Network automation firm Gluware Inc. has filled up its war chest, securing $43 million in growth funding today led by Bain Capital, with participation from Acadia Woods Partners and existing investors.

Gluware has created what it calls an “intelligent network automation” platform that helps information technology teams manage network infrastructure through a single console. It serves to simplify day-to-day maintenance tasks such as configuring network switches and applying security patches.

Importantly, Gluware’s platform is compatible with both traditional, application programming interface-driven and cloud-native networks. Last year, the company announced a major new release, extending its automation capabilities to public cloud platforms Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud via the open-source Terraform technology that’s used to manage cloud infrastructure. Through that, Gluware can configure cloud network resources with the same precision as they can customize on-premises gear.

Gluware also supports the EVPN-VXLAN standard, enabling it to manage networks comprised of hardware from multiple suppliers.

With Gluware, companies gain a higher level of visibility that enables them to squeeze more performance out of their networks and reduce the risk of outages. In addition, it also helps companies to maintain a strong security posture while easing compliance audits.

Gluware co-founder and Chief Executive Jeff Gray believes the network automation capabilities his company provides have become an essential requirement for enterprises, as modern IT environments are in such a constant state of flux.

“Corporate networks are constantly in need of tuning as business demands shift and new infrastructure, applications and operations are required to change in near real-time,” he said. “Enterprise network teams are challenged by evolving cybercrime, software vulnerabilities and human error, making it difficult to keep up with the cloud’s speed of innovation without the support of network automation.”

Freshly armed with a big pile of cash in the kitty, Gluware has quite a few plans going forward. One of the first things it will do is scale its sales and marketing teams.

It will also use the cash to fund its ongoing technology development efforts. In particular, Gluware is hoping to make inroads in the nascent area of network robotic process automation, which involves using artificial intelligence-based robots to perform mundane network management tasks.

It will also use the money to fund the development of new cybersecurity and artificial intelligence operations, or AIOps, capabilities in its platform.

Image: Gluware