Why we had to change: Pain points in a brownfield data center network migration
Ahmed Abutaleb, Nokia IT’s lead data center architect, speaks with Scott Robohn and describes a multi-year transformation of Nokia’s on-prem data centers to a modern, NetOps-driven model using Nokia SR Linux and Nokia Event-Driven Automation (EDA). The change was motivated by real-world pain points: heavy, manual operations; poor traceability between design intent and what was deployed; siloed tools with little correlation; and configuration drift from CLI-driven changes.
To fix this, the team re-architected end-to-end—design, implementation and operations—adopting “network as code,” templating, automation and digital twin validation, so engineers work at a higher level of abstraction while tooling enforces consistency. This approach improved confidence in changes, enabled quick rollback, and standardized configurations across devices. Beyond technology, Ahmed frames it as a people journey too—giving engineers practical exposure to automation and AI where it truly adds value. Reported outcomes include far fewer tickets (around an 80% reduction), faster and safer deployments, and higher team satisfaction.
This blog post is the first in a series of five with Ahmed Abutaleb and Scott Robohn on Nokia’s data center network migration. To see the other posts, visit: Data center networks blogs.
