns Surrounding Network Changes: There are also concerns around the security and compliance implications of automated network changes. With network configuration and updates happening automatically through code, there is a risk of inadvertent errors or bugs introducing vulnerabilities. Ensuring all automated changes meet corporate security and compliance policies is challenging. Network automation also means networks are now software-defined, making them more susceptible to attacks on the automation systems themselves. Unless vendors integrate strong change monitoring, audit capabilities and remediation tools into their solutions, security and compliance worries will persist as restraints. Comprehensive security has to be baked into network automation platforms to mitigate these concerns.
Market Opportunities
- Growing Opportunities in Software-Defined Wide Area Network Automation: The emergence of software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology is opening up major market opportunities for network automation vendors. SD-WAN centralized management model lends itself well to automation approaches. As businesses continue adopting SD-WAN to simplify branch networking, they also seek integrated automation capabilities for roll-out, configuration, application steering policies and troubleshooting. Vendors offering advanced SD-WAN automation tools can gain an edge. Growing SD-WAN adoption will drive significant automation revenues in years to come.
- Rise of Cloud-Based Network Automation Platforms: Another potential opportunity lies in the rise of cloud-based network automation platforms. Traditional on-premises network automation solutions have drawbacks around inflexible licensing models and high upfront costs that discourage small and medium businesses. Cloud-based ‘as-a-service’ automation platforms address these issues, offering pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage. They also provide the agility, scalability and simplified management benefits of cloud. As more businesses move workloads and applications to the cloud, the appeal of cloud-native network automation tools will increase. Vendors delivering automation capabilities through cloud-first SaaS models are well positioned to tap new market segments.
Link: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/network-automation-market-5137
Key Developments:
- In December 2023, Juniper Networks Inc. announced that DNA, a part of Telenor Group and a leading mobile and fixed communications service provider in Finland, deployed an intent-based networking data center fabric. This deployment, based on Juniper’s automation software and high-performance hardware, utilized NEC’s advanced systems integration expertise. DNA’s new data center infrastructure provides a unified platform for both its business-to-business customer services and internal IT services.
- In October 2023, Edzcom, a prominent player in Private 4G/5G Networks in Europe, collaborated with OMRON to expedite industry digitalization through automation and reliable connectivity. This collaboration is part of OMRON’s Innovation Network is dedicated to creating comprehensive solutions to meet diverse customer technological requirements.
- In August 2023, Hewlett Packard Enterprise revealed the establishment of an automated network architecture, incorporating intelligent wireless LAN infrastructure from HPE Aruba Networking. This setup aimed to create a logistics system for Korea's retail technology company, Kurly, streamlining operations and logistics with increased automation and reliability.
- Also in August 2023, Juniper Networks announced that Savant Systems, a global leader in smart home and energy solutions, selected Juniper’s AI-driven enterprise solutions, including wireless access, to enhance the home automation experience for millions of homes.
- In June 2023, Network to Code, a provider of network automation services and solutions, introduced Nautobot Cloud, a SaaS-based automation solution that significantly reduces the overhead required to deploy and manage data-driven network automation.
- In May 2023, Nokia expanded its Fixed Network solutions portfolio with the introduction of AVA Fixed Network Insights. This portfolio, available via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model, enables operators to enhance customer experience while reducing costs. AVA Fixed Network Insights offers automated recommendations, powered by AI/ML insights from Bell Labs algorithms, to proactively detect and resolve issues in both the home and access domains.
Key Market Players:
Cisco Systems Inc., Apstra Inc., Arista Networks Inc., BackBox Software Ltd., BMC Software Inc., Fujitsu Limited, HCL Technologies Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, IBM Corporation, Intraway Corporation, Juniper Networks Inc., Micro Focus International PLC, NetBrain Technologies Inc., Network Automation Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Red Hat Inc., Riverbed Technology Inc., SaltStack Inc., Sedona Systems Ltd., SolarWinds Inc., Veriflow Systems Inc., Versa Networks Inc., VMware Inc., and Volta Networks Inc. are the major players.
