Automation adoption faces real challenges.
Skill gaps. Network engineers learned CLI, not Python. Learning new skills takes time. Start small and build confidence.
Legacy equipment. Older devices lack APIs. They only support SSH and CLI scraping. Automation is possible but more fragile.
Vendor diversity. Different vendors use different syntaxes, APIs, and data models. Multi-vendor automation requires abstraction layers.
Fear of change. Engineers worry automation will break production. Good testing addresses this fear.
Start with low-risk tasks and expand as trust grows.