Automating Human-Centric NetOps Is Finally Achievable

Why It Matters

By automating the diagnostic layer of network operations, organizations can cut mean‑time‑to‑repair and free engineers to focus on innovation, delivering measurable cost and reliability gains.

Key Takeaways

• Statseeker provides 60‑second full‑fidelity network telemetry, eliminating blind spots.
• Human‑centric automation now handles troubleshooting, not just device configuration.
• Vendors overpromise “closed‑loop” automation; true value lies in observability tools.
• Network engineers spend excessive time on data collection, reducing strategic work.
• Kent’s platform bridges human insight with AI‑driven multi‑step reasoning.

Summary

The episode of Total Network Operations introduces Kent CEO Avi Freriedman discussing how network observability has evolved and why automating the human aspects of NetOps is finally feasible.

Freriedman explains Statseeker’s 60‑second full‑fidelity polling eliminates sampling gaps, giving operators real‑time, historical data. He argues that true automation should focus on the repetitive diagnostic and recommendation tasks that engineers perform—monitoring health, analyzing traffic, and correlating logs—rather than merely pushing configuration scripts.

Notable remarks include his description of the “customer enragement feature” of early Cisco routers and his critique of vendor hype around “closed‑loop” automation, emphasizing that most networks remain “snowflakes” requiring nuanced human insight. He also highlights Kent’s AI‑driven reasoning engine that can answer multi‑step queries without replacing field technicians.

The discussion signals a shift toward observability‑centric platforms that augment engineers, promising faster incident resolution and more strategic capacity planning. For enterprises, adopting such tools could reduce operational overhead and improve network reliability in increasingly complex, multi‑cloud environments.

Original Description

Scott sits down with Avi Freedman, CEO and co-founder of Kentik, to discuss if AI has advanced enough to automate human-centric NetOps. Together they caution against vendor hype regarding closed-loop network automation despite the progress AI has made. Avi also shares his personal experiences in the industry and the hard won lessons he learned along the way. This is not a sponsored episode.

AdSpot Sponsor: Statseeker

Statseeker gives engineers near real-time performance insights, fast zero-touch deployment, and historical data going back as far as you need; so you can troubleshoot faster and prove what actually happened. Statseeker auto-discovers devices and starts polling every 60 seconds right out of the gate, building a full-fidelity, granular history of your network from the moment it’s deployed. Try it free at statseeker.com/netops.

Links:

Avi Freedman on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/avifreedman/

Avi Freedman on X - https://x.com/avifreedman

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