Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
hile vendors promise fully automated networks and thought leaders preach Infrastructure as Code, what's actually happening in real production environments? This presentation reveals the unvarnished truth about network automation adoption based on comprehensive survey data from network operators across industries and organization sizes.
Drawing from anonymized responses covering everything from automation maturity levels to tooling choices, staffing challenges, and management expectations, we'll expose the gap between automation hype and reality. Discover which network functions are truly being automated (spoiler: it's not what you think), the biggest barriers preventing wider adoption, and how teams are actually measuring automation success.
Key insights include:
+ The real percentage of network operations that are automated today
+ Which specific network functions are fully vs. partially automated across organizations
+ Current status of LLM integration in network operations
+ The primary barriers preventing further automation adoption
+ How organizations are staffing their automation initiatives and measuring success
Whether you're a seasoned automation practitioner or just starting your journey, this data-driven reality check will help you benchmark your efforts, avoid common pitfalls, and focus on automation initiatives that actually move the needle.
No vendor pitches, no theoretical frameworks—just real data from real networks.
Chris Grundemann: Chris Grundemann is a strategic technology leader dedicated to driving business transformation through innovative networking and automation strategies. As Executive Advisor, Network Infrastructure Strategy at Khadga Consulting, he helps organizations unlock the full potential of their network infrastructure through technological and cultural transformation. Chris has been using technology, marketing, and strategy to build businesses and non-profit organizations for two decades. He holds 8 patents in network technology and is the author of two books, an IETF RFC, a personal weblog, and a multitude of industry papers, articles, and posts. He is a co-founder of the Network Automation Forum, the organization behind the AutoCon series of events. Chris is a co-founder, Director, and Chair Emeritus of IX-Denver, the largest internet exchange in the Rocky Mountain West, he's also the Chair of the Board of Directors of OIX, the global data center and interconnection standards body. He has held previous volunteer positions with The Imposter Syndrome Network Podcast (creator and co-host), CO ISOC (founding chair), ISOC-NY (Vice President), ARIN, NANOG, SANOG, AfPIF, CEA, UPnP, DLNA, RMv6TF, and several others. Chris has given presentations in 34 countries on 5 continents and is often sought out to speak at conferences, NOGs, and NOFs the world over. Currently based in West Texas, Chris can be reached via LinkedIn.
hile vendors promise fully automated networks and thought leaders preach Infrastructure as Code, what's actually happening in real production environments? This presentation reveals the unvarnished truth about network automation adoption based on comprehensive survey data from network operators across industries and organization sizes.
Drawing from anonymized responses covering everything from automation maturity levels to tooling choices, staffing challenges, and management expectations, we'll expose the gap between automation hype and reality. Discover which network functions are truly being automated (spoiler: it's not what you think), the biggest barriers preventing wider adoption, and how teams are actually measuring automation success.
Key insights include:
+ The real percentage of network operations that are automated today
+ Which specific network functions are fully vs. partially automated across organizations
+ Current status of LLM integration in network operations
+ The primary barriers preventing further automation adoption
+ How organizations are staffing their automation initiatives and measuring success
Whether you're a seasoned automation practitioner or just starting your journey, this data-driven reality check will help you benchmark your efforts, avoid common pitfalls, and focus on automation initiatives that actually move the needle.
No vendor pitches, no theoretical frameworks—just real data from real networks.
Chris Grundemann: Chris Grundemann is a strategic technology leader dedicated to driving business transformation through innovative networking and automation strategies. As Executive Advisor, Network Infrastructure Strategy at Khadga Consulting, he helps organizations unlock the full potential of their network infrastructure through technological and cultural transformation. Chris has been using technology, marketing, and strategy to build businesses and non-profit organizations for two decades. He holds 8 patents in network technology and is the author of two books, an IETF RFC, a personal weblog, and a multitude of industry papers, articles, and posts. He is a co-founder of the Network Automation Forum, the organization behind the AutoCon series of events. Chris is a co-founder, Director, and Chair Emeritus of IX-Denver, the largest internet exchange in the Rocky Mountain West, he's also the Chair of the Board of Directors of OIX, the global data center and interconnection standards body. He has held previous volunteer positions with The Imposter Syndrome Network Podcast (creator and co-host), CO ISOC (founding chair), ISOC-NY (Vice President), ARIN, NANOG, SANOG, AfPIF, CEA, UPnP, DLNA, RMv6TF, and several others. Chris has given presentations in 34 countries on 5 continents and is often sought out to speak at conferences, NOGs, and NOFs the world over. Currently based in West Texas, Chris can be reached via LinkedIn.
