How to build a network automation team for a FTSE 100 company

by Jay Dalu-Chandu

How we leveraged our trusted community of network automation subject matter experts to build a highly technical team for a complex project at a FTSE 100 company, meeting project goals in just 6 months, directly impacting time utilisation of network engineers for future projects, and creating a 5-10 year solution.

1. Background

Hubbado had established a close working relationship within the clients IT Infrastructure, Service Provider, and Content Delivery business units, delivering specialist and highly qualified network, security, DevOps and infrastructure resources.

Our subject matter experts help qualify requirements, assess potential candidates, and validate skills and experience, which has proven extremely beneficial to our client. Working with hubbado means our client can easily flex their resourcing to meet project demands quickly and efficiently using highly skilled specialist consultants from the hubbado community.

2. Requirement / Problem

Network automation had been talked about for a long time within the client but never properly implemented. Our client operates a very large network with multiple bespoke automation systems, but no standardisation and limited user take up. The network is a complex mix between new innovative continually developing platforms, side by side with legacy revenue impacting infrastructure.

Their network infrastructure team reached out to hubbado for assistance in the network automation space for what was considered a critical project.

Funding was approved at a directorate level, with the promise of significant savings in:

  • Reduce time to effectively implement network solutions
  • Improve change implementation success outcomes
  • Minimisation of high priority network impacting incidents due to new deployments

Strict timelines for results were agreed, so all that was needed was the personnel.

3. hubbado solution

As a trusted partner, hubbado was asked to supply a world class team to deliver an integrated, standardised, and scalable network automation solution. Within a month hubbado delivered the following team:

  • A highly experienced agile scrum master to lead the team
  • A software developer with over 20 years’ experience.
  • A world class DevOps engineer with experience of working at one of the world's biggest internet companies.
  • A Cisco ACI / VMWare NSX deployment expert and CCIE.
  • A CCIE network engineer turned software engineer with python and automation experience.

The solution developed by the team leveraged existing infrastructure, without duplicating solutions and building upon existing mature infrastructure service offerings;

  • Scalable Kubernetes and Docker based infrastructure.
  • Direct integration via REST API with existing business process and databases
  • User friendly Django web based frontend and API.
  • Ansible and Python based modules to interact with Network devices from three bespoke vendors (Cisco, F5 and Palo Alto).
  • Infrastructure and standardisation enabling the hosting of existing scripts and automation infrastructure

4. The Benefit

Hubbado subject matter experts were able to liaise with internal teams to quickly understand the technical aspects of the projects and hence the skills matrix needed to deliver a complex technical project.

  • All short-term goals of the project and budget met in the first 6 months
  • Direct impact to the time utilisation of network engineers
    • Tools delivered to make their jobs easier
    • Standardisation quickly increased the quality of the teams output
  • Internal clients see indirect benefits through the reliability of the information and streamlining of process.
    • Change management can now immediately see impact of network changes.
  • Maintainable and highly scalable infrastructure built
    • Not a 1-year solution but a 5-10 year solution!

Hubbado was able to leverage its trusted and vetted community to source top quality candidates and applicants directly and through member referrals. Subject matter experts were able to qualify and validate candidate skills, depth of knowledge and experience quickly and efficiently reducing the need for extensive and lengthy interview processes.

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