Something to keep in mind when testing upload and download speeds is your drive and memory read/write speed. Your true throughput is not just a test of NIC and network but also the rest of your PC
Well look at a SD data center fabric like Cisco aci or cumulus supported by Ansible. The following could be automated.
switch backup and restoral in event of rma
new switch deployment
front end webpage for data center or server techs to input their new server port requirements can programmatically push interface programming down to the switch with little or no network engineer oversight
Day 2 operations user stories
endpoint discovery
endpoint to endpoint path discovery
fault auto healing. Example, monitoring detects errors on interface or protocol flap, script can detect redundant links, confirm health, then shutdown the problem link for repair.
Some ideas
SDN integration with other SD enterprise tech. NSX, Illumio, sdwan, wireless
Pick a sdwan or SDN tech and expound on how it can be automated to support deployment and day2 ops