By Jeff Gray, Gluware CEO & Co-Founder
The Hidden Engine of Digital Transformation? Your Network.
From generative AI to cloud-native everything, we’re entering an era of unprecedented digital velocity.
The companies thriving in this environment aren’t just experimenting with new technologies, they’re accelerating time to value.
And yet, there’s one part of the enterprise still stuck in first gear: The network.
Too often seen as a back-office function, it’s quietly become the bottleneck to innovation—and the Achilles’ heel of agility.
The Status Quo Is Slowing You Down
Many enterprise networks today are:
- Manually configured
- Change-averse
- Reactive instead of proactive
Even simple tasks—rolling out a new application, scaling to a new region, updating security policy—can take weeks or months when handled manually.
This legacy mindset treats the network as a cost center, but that model no longer works.
When the Network Fails, the Business Pays
Let’s be blunt: every minute of downtime is lost revenue.
Every delayed deployment is a missed market opportunity.
The business expects agility. But when the network can’t keep pace with the speed of DevOps, cloud adoption, or M&A? It becomes a constraint.
The results:
- Slower product launches
- Weakened security posture
- Frustrated engineering teams
- Higher operational costs
And worst of all: a competitive disadvantage you can’t afford.
Automation Changes The Game
The solution isn’t just more network tools. It’s a strategic shift, from manual to intelligent, from reactive to predictive.
Intelligent Network Automation makes this shift possible:
- Auto-discovers intent and enforces it in real time
- Prevents misconfigurations and ensures policy compliance
- Enables agile, repeatable change without risk
- Unlocks real-time visibility across the enterprise
You’re not just making the network faster. You’re making the business faster.
The New Vision: A Self-Operating, Self-Healing Network
Imagine a network that:
- Detects drift and corrects it automatically
- Anticipates issues and resolves them before users feel impact
- Responds to new business needs—not in weeks, but minutes
This isn’t science fiction. It’s already happening in forward-thinking enterprises adopting intent-based automation platforms.
The result?
- New markets reached faster
- Innovation cycles shortened
- Security and compliance scaled without additional headcount
Reframe the Network as a Strategic Asset
For decades, we’ve treated the network like plumbing—necessary, invisible, and reactive.
But today’s digital businesses need something more:
A network that accelerates growth, not just supports it.
It’s time we elevate infrastructure to the strategic level it deserves.
Let’s stop treating the network as a utility—and start leading with it as a growth engine.
About the Author
Jeff Gray is the CEO and co-founder of Gluware, the leading provider of Intelligent Network Automation. As CEO, he oversees business operations and strategy, as well as the development of enterprise-leading intent-based network automation technologies adopted by some of the largest Global 2000 enterprises from Pharma to Finance. Gray has been a networking industry leader for decades, starting with the commercial development of innovative high-bandwidth networking solutions as a student at California Polytechnic State University.
Gray launched his professional career as a networking product manager in the semiconductor industry, where he developed technical networking solutions to power smart grid initiatives. He served as Vice President of Business Development for Yelofin Networks, a virtual network operator; the Director of Business Development for Firefly Communications, a Cisco learning partner; and a management consultant to Deutsche Bank. Gray later moved into managed network services where met future Gluware CSO and co-founder, Olivier Huynh Van. Together, they created the foundation for Gluware out of the mutual need to automate advanced network architectures, initially bootstrapping the company as Glue Networks.
Gray is credited with bringing the industry’s first SDN orchestration platform to market and achieving significant blue-chip enterprise adoption. He holds two United States patents for virtual private network technologies, alongside Huynh Van, and is the recipient of a United States Special Congressional Recognition and a United States Congressional Commendation for his service to the business community and entrepreneurial leadership. Gray received a B.A. from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo.
