BackBox announced this week that it has integrated network configuration management (NCM) features into its flagship Network Automation Platform.

According to the company, this development will help network operations teams increase performance, strengthen security, and quickly address issues.

BackBox NCM now offers a searchable repository, connects with ServiceNow, and automates configuration management processes within its NetOps workflows. Organizations can use NCM capabilities to ensure accurate and secure settings that comply with regulations and maintain peak performance of network and security devices.

Configuration drift can occur in larger organizations when events or modifications impact configurations. However, network operations may find it challenging to manually manage configurations across several devices and preserve precise configuration data. Device configuration modifications have the potential to impact performance or expose an environment to security risks. Observers of the industry, like Gartner, list configuration management features as a must for network automation systems.

Businesses prioritize security policy management, configuration compliance management, and network validation/assurance when considering network automation tools, as stated in a recent report by Enterprise Management Associates titled Enterprise Network Automation: Emerging From the Dark Ages and Reaching Toward NetDevOps. 27% of the IT professionals surveyed by EMA said that their company finds configuration compliance monitoring, alerting, and enforcement features most important. Nearly 32% of respondents considered security policy design, implementation, and audit as crucial capabilities, which was a significant number.

The BackBox Automation Platform can now connect directly to the ServiceNow configuration management database (CMDB) to import devices, improving device discovery. The upgraded automation platform also includes integration with ServiceNow. Network operators can now automate trouble-ticketing by opening and closing tickets, adding technical details, and hastening problem investigation, according to the business. This is yet another triumph of integration.

BackBox provides the BackBox Network Automation Platform as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. It can be used in a data center or on-premises. The program connects with other applications in the network operations center using an API-first approach. It supports network and security devices from more than 180 vendors. 3,000 automations are pre-installed on the platform and can be customized to fit certain customer settings.