Network Operations Automation Software: 5 Platforms Compared for Runbooks, Changes and Compliance

Manual changes are a leading source of network outages, and they do not scale past a few dozen devices. Standards now make automation practical: the IETF defined NETCONF in RFC 6241 and RESTCONF in RFC 8040 so tools can configure devices through structured, transactional APIs instead of screen scraping.

Governance matters as much as speed. NIST SP 800-128 describes security-focused configuration management, including baselines and change control, which is exactly what automation should enforce. This guide covers five platforms from the IT automation software category that network and infrastructure teams use to orchestrate runbooks and changes. Ratings are not yet published, so the table is a reading order. For monitoring-driven triggers, pair them with the tools in our network automation tools guide.

What network teams should automate first

Start with tasks that are frequent, well understood and low risk: configuration backups, device inventory refreshes, compliance checks and standard change requests. Early wins build trust and create reusable building blocks for riskier changes later.

• Backups and drift detection: capture configurations on a schedule and alert on unapproved change.
• Standard changes: VLAN additions, access rules and DNS updates with approvals.
• Incident runbooks: diagnostics that run automatically when monitoring raises an alert.
• Compliance reporting: evidence for audits generated from live device state.

Rundeck (PagerDuty Runbook Automation)

Rundeck lets operations teams turn scripts and commands into controlled, self-service jobs with access control and logging. Network engineers can wrap existing scripts so that help desk staff run approved diagnostics without direct device access.

• Architecture: job scheduler and orchestrator that runs commands over SSH, WinRM or APIs through plugins.
• Governance: role-based access, execution logs and approval steps.
• Pricing model: listed as Paid, aimed at medium and enterprise teams.

TrueSight Automation

BMC's TrueSight Automation targets large enterprises that need to manage configuration, patching and compliance across many servers and infrastructure components. It is typically bought by teams already invested in the BMC ecosystem.

• Scope: infrastructure automation with policy-based compliance.
• Integrations: fits BMC service management and operations tools.
• Pricing model: custom quote, so plan a vendor evaluation.

Resolve Systems

Resolve Systems focuses on automating IT incidents and processes, connecting monitoring alerts to diagnostic and remediation workflows. It suits enterprises that want to cut manual triage in network and infrastructure operations.

• Scope: incident automation and process orchestration across ITSM and monitoring tools.
• Integrations: connects ticketing, monitoring and infrastructure APIs.
• Pricing model: custom quote for enterprise accounts.

UiPath (IT Automation)

UiPath brings robotic process automation to IT operations, which helps when a legacy system has no usable API. Network teams can automate portal-driven tasks and tie them to approvals and tickets.

• Scope: cross-system workflows, including user-interface automation.
• Governance: orchestrator controls for credentials, queues and audit trails.
• Pricing model: custom quote in SaaSPodium data.

Automic Automation

Broadcom's Automic Automation orchestrates batch jobs and workflows across hybrid environments. Network teams use this type of platform for scheduled maintenance and dependency-aware job chains rather than device-level configuration.

• Scope: workload automation with scheduling, dependencies and SLAs.
• Integrations: connects applications, cloud services and infrastructure.
• Pricing model: custom quote; see the {A('/workload-automation-software','workload automation category')} for alternatives.

Choosing the right automation approach for your network

Match the tool to the work. Runbook platforms suit operational tasks, enterprise orchestration suits cross-team processes, and RPA fits legacy interfaces. Many teams combine a runbook tool with their monitoring platform so an alert can trigger a safe, logged response.

• Small network teams: start with runbook automation and simple scripts under version control.
• Large enterprises: prefer platforms with approvals, audit trails and ITSM integration.
• Mixed estates: check API coverage for each device vendor before buying.

Measuring the return on network automation

Return on automation is the net benefit divided by cost, where benefit mainly comes from technician hours saved and outages avoided. Estimating it up front keeps projects focused on tasks with measurable payback.

Net Benefit is annual hours saved multiplied by the loaded hourly rate, plus avoided outage cost. Cost is license, implementation and ongoing maintenance. Rundeck is a low-friction place to test the model, and its vendor site at Rundeck explains the runbook approach.

Reference architecture for network automation

A reliable design separates intent, orchestration and execution. A source of truth records what should exist, an orchestration platform runs approved workflows, and device APIs or agents apply changes. This separation makes every change reviewable and repeatable.

• Source of truth: inventory and configuration data in version control or a CMDB, so desired state is explicit.
• Orchestrator: one of the platforms above, enforcing approvals, scheduling and logging.
• Execution layer: NETCONF, RESTCONF, SSH or vendor APIs, with credentials from a vault.
• Feedback loop: monitoring from your network monitoring platform confirms the change worked.

Common mistakes to avoid

Teams most often fail by automating a broken process, skipping testing or giving automation accounts excessive rights. Automation amplifies whatever it is given, so a flawed manual procedure becomes a faster way to cause outages.

• Document and simplify a process before you automate it.
• Run changes in staging and use canary devices before wide rollouts.
• Limit blast radius with batch sizes and automatic stop conditions.
• Track ownership so every workflow has a named maintainer.

A 90-day implementation roadmap

A phased plan keeps risk low and shows results early. Spend the first month on inventory and read-only jobs, the second on low-risk changes, and the third on approvals, reporting and wider adoption across teams.

1. Days 1 to 30: build the device inventory, schedule configuration backups and set up drift alerts.
2. Days 31 to 60: automate two or three standard changes with peer review and rollback steps.
3. Days 61 to 90: connect monitoring alerts to runbooks, report time saved and plan the next set of workflows.

Security and rollout checklist

Automation platforms hold powerful credentials, so secure them like privileged access systems. Use a secrets vault, least-privilege service accounts and mandatory approvals for production changes. Test every workflow in a lab or staging environment first.

• Store device credentials in a vault, never in job definitions.
• Require peer review for new or changed workflows.
• Keep a rollback step in every change workflow.
• Send execution logs to your SIEM for audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does network automation software cost?
Pricing varies widely. In the SaaSPodium directory, Rundeck is listed as paid, while TrueSight, Resolve Systems, UiPath and Automic are custom quotes aimed at enterprises. Compare three-year costs including implementation, training and the engineering time needed to build workflows.

What is the difference between network automation and network monitoring?
Monitoring detects problems and measures performance, while automation acts: it changes configuration, runs diagnostics or remediates faults. The strongest setups connect them, so a monitoring alert triggers an approved, logged automation workflow.

How long does it take to implement network automation?
A first runbook or backup job can run within days, but a mature program usually takes months. Plan to automate low-risk tasks first, add approvals and testing, then expand to changes that affect production traffic.