How Network Automation Optimizes ITSM Processes

by Oct 24, 2019

With official ITSM integration in ServiceNow, NetBrain’s network visualization and automation platform generates much greater value through faster and more accurate execution of ITSM process flows.

How Can NetBrain Achieve This? Here Are Six Best Practices for Optimizing Your ITSM Process Flow:

1. Incident Management/ Security Incident Management

NetBrain speeds up your incident management ITSM processes by enabling faster resolution times. How? ITSM automation!

ITSM automation provides instantaneous discovery of the relevant parts of the network in the context of the incident data. NetBrain’s platform goes one step further by enabling intent-based automation that provides controlled and faster front-line operator-initiated resolution.

Our supported API integration into ITSM solutions, such as ServiceNow, augments all the data related to the incident. From within your service desk, you can push any automated or operator-initiated troubleshooting or restorative actions.

Over the last 15 years, NetBrain has built a library of “drivers” that allow any of the 120+ network vendors to process any action or command. This makes integrating ServiceNow with your network less complex and more task- and output-driven.

What about the Security Incident Management ITSM process improvement in addition to the above?

You can trigger NetBrain with event management in ServiceNow or your external IDS or SIEM tools. Either option prompts the tool to instantly discover and document your network configuration. Security incidents are often transient and only happen within seconds or minutes. NetBrain collects and automates the auditable, time-stamped documentation for events like this. NetBrain’s continuous threat exposure management tools are invaluable in managing security incidents,

2. Change Management

NetBrain can discover your total network and its configuration, enabling more effective change management in:

• Planning
• Assessing risk
• Executing network changes

NetBrain can do comprehensive bottom-up configuration discovery across more than 120 networking equipment manufacturers. As a result, you can thoroughly plan the change’s impact on your ITSM process flow.

NetBrain can also execute changes at scale and machine-to-machine speed. It will provide a before-and-after comparison of any configuration changes that have taken place at a very granular level.

In the NetBrain platform, you can roll back any changes at the press of a button. Use the discovery capability with an ITSM process tool to detect and manage unauthorized network modifications.

3. Configuration Management / CMDB

You can use NetBrain auto-discovery to feed your CMDB with vital network data, including relationships under either a centralized or federated strategy. The performance information about your devices can also be captured and appended as attributes to your configuration items for historical reporting and collection frequency.

4. Knowledge Management

Using NetBrain in your ITSM process, you can quickly build intents that help to diagnose, troubleshoot, or restore service. Experienced network engineers can develop and approve these intents. Then, they can link them to preapproved knowledge articles in ServiceNow, which the system will suggest to your operators should certain conditions arise. Over time, the machine-learning capabilities coming in the next release of NetBrain will suggest the appropriate intents for specific scenarios.

5. IT Governance and Risk–Compliance Automation

NetBrain’s real-time mapping and granular configuration-level discovery capability is invaluable. It enables quick and easy reporting on your network’s alignment to required compliance standards or levels. You can fully automate these reports. Then, integrate them with ServiceNow or other ITSM processes to ensure constant compliance. Rules and requirements from the various regulatory bodies change regularly. When they do, you can quickly modify NetBrain to capture and report on the additional configuration data.

6. Hardware and Software Asset Management

Report on your hardware and software estate in minutes and hours rather than days and months. NetBrain’s comprehensive total network discovery (both software-defined [SDN] and traditional) enables this. Use it for financial processes like asset management to enable reconciliation with support and maintenance invoices and validation of outsourced environments.

To find out more about NetBrain’s visualization and network automation platform, visit www.netbrain.com