IT automation is creating software and systems to replace repeatable processes and reduce manual intervention. It accelerates the delivery of IT infrastructure and applications by automating manual processes that previously required a human touch. With IT automation, the software is used to set up and repeat instructions, processes, or policies that save time and free up IT staff for more strategic work. With the rise of virtualized networks and cloud services that require rapid, complex provisioning, automation is an essential strategy for helping IT teams deliver services with improved speed, consistency, and security.
IT automation is a powerful tool that can scale a business, provide significant cost savings, and allow IT staff to focus on strategic rather than administrative work. A wide range of data center and cloud operations can be automated, resulting in faster processes. Thanks to automation, IT environments can scale more quickly with fewer errors and are more responsive to business needs. A fully automated environment can reduce the time to deliver production-ready resources from weeks to less than a day.
Why is IT automation used?
IT automation is useful to replace time-consuming tasks and allow IT staff to keep up with the increasing scale and complexity of IT operations and cloud infrastructure. In a modern IT environment, the speed and scale of services are too much for even a large and dedicated team to manage. IT automation allows teams to operate in a setting where it’s not uncommon to need to (for example) set up and configure thousands of servers.
The potential applications of automation are nearly infinite, but some of the most common ones include:
- Cloud automation
- Resource provisioning
- Configuration
- Network management
- Security automation (such as monitoring and response)
How does IT automation work?
IT automation software can perform a range of IT tasks and processes, from simple to complex. For example, automation can be used to create networking or security templates and blueprints and configure applications, and provision production-ready infrastructure.
Recent IT automation trends include the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (two different but related technologies) to create smarter processes that deal with more unpredictable situations. These technologies are still in their early stages, but they could allow automated processes to learn and improve as they go. Automation tools themselves are also becoming more powerful, allowing IT staff to build workflows more quickly.
TYPES OF AUTOMATION SYSTEMS
1. FIXED AUTOMATION
Also referred to as hard automation, fixed automation systems carry out a single set of tasks without deviation. Because of its function, this type of system would typically be used for discrete mass production and continuous flow systems. An example of fixed automation equipment would be an automated conveyer belt system designed to increase efficiency by moving objects from points A to B without minimal effort. Just like all other fixed automation system equipment, automated conveyer belts perform fixed and repetitive operations to achieve high production volumes.
2. PROGRAMMABLE AUTOMATION
As the name suggests, programmable automation runs through commands delivered by a computer program. This means that the resulting processes can vary widely with changing instructions given to the computer through a series of codes. However, as the programming efforts are non-trivial, the processes hence the tasks do not change much. This type of automation is common in mass production settings which produce similar types of products that utilize many of the same steps and tools as in paper mills or steel rolling mills.
3. FLEXIBLE AUTOMATION
Also referred to as soft automation, this type of automation is utilized in computer-controlled flexible manufacturing systems and allows for more flexible production. Every equipment receives instructions from a human-operated computer which means that the tasks can vary widely with changing code delivered to the computer. This type of automation would typically be used in batch processes and job shops with high product varieties and low-to-medium job volume, such as in textile manufacturing.
4. INTEGRATED AUTOMATION
Integrated automation involves the total automation of manufacturing plants as it is entirely handled by computers and control processes with minimal human involvement. Computers can design the necessary parts, test the designs, and fabricate the parts. Integrated automation, like flexible automation, is compatible with both batch process manufacturing and continuous process manufacturing.
What are the advantages of IT automation?
Increasingly, IT automation is becoming a necessity for enterprises to navigate and manage the complex modern technological landscape. It also has several concrete benefits:
- Cost savings: With IT automation, fewer labor hours are required to complete routine tasks. Automation can also increase productivity, reduce infrastructure costs by optimizing resource utilization, and decrease costs associated with human error.
- Time savings: By automating the most repetitive and time-consuming tasks, IT staff free up their time to spend on higher-level tasks.
- Faster operations: IT automation can speed up data center and cloud operations considerably, reducing service and resource delivery times from weeks to hours.
- Reduced errors: Automation ensures consistency on a large scale, something that’s impossible to do with individuals completing tasks manually.
- Better security: Automated processes require fewer humans to view and safeguard sensitive information, which reduces the possibility of breaches. Additionally, IT automation can be used to help IT teams keep up with incident response.
Does IT save money?
IT automation can result in significant cost savings—in both straightforward and less obvious ways. Enterprise IT automation reduces the number of labor hours required to complete tasks, and it can increase IT staff productivity, which is what most people are thinking of when they talk about automation cost savings. But beyond that, it also ensures consistency, reduces errors (saving additional IT staff time that would normally be spent on damage control), improves resource utilization (helping to save on infrastructure costs), and even helps save on security costs by preventing costly data breaches.