Transforming Change Control with a Network Digital Twin to Prevent Outages and Streamline Operations

Introduction

For CIOs managing modern enterprises, effective change control is critical to ensuring network stability, operational efficiency, and compliance. However, achieving these goals can be challenging in complex IT environments. A global leader in human resources management software and services faced significant hurdles in maintaining consistent and reliable change processes. Frequent misconfigurations, inefficient workflows, and limited visibility threatened network performance and increased the risk of outages. By implementing Forward Networks’ network digital twin, the organization redefined its approach to change control, improving operational efficiency, enabling proactive outage prevention, and strengthening compliance through automated processes and actionable insights.

Challenges in Traditional Change Control Processes

INCONSISTENT PROCESSES ACROSS TEAMS

The organization struggled with inconsistent change management practices. Engineers independently drafted change plans and performed validations without standardized guidelines. This variability created an environment where similar changes produced inconsistent results, leading to misconfigurations and overlooked steps. The lack of a unified approach undermined network stability and increased the risk of outages. Oftentimes errors during changes lead to multi-day conference calls with tens of engineers trying to diagnose and resolve major issues.

RESOURCE-INTENSIVE MANUAL VALIDATION

Validating network changes required time-intensive manual processes, including logging into devices, collecting pre- and post-change data via CLI, and uploading information to ticketing systems. These manual tasks consumed valuable engineering resources and were prone to human error, reducing overall efficiency and increasing the likelihood of errors slipping through.

POST-CHANGE NETWORK ISSUES

Without a robust validation framework, network issues frequently emerged after changes were deployed. Problems often surfaced in production environments during peak traffic periods, requiring extensive troubleshooting efforts. These post-change challenges not only strained resources but also jeopardized the organization’s ability to prevent costly outages.

The Solution: Forward Networks’ Network Digital Twin

Forward Networks’ network digital twin provided a transformative solution by automating processes, standardizing workflows, and enhancing visibility into network configurations. These capabilities empowered the organization to achieve consistent change control and effective outage prevention.

AUTOMATED DATA COLLECTION AND VALIDATION

The digital twin automated the collection of pre- and post-change data, eliminating reliance on error-prone manual processes. By continuously capturing and analyzing network configurations and states, the platform ensured accurate and reliable change validation. Automated intent checks and verification steps further reduced the risk of human error while enabling faster implementation.

STANDARDIZED WORKFLOWS FOR RELIABLE CHANGE CONTROL

With Forward Networks, the organization adopted predefined workflows tailored to specific changes, such as operating system upgrades, routing modifications, and policy updates. These workflows included step-by-step scripts and validation protocols, ensuring consistency across teams and environments. By creating the workflows within the application and corresponding verification checks, Forward Networks helped the team standardize workflows and ensure the process was followed. By doing so, the digital twin reduced variability and delivered greater confidence in the integrity of change control processes.

UNPRECEDENTED VISIBILITY FOR OUTAGE PREVENTION

The digital twin offered unparalleled visibility into the network’s present and historical states, making it easy to detect and address potential issues before they led to outages. For example, the platform identified and resolved configuration mismatches, such as MTU discrepancies and devices failing to log data to security servers. By proactively identifying vulnerabilities and inconsistencies, the organization significantly enhanced its ability to prevent outages and maintain network reliability

According to the company's principal networking engineer:
"In the year since we implemented Forward Enterprise, we haven't had a single troubleshooting call related to changes or check-outs. And honestly? I don't miss them one bit. Those calls were brutal - 15 people on the line, no one happy, half of them unsure why they were even there. They'd join just because they were engineers, and we'd end up burning valuable time and resources. Compared to the last 20 years of scrambling through late nights and weekends trying to fix things, I almost feel guilty. Now? Everything just works."

Key Results and Benefits

DRASTIC REDUCTION IN POST-CHANGE ISSUES

By automating validation and standardizing processes, the organization saw a dramatic decrease in post-change issues. In a single year, only one troubleshooting call was required for changerelated network issues. This improvement freed up resources and increased confidence in the organization’s ability to execute changes without impacting production environments.

IMPROVED OUTAGE PREVENTION

The enhanced visibility provided by the digital twin allowed the organization to proactively identify and resolve potential issues. Misconfigurations and inconsistencies that would previously lead to outages were detected and addressed early, avoiding downtime and ensuring uninterrupted service.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND COLLABORATION

Forward Networks encouraged collaboration by enabling engineers to create and share standardized workflows and scripts. The platform’s community features facilitated knowledge exchange and skill development, ensuring that teams could adopt best practices and continuously improve their capabilities. For CIOs, this collaborative environment supports a culture of operational excellence.

Conclusion

For CIOs, balancing efficient change control, reliable outage prevention, and compliance is essential in today’s IT landscape. Forward Networks’ network digital twin empowers enterprises to achieve these goals by automating processes, standardizing workflows, and providing unparalleled visibility. By transforming change control, enabling proactive outage prevention, and simplifying compliance, this technology supports the operational reliability and agility needed for modern enterprises.

For organizations seeking to modernize their approach to network management, a network digital twin offers the strategic advantage of efficient, reliable, and secure operations. With Forward Networks, CIOs can confidently navigate the complexities of today’s IT environment while building a resilient foundation for future growth.