Tata Communications
2025
How I simplified a complex network setup and management experience
Enterprise teams struggled to set up, manage, and monitor complex networks across disconnected workflows A centralized network management platform designed to help enterprise teams set up customers, configure devices and connections, monitor network health, and manage network rules in one place.
My Role
Designing, Testing & Evolving
Led end-to-end product design from research and problem definition to final UI and developer handoff.
Conducted competitor research across SASE and network management products to identify patterns, gaps, and opportunities.
Worked with PMs, engineers, and domain experts to translate complex network requirements into simpler user workflows.
Designed and presented product concepts and final experiences to the VP, incorporating feedback into the product direction.
Validated the experience after launch through A/B testing and real user behaviour.
Used support tickets as a feedback loop to identify friction points, including empty states, crowded screens, and data that users struggled to interpret.
Iterated on the product post-launch, using these insights to improve usability and reduce recurring user issues
Challenge
Enterprise admins had no single place to see or manage network
The goal was simple: make a complex network feel clear, connected, and manageable without hiding the complexity users actually need.
There was no existing product or interaction model to build on. Users had to work with customers, Service Edges, devices, WANs, policies and security data, all within one platform.
How do we make a technically complex system easy to navigate without hiding the complexity expert users need?
Result
From More Steps to Less Effort
Faster customer setup — streamlined onboarding reduced unnecessary configuration steps and made the setup journey easier to follow.
Less manual work — bulk configuration options helped teams set up multiple network elements faster.
Simpler rule creation — a guided rule builder made it easier to define From → To → Action without exposing unnecessary technical options.
Clearer network visibility — a unified dashboard brought users, applications, latency, packet loss, sites, and events into one view.
Easier device configuration — separated WAN and LAN configuration made complex device setup easier to understand.
Better post-launch decisions — support-ticket patterns and A/B testing helped identify friction and continuously improve the experience.
But how do I start
Exploring interface directions
I conducted competitor research and stakeholder workshops to understand the existing SASE landscape, user needs, and product scope.
These insights helped define the key workflows, user roles, and opportunities for simplification.
Exploring different dashboard concepts across leading SASE platforms, focused on hierarchy, network status visibility, and clearer everyday monitoring workflow
Takeaway
Reduce fragmentation, make policies easier to create, and give operaters one clear view of the network
One platform, different priorities — so the experience should adapt to what each team is trying to accomplish.
Soutions
1 platform many problems
Existing problem
Setting up a customer required understanding which information belonged where and how the customer connected to the network. Too many configuration details upfront made the process harder to follow.
How it simplified the setup
I separated customer information from network configuration and kept backend-managed information out of the user's way. The onboarding flow focuses only on what the admin needs to provide.
Impact
A clearer starting point for setting up customers, without exposing unnecessary technical complexity.
“I know what I need to enter and what the system is already handling.”
02 — Site & Device Management
Existing problem
Sites and devices were closely connected, but their relationship wasn't always obvious. Users had to understand the underlying structure before making changes.
How it simplified the setup
I created a clearer Customer → Site → Device relationship, while keeping site and device mapping handled by the backend.
Impact
Admins can understand where a device belongs and configure it without having to manage information the system already knows.
“I can see where this device belongs before I start configuring it.”
03 — Simple Rule Builder
Existing problem
Creating network rules required users to understand technical configuration concepts and make several decisions at once.
How it simplified the setup
I reduced rule creation to the core questions users actually need to answer: What is it? Where is it coming from? Where is it going? What should happen?
Impact
Rule creation became a straightforward task instead of a technical configuration exercise.
“I know what the rule does before I save it.”
04 — Network Monitoring
Existing problem
Operational teams need to quickly understand what's happening across the network, but too much information can make important signals difficult to spot.
How it simplified the experience
I focused the monitoring experience around the information teams need to identify issues, understand their impact, and take action rather than exposing every available data point.
Impact
A clearer operational view with less cognitive load.
“I can see what needs my attention without digging through the system.”
Future enhancements
Where this goes from here
Measurable Outcomes
01 — 80% less repetitive configuration
5 min for a single device → ~10 min for 10 devices using bulk setup, vs. ~50 min individually.
02 — 29% faster rule creation
7 min → 5 min with a simplified 5-step rule builder.
03 — Faster issue identification
~2 min average to identify a network issue from the dashboard using site status, latency, packet loss, and events.
Less repetitive work. Faster configuration. Quicker decisions.
What went not so good
Empty data states — users weren't sure whether data was missing, loading, or simply unavailable.
Data interpretation — metrics like latency weren't always self-explanatory to use
