technology

Digital Twin Technology Defined

Explore the mathematically-accurate modeling technology at the core of Forward Enterprise

Read Digital Twin ebook Explore Digital Twin Benefits

What is a digital twin?

We use digital twins every day without realizing it.

For example, Google Maps is a digital twin of the transportation system with all possible paths between destinations and current information on road status (traffic, construction, police, etc.).

On the contrary, older, less sophisticated GPS applications record the transportation system at a certain point in time and use that dated information to plot routes.

In the same vein, Forward Networks provides a digital twin of the network with all possible packet paths, so you can make decisions with visibility into current conditions along with historical data, not outdated Visio diagrams.

Read the eBook

Forward Networks would like to offer you this complimentary report to discover how to start increasing agility and lowering risk with network digital twin technology.

Forward Networks: Pioneering the Future of Network Security and Compliance

In the fast-paced world of technology, where networks are the lifeblood of organizations, Forward Networks stands as a beacon of innovation.

Digital Twins and Generative AI: A New Era for Network Management and Security

Digital Twins, virtual replicas of physical objects, systems, or processes, have been steadily gaining traction in the technology sector, particularly in networking and security.

Leverage Network Digital Twins to Increase Agility and Lower Risk

“Through 2028, organizations using network digital twins to model their configuration and software/firmware updates will reduce their unplanned outages by 70%.” According to Gartner® report “Leverage Network Digital Twins to Increase Agility and Lower Risk” [April 2025 | ID G00828393],

Forward Networks Boosts Network Digital Twin with Advanced Endpoint Collection

Forward Networks, a leader in network digital twin technology, is introducing enhancements to its Forward Enterprise platform, adding endpoint discovery and collection capabilities.

Forward Enterprise delivers $14.2M in annual value
for the average Forward Networks customer

Discover how Forward Enterprise can boost productivity equivalent to 95.8 full-time employees while enhancing network performance

Read the IDC Report

business value

Who benefits from a digital twin?

Enterprise networks are growing more complex than ever, and that creates extra strain on NetOps, SecOps, and Cloud teams. Poorly integrated networks can create security risks, hamper employees’ efforts to access data, and create friction for customers.
Forward Networks' digital twin use cases solve all of these challenges and more by collecting configuration and state information on every device in the network to accurately depict behavior. Read why Gartner Research names digital twin technology as the emerging technology that will change the way enterprises roll out network changes.

Read Gartner Digital Twin Report Read Post-Merger IT Integration Whitepaper

Attack Surface Management Forward Networks

Network Operations

"Network outages are a costly problem for my company."

Cloud Networking

"I need to prove my hybrid multi-cloud security posture"

Vulnerability Management Forward Networks

Network Security

"I struggle to provide zero-trust security posture within my network."

Webinar:
Top 5 Network Issues That a Digital Twin Can Solve in Under a Week

Learn more

benefits

Why choose Forward Networks Digital Twin Technology?

Bring instant value through efficiency

Watch Brandon Heller, Co-founder and CTO of Forward Networks, open with an overview of the company and how a Digital Twin can help NetOps teams be more efficient and proactive.

watch networking field day presentation

Reduce integration risks

Read more about resolving key post-merger integration challenges by placing a network digital twin at the top of your acquisition integration checklist.

read whitepaper

Drive agility, security, and availability

Read why Forward Enterprise's digital twin concept is crucial to the future of complex global networks in this research report from Enterprise Strategy Group.

download ESG report

Provide rapid insights

Learn about Forward Networks' mathematical model and how our software-based digital twin tech provides rapid insights to understand reachability and security. Now any network team can move from reacting to getting ahead.

watch brighttalk webinar

What is the ROI of a Digital Twin?

A recent Uptime Institute study that found human error was the cause for 74% of the most severe network outages. Something as simple as a typo in a configuration can take down mission-critical traffic flows.

That’s why we’ve built intent checks and predict functionality into the Forward Networks Platform. Engineers can use our platform to pinpoint issues before they impact the business.

Try our ROI calculator to realize your potential savings by implementing the Forward Enterprise.

Try our ROI Calculator

Customer Example

7 outages were experienced by a Fortune 500 customer over the past year

Average Outage length was
200 minutes per week

Potential savings = $7,000,000
using a Forward Enterprise digital twin technology

applied algebra

How does a Network Digital Twin Work?

Forward Enterprise collects the configuration and operational protocol state from every device moving packets in the network.
With this data, our behaviorally-accurate model can determine for any packet that arrives at any port on the device, what it will do with it, and how. Whether it will be forwarded, routed, rewritten, mirrored, dropped, etc.

Building on top of the individual device models, Forward Enterprise analyzes the path that all possible packets, going in all possible ports, can take in your network.

In short, the software can tell you where any packet could *ever* go. The depth and accuracy of our device modeling is unsurpassed in the industry.

Download the whitepaper

Challenges

Outages are Expensive and PREVENTABLE

Over 80% of network problems are due to improper configuration and change management.

$691K+

Average hourly cost

$1M +

Reported hourly cost

"When we evaluated 8 P1 outages, we realized Forward Networks would have prevented or assisted in 7 of them..."

Global Investment Firm

Calculate the cost

A single source-of-truth for the average enterprise network's

13K

devices

3B

lines of code

500

model+firmware combos

200

weekly changes

Scalability of Digital Twins

How We Process 10^30 Network Traffic Flows

Network digital twins allow operators of large, complex enterprise networks to search and verify their entire network's behavior. It is not a simulation. It is a mathematically accurate model of the network.

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Digital Twin Technology Defined

We use digital twins every day without realizing it.

Forward Enterprise delivers $14.2M in annual value for the average Forward Networks customer

Who benefits from a digital twin?

Network Operations

Cloud Networking

Network Security

Webinar:Top 5 Network Issues That a Digital Twin Can Solve in Under a Week

Why choose Forward Networks Digital Twin Technology?

Bring instant value through efficiency

Reduce integration risks

Drive agility, security, and availability

Provide rapid insights

What is the ROI of a Digital Twin?

Customer Example

How does a Network Digital Twin Work?

Outages are Expensive and PREVENTABLE

How We Process 10^30 Network Traffic Flows

Ready to get started?

Forward Enterprise delivers $14.2M in annual value
for the average Forward Networks customer

Webinar:
Top 5 Network Issues That a Digital Twin Can Solve in Under a Week