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Data Insights
 | Aug 29, 2024

Effective Network Operations Require a Digital Twin Platform, Not a Toolbox

Tool sprawl creates inefficiency and security risks while diminishing network reliability and performance.  Tool sprawl is an expensive aspect of technical debt. IDC recently found that 43% of organizations doing business in the Americas have 500 or more software applications in their portfolios today (Application Services — Worldwide Regions, 2023, IDC #US50490416, April 2023). In […]
Effective Network Operations Require a Digital Twin Platform, Not a Toolbox

Tool sprawl creates inefficiency and security risks while diminishing network reliability and performance. 

Tool sprawl is an expensive aspect of technical debt. IDC recently found that 43% of organizations doing business in the Americas have 500 or more software applications in their portfolios today (Application Services — Worldwide Regions, 2023, IDC #US50490416, April 2023). In the area of monitoring and observability tools alone, 50% of companies reported having between 11 and 40 tools. 

How have enterprises accumulated so many monitoring and observability tools? 

Networks have become increasingly complex and difficult to manage. Comprising tens to hundreds of thousands of devices from multiple vendors and running millions of lines of configuration, they serve as the brittle backbone of the modern economy. 

In response to this complexity, IT leaders have accumulated software tools designed to address specific challenges, such as inventory management, security monitoring, network observability, vulnerability assessments, and more. Often, new tools are added without retiring the old ones, leading to a disjointed toolbox that lacks a cohesive design. 

What are the problems caused by tool sprawl?  

Consider the difference between walking into a cluttered neighborhood mechanic’s shop and stepping into a pristine Formula 1 team garage. The mechanic may have acquired tools to solve various customer problems over time, but when their immediate purpose was fulfilled, the tools were simply tucked away, creating clutter. In contrast, an F1 garage is meticulously organized, with every tool in its place, working together for a common purpose. This analogy illustrates the contrast between a disorganized toolbox and a well-integrated platform. 

In an enterprise environment, dozens of tools may collect data and generate reports, but they don’t communicate with each other and often present data differently. This creates silos and confusion. Imagine two people trying to build a house — one using the metric system, the other using imperial measurements. Every action requires a conversion, leading to miscommunication and costly mistakes.  

Tool sprawl can result in many challenges, including the following: 

  • Inflated operational costs: Overlapping tools incur unnecessary expenses, including acquisition costs, subscription fees, training, service charges, troubleshooting, and maintenance. One CIO admitted they have no idea how many tools they have; the company simply pays the bill when it arrives. 
  • Wasted time: Effective utilization of tools demands thorough training, hands-on experience, and regular usage. As the number of tools increases, your IT staff spends less time mastering each one. The resulting lack of proficiency can complicate workflows and decrease productivity. Switching between multiple tools and attempting to correlate results can compromise the integrity of IT services and diminish staff satisfaction and retention. 
  • Increased risk of errors: More tools mean a higher risk of errors in data entry, reporting, and other processes, which can impact the reliability of IT operations. 
  • Inflated maintenance costs: The more tools an IT department uses, the greater the burden of maintaining them, leading to increased technical debt. 
  • Data silos: Tool sprawl creates data silos that fragment IT teams. Working from competing versions of the truth wastes time, increases frustration, and introduces more opportunities for error. 
  • Increased attack surface: Each additional tool potentially introduces new vulnerabilities, increasing the attack surface for cyber threats. 
  • Risk of non-compliance: Using multiple tools for the same function — often with different data sets — can make compliance more complicated. Organizations that can't prove compliance are at higher risk of fines and other legal consequences. 

How does tool sprawl impact troubleshooting? 

When tool sprawl occurs, troubleshooting network issues becomes significantly more time-consuming. During critical network incidents (P0/P1), dozens of highly skilled and costly engineers are called into emergency sessions. It’s not uncommon for conference bridges to remain open for over 24 hours, with senior engineers entirely focused on resolving the crisis at hand. However, if each team presents data in different formats or interpretations, the initial, time-consuming challenge is to establish the true network status. Meanwhile, regular engineering tasks are put on hold, exacerbating the situation. 

How do you tackle tool sprawl? 

The first step in addressing tool sprawl is conducting a comprehensive inventory of all tools currently in use across the network. Determine which tools are used regularly and decommission those that are not. Tools are often abandoned after purchase because they either fail to deliver on their promises or are too complex to use. Additionally, when new tools are introduced, the older ones are often retained during a transition period. If not properly decommissioned, they become "zombie" tools that clutter the network. 

After taking inventory, assess the tools in use to identify overlapping capabilities. Do you need all of the tools currently implemented? 

In a recent Spiceworks article, Steve Allie, Vice President of Technical Services at Forward Networks, emphasized the importance of unifying disparate data sources and workflows into a centralized platform. This approach eliminates redundant tools and processes, reducing IT management costs and improving network visibility. A more holistic view of the network environment can eliminate long-standing blind spots and empower IT teams to make more informed decisions collaboratively. 

A network digital twin is capable of replacing multiple single use tools and providing always accurate network information to the entire IT department. 

What is a network digital twin? 

A network digital twin is a digital model of the network that makes network data accessible and actionable to ensure the network behaves as expected and is secure. The platform gathers configuration and L2-L7 state data from network devices and public cloud platforms to create a mathematical model of the network. This data is then used to create an always accurate topology (on-prem and multi-cloud) and inventory, calculate all possible paths within the network, analyze detailed behavioral information, and make network configuration and behavior searchable and verifiable. 

Forward Networks’ digital twin supports devices from all major networking vendors and cloud operators, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, enabling network operators to ensure that the network is secure, reliable, and agile.  

Because the platform supports so many use cases (see image), it empowers IT leaders to decrease the number of tools in use and eliminate conflicting network data by becoming the single source of truth. 

Digital Twin Use Cases Table

How does a network digital twin reduce tool sprawl? 

Forward Networks helps reduce tool sprawl by offering a unified platform that acts as a "digital twin" of your entire network that becomes a single source of truth for NetOps, SecOps, and CloudOps. By providing end-to-end visibility and actionable insights across on-premises and multi-cloud environments, Forward Enterprise reduces the complexity and time involved in troubleshooting and network management. This approach not only streamlines operations but also reduces the risks associated with inconsistent data formats and analysis, which often plague organizations using multiple tools. 

If your organization is considering reducing the number of tools in use and would like to foster more collaboration between NetOps, SecOps, and CloudOps, request a personalized technical session with a Forward Networks Engineer where your specific concerns will be discussed, and you’ll see firsthand how a digital twin can tackle network complexity and reduce tool sprawl for your organization. If you’re interested in seeing the platform in action but not yet ready for a meeting, visit the demo series on BrightTALK. 

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Dawn Slusher

Senior Manager, Content Marketing and Media Relations

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