Gluware in the News

Jeff Gray, CEO of Gluware, highlights the company’s recent venture capital investment and its impact on advancing intelligent network automation. He discusses how AI-driven platforms are transforming enterprise operations by improving agility, security and operational efficiency.

Take a Network Break! We start with serious CVEs for Perl and Ivanti. On the news front, the FCC wants to license spectrum to raise money to help US telcos rip out Chinese network equipment–even though there’s no evidence Chinese equipment led to telco intrusions by Chinese attackers.

Verizon boasts of 5.5Gbps download speeds on its 5G network (in the lab), Intel chases the AI desktop market with new chips, and network automation vendor Gluware gets bought by a private equity company. Blue Origin prepares for a big step in the billionaire space race, and TSMC rides the AI infrastructure boom to a huge Q4 revenue jump.

We’re joined this week by guest co-host Tom Hollingsworth, Event Lead for Tech Field Day and writer of The Networking Nerd blog.

Sacramento network automation company Gluware has been acquired by a Santa Barbara private equity firm focused on enterprise software, which wants to support Gluware’s growth globally.

As part of APMdigest’s 2025 Predictions Series, industry experts offer predictions on how NetOps, Network Performance Management, Network Observability and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2025.

AI NETWORKING – In 2025, enterprises will begin to make strides towards more intelligent networks, driven by advancements in the availability of AI. As global data volumes continue to rise, organizations will start to explore moving from reactive network management to proactive and predictive self-operating networks. However, traditional network management approaches may still be prevalent as enterprises gradually deploy AI applications that demand low-latency, high-bandwidth connections for real-time processing. Those organizations that do not begin the process of evolving their network infrastructure may encounter bottlenecks, impacting their ability to fully leverage AI technologies over time.

In our hyperconnected world, the reliability of digital infrastructure is no longer just an IT concern—it’s a critical business imperative. Yet, as network outages and infrastructure failures continue to plague organizations across industries, many business leaders have inadvertently normalized a crisis that demands immediate attention. This complacency is not just costly; it’s dangerous, threatening to erode public trust, hinder innovation, and compromise our digital future.

The cascading effects of critical infrastructure failures have become intolerable. We’re not merely talking about temporary inconveniences or isolated incidents. These disruptions, which occur daily, represent a systemic problem that ripples through our economy, affecting everything from customer satisfaction to national security. The financial losses and reputational damage incurred during these outages are just the tip of the iceberg. The real cost lies in the ongoing loss of confidence in our digital systems and the constant disruption to business operations that stifle growth and innovation.

The latest CyberTech Interview with Gluware’s CEO Jeff Gray is an interactive Q&A-styled conversation. With a background rooted in the semiconductor and networking industries, Jeff has built a career around solving complex technological challenges and transforming how enterprises manage their networks. As a visionary leader, he co-founded Gluware, where the focus is on automating the intricate and often siloed infrastructures of modern networks. Jeff shares insights on the evolution of network automation, Gluware’s groundbreaking innovations, and how intelligent automation can drive efficiency, security, and scalability for global enterprises. With organizations increasingly relying on multi-vendor, multi-platform environments, Jeff discusses the critical role that platforms like Gluware play in simplifying network management and enabling businesses to stay ahead in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

Join us as we delve into Jeff’s journey, the transformative potential of intelligent network automation, and how Gluware is reshaping the future of network operations.

The increasing complexity, scale, and diversity of today’s enterprise network infrastructures demand more efficient, agile, and error-free management approaches. As organizations strive to meet these demands, network automation has emerged as an increasingly critical strategy. However, not all automation approaches are created equal. While many organizations still rely on traditional scripting for network automation, more advanced methodologies like intent-based data model driven automation have emerged, offering significant advantages in managing modern networks.

For years, network engineers have leveraged scripts to automate repetitive tasks and configurations. While scripting has undoubtedly improved efficiency compared to manual processes, it comes with inherent limitations. As networks grow, maintaining and updating scripts becomes increasingly complex and time-consuming, creating scalability issues.

Network automation is no longer a nice-to-have but an essential element in scaling and managing complex enterprise networks. With growing demand for high availability, rapid changes, and operational efficiency, organizations are looking for ways to streamline their network management processes. But where should enterprises start? In this blog, we’ll look at five key areas that will significantly “raise the bar” in enterprise network automation.

One of the fundamental elements of network automation is having a reliable “source of truth.” This is one or more centralized databases or systems where the latest and most accurate network configurations, policies, and device inventories are stored. Integrating this source of truth with your automation framework ensures that the commands being pushed out are not just accurate but also up to date with the latest network state.

Since the explosion of AI, experts have speculated about how it will influence network operations. Most predict AI will be a boon to networking, enabling network engineers to automate routine tasks, troubleshoot issues, provide insights into operations, and improve overall productivity and performance. Skeptics, on the other hand, claim AI will render network engineers redundant and replace them in the workforce.

With so many contrasting opinions, one might wonder how extensive a role AI will play in network operations. Members of the AI-Driven NOC/SOC Automation Project at ONUG’s AI Networking Summit Fall 2024 conference gathered at a panel to discuss the project’s recent survey that polled network and security professionals on AI adoption.

Gluware today announced a series of upcoming features for its network automation platform, designed to streamline network management and reduce downtime across diverse network environments. The new features include an AI-powered copilot that will provide a conversational interface to help network administrators with operations, more scripting options, and integration with NetBox and Github to provide new types of controls and visibility.

At the core of Gluware’s platform is its Device Interaction and Automation Layer (DIAL), which enables communication with a wide array of network devices. The platform currently supports 56 operating systems across 22 vendors, making it a versatile solution for complex network ecosystems. Gluware’s automation capabilities extend to network discovery, inventory management, configuration drift detection, and remediation.

IT professionals are overwhelmed by long hours and lack of support, and while a higher salary is the most compelling reason IT pros are likely to seek new jobs, also high on the list are a desire for more personal fulfillment, personal/family needs, and less stress.

These were among the results of ITPro Today’s 2024 Salary Report, which surveyed 455 full-time U.S. IT professionals. More than a third (37%) of respondents said they were “likely” or “highly likely” to look for a new job within the next 12 months (Figure 1). That’s 9% higher than respondents to ITPro Today’s 2023 Salary Survey.

The internet was a massive, revolutionary invention. A once-in-a-lifetime breakthrough. And yet, it was not an overnight sensation in terms of consumer adoption. This may surprise some people today. From the early web browsers in 1992 to the explosion of dot-coms in 1998, it took roughly six years for the general public to truly embrace the world wide web. Fast forward to today, and the landscape has dramatically shifted.

Consider the recent phenomenon of ChatGPT, the large language model chatbot launched by OpenAI in late 2022. Within a year, consumer adoption of this AI technology reached a fever pitch. For a while, it was all anyone in tech and business circles could talk about. In fact, they still are. This highlights a critical difference in our current technological era, which is that innovation is happening and being adopted at an unprecedented pace.