Customer Story: Scalable Automation Initiatives in the Healthcare Industry
This healthcare network’s IT team deployed repeatable, supportable automation using BlueCat Gateway to free up time for getting even more done.
Key takeawaysThis key takeaway was generated through LLMs crawling the page and coming up with an overview of the content.A 129,000-employee healthcare network with two data centers and local servers at about 50 sites faced scaling limits from ad-hoc PowerShell scripts for DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (DDI), burdening its small networking team and risking distributed code execution. By adopting BlueCat Gateway for network automation and integrating ServiceNow and VMware vRealize Orchestrator, the organization created a zero-touch cradle-to-grave server build process that automates hostname generation, MAC and IP assignment, and lifecycle actions. The automation increased repeatability, reduced person-power required for server builds, and freed IT resources to focus on higher-value initiatives that support improved patient care while BlueCat experts helped design the supporting architecture.
What specific scalability problem was the healthcare network trying to solve with DDI automation?
The healthcare network faced a scalability problem where PowerShell scripts used to interface with BlueCat’s API were being executed in multiple places by virtualization and site server staff, creating disorder and management challenges. The small networking team could not sustain distributed, ad-hoc code execution across about 50 sites while maintaining control of DNS, DHCP, and IPAM services. This fragmentation limited the team’s ability to scale automation, maintain consistency, and ensure operational control over DDI services.
How does the zero-touch server build process work end-to-end using BlueCat Gateway?
Users initiate a self-service request in ServiceNow, specifying the server’s location and purpose. BlueCat Gateway calls VMware vRealize Orchestrator (vRO) to create the host prefix, then a backend algorithm composes the middle of the hostname based on user selections and appends a three- or four-digit numeric suffix. After hostname assignment, the server can be booted; it obtains the next available MAC and IP address from BlueCat, and the user returns to ServiceNow to close the request, enabling a cradle-to-grave, zero-touch server lifecycle process.
What operational benefits did the organization realize from adopting Gateway and DDI automation?
Adopting BlueCat Gateway delivered increased repeatability and significant savings in person-power for server builds by centralizing and automating the DDI workflow. The automation reduced DNS-related manual work that often overwhelms IT teams—freeing engineers to focus on higher-value and strategic projects—thereby allowing the organization to allocate more resources toward initiatives that improve patient care. Additionally, collaboration with BlueCat’s DDI experts helped ensure an appropriate architecture and technology solution aligned to the organization’s goals.
The context: Quick customer details to get you up to speed
Employees: 129,000
Revenue: $18B
Business footprint: USA
Industry: Healthcare
Architecture: Two data centers with local servers at each of about 50 sites
The challenge: Their automation initiatives couldn’t scale
“We were pushing services for our virtualization staff, and site server people, and wondering how we could keep some modicum of control over our DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (DDI) services,” explains this healthcare network’s network architect.
The entire networking team at this 129,000-person organization is just a small handful of professionals. And they were relying on some Powershell scripts to interface with BlueCat’s API.
While the pet project proved the value of automating DDI services, the team began to run into scale problems. “We didn’t want code being executed in ten different places. We needed to establish some order.”
The solve: Graduating to a zero-touch server build initiative enabled by BlueCat Gateway
“We used BlueCat’s Gateway network automation platform to build a number of scalable, fully supported automations. One of those is a cradle-to-grave process that covers everything from server build to decommissioning. It’s zero-touch for the distributed network of facilities we serve.”
Here’s how the automation works: Users make selections in a self-service format through ServiceNow, providing inputs about the new server’s location and purpose. Then, Gateway calls VMware’s vRealize Orchestrator (vRO) to create the prefix for the host. Next, based on the user’s selections, a backend algorithm creates the middle of the host. The suffix is a three- or four-digit number.
Once provided with the hostname, the user can boot up the server, obtain the next available MAC address and IP address from BlueCat, and then go back to ServiceNow and close the request.
“It’s a huge win for repeatability and the amount of person-power saved on server builds,” the network architect said. “Every one of these more sophisticated automation projects helps us allocate more resources towards improving patient care in other ways.”
The lesson learned: Prioritize DDI automation to free up time for more strategic initiatives
More than half (56%) of IT managers report that their teams are overwhelmed with DNS-related tickets and service requests. This has a direct impact on IT’s ability to tackle more strategic work. For this healthcare network’s IT team, leveraging Gateway along with BlueCat’s many integrations was the key to taking their DNS automation initiatives to the next level. It freed up time and resources for more high-value projects.
Along the way, BlueCat’s DDI experts worked closely with this organization’s technologists to propose architecture and technology solutions that allowed them to achieve their goals.
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BlueCat provides core services and solutions that help our customers and their teams deliver change-ready networks. With BlueCat, organizations can build reliable, secure, and agile mission-critical networks that can support transformation initiatives such as cloud adoption and automation. BlueCat’s growing portfolio includes services and solutions for automated and unified DDI management, network security, multicloud management, and network observability and health.
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