“Before you know it, you’ve got 15 Frankensteins running around with a lot of overlap and a lot of distinctness.”
That’s how one network engineer described the chaos of homegrown automation in our 2025 EMA report, a research project Itential proudly partnered on to shine a light on the wild world of network automation. As someone who’s wrestled with script sprawl firsthand, I can confirm: it’s like stitching together a monster that’s half genius, half nightmare. One minute, your Python script is saving the day; the next, it’s eating your weekend with debug errors.
Our EMA report, From Scripts to Platforms: Why Homegrown Tools Dominate Network Automation and How Vendors Can Help, found that 64% of enterprises lean on homegrown scripts, and 57% run unsupported open source tools like Ansible and NetBox. But here’s the kicker: 61% of those teams spend six or more hours a week keeping their Frankenstein alive. Sound like your network? Let’s unpack why this happens, how Itential tames the beast, and — crucially — how to convince your leadership it’s worth the investment.
Why Engineers Build Their Own Monsters
Network engineers are like mad scientists, cooking up Python scripts and Ansible Playbooks in their labs (or laptops). Why? Because these tools are free, flexible, and let you solve exactly the problem at hand, whether it’s pushing configs or automating troubleshooting. The report quotes an engineer who nailed it: “These free and open source tools only require some time to learn, then you get the power to do what you need.” Plus, skills in Python, Ansible, or NetBox are your ticket to any gig — no budget approval needed.
Open source isn’t just practical; it’s a badge of honor. You’re not just automating a switch port change; you’re wielding industry-standard tools that power networks worldwide. But as your lab grows, so does the chaos.
When Your Creation Turns on You
Picture this: your scripts multiply, each one a little snowflake of brilliance. Then someone runs the wrong playbook, or a new hire can’t decipher your undocumented masterpiece. The EMA report calls this the “Frankenstein’s monster” problem — tools that become “a hassle to build functions and make sure you can recreate them.” Siloed knowledge, overlapping scripts, and brittle toolchains mean you’re spending more time debugging than innovating. One engineer lamented: I’ve lost track of what’s going on as a manager… it’s only in their heads.
This isn’t just a tech problem; it’s a time sink. Those 6+ hours a week spent wrangling your monster could be used to, say, finally automate that firmware update process or grab a coffee without a pager going off.
Itential: Your Monster-Taming Lab Partner
I know engineers don’t want to ditch their scripts — they want to make them better. That’s where Itential’s platform comes in, turning your chaotic creations into a streamlined, enterprise-ready solution without ripping out your Python or Ansible roots.
🔐 Run Scripts with Control
Itential’s Automation Gateway (IAG) wraps your Python scripts and Ansible Playbooks in a secure environment with role-based access control (RBAC), audit logging, and secrets management. No rewriting required — just plug in and run with confidence.
❤️ Keep Your Open Source Soul
Love Git, NetBox, or CI/CD pipelines? Itential integrates natively, letting you keep your open source workflow while adding orchestration. It’s like giving your monster a brain transplant without losing its heart.
🗡️ Slay Complexity
Itential’s orchestration turns scattered scripts into repeatable workflows for pre-checks, config pushes, and rollbacks. Dashboards show who’s running what, catching overlaps before they spiral.
Real-World Proof: Armstrong’s Monster Makeover
Take Armstrong World Industries, a $1 billion manufacturer we spotlighted in the report. Their team built a Python-based automation setup to handle ServiceNow requests, but it grew into a monster that overwhelmed their small crew. Feature requests piled up, and non-coders struggled with script-heavy tools.
Enter Itential. By integrating their Python scripts into our platform, Armstrong created a hub that balanced low-code GUIs for automation newbies and high-code power for Python wizards. The result? They saved 23,000 hours of manual work and sped up service requests by over 9,500 days since October 2022. Their dashboards didn’t just track progress — they showed leadership the undeniable value of automation.
Winning Over Leadership: Proving ROI in a Budget Crunch
Here’s where many automation dreams hit a wall: convincing leadership to fund a platform when they think, “Can’t our engineers just code harder?” The EMA report nails this pain point: “It’s very hard to put a dollar value next to [risk reduction and efficiency].” Budgets are tight, and IT leaders often see automation tools as a luxury compared to new routers or switches.
Itential flips this script with hard data. Our dashboards quantify exactly how much time your automation saves — like Armstrong’s 23,000 hours. Want to show your boss real impact? Point to the 9,500 days shaved off service fulfillment. One engineer in the report dreamed of “a dashboard that shows that a script saved us 15 days this year.” Itential delivers that and more, tracking every job to prove ROI down to the minute.
But it’s not just about numbers. Itential addresses leadership’s biggest fears: security and scalability. With RBAC and secrets management, you’re not just saving time — you’re reducing risk. And when your CFO asks, “Why not just keep using free tools?” you can point to the 61% of teams stuck in maintenance hell and show how Itential frees your engineers to innovate, not babysit scripts.
Your Monster, Reborn
Your homegrown automation is a labor of love, but it doesn’t have to be a monster. We’ve seen firsthand how network teams can evolve from script chaos to strategic automation. Itential lets you keep your Python, Ansible, and open source swagger while adding the control and scalability your enterprise demands.
Ready to tame your Frankenstein? Download the latest EMA report on scaling network automation or request a demo to see how Itential transforms chaos into clarity.
Peter Sprygada
Chief Architect ‐ Itential
Peter Sprygada serves as the Chief Architect at Itential after serving as the Chief Technology Officer at Pureport where he was responsible for their multi-cloud network as a service interconnect platform. Prior to Pureport, Sprygada was a Distinguished Engineer for Red Hat, where he played the role of Chief Architect for the Ansible Automation Platform. Sprygada also held senior technical and leadership positions at Arista and Cisco, as well as several networking startups.
