
They encounter fragmented IT technologies which operate siloedly; exchange of data among devices is complex; scaling ability is challenging to reach; thus IT ecosystems cannot respond swiftly enough for digital transformation initiatives by businesses.
IT Automation offers the answer. In order to increase IT services efficiency, reduce costs, and save time, automating repetitive, time-consuming, complex manual tasks is the answer.
IT automation also simplifies environments while consolidating tools and workflows into cohesive wholes - freeing up IT resources to be dedicated towards strategic initiatives while decreasing manual intervention in processes, tasks, workflows etc. thus decreasing errors risk significantly and improving service level agreements (SLA).
By 2024, analytics and automated remediation capabilities should enable IT operations teams to refocus 30% of their efforts from supporting operations towards continuous engineering.
How Does IT Automation Work?

IT automation is the practice of automating repetitive IT tasks to free IT professionals from manual work. IT automation uses software, tools and frameworks such as Windows PowerShell to perform automated recurring tasks; for example all cmdlets and variables can be combined into one script for instance.
This script then runs a set of instructions designed to automate processes that would normally require an administrator manually going through each line item of data. This makes workflow integration simpler while aiding IT in developing scalable architectures which meet business requirements.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and IT automation applications create intelligent processes which act autonomously. They can be utilized to upgrade IT ecosystems or task teams as well as being an excellent basis for digital transformation programs and plans.
IT automation used to require deep technical expertise, expensive infrastructure and servers as well as strong dependencies between operations and resources, creating cost and resource intensive methods of IT automation that were beyond most companies budgets and capabilities.
Now cloud platforms with AI/ML tools and cloud storage services are more available and accessible.
Scope of IT Automation

IT Automation refers to an umbrella term covering various frameworks, tools and strategies related to IT deployment and use.
IT automation may range from improving processes in specific departments up to full scale deployment that involves user interaction and other triggers. IT service providers offer solutions that integrate services, functions and technologies within IT environments - including automating network components, infrastructure automations, content management/document processing workflow automations/service desk process automations/cloud resource provision - on top of automating application provisioning as well as developing/deploying standard operating environments (SOEs).
IT automation encompasses cloud infrastructure management and resource provisioning as well as automating network configuration processes. Automation also plays an integral part in IT migration projects to reduce costly errors caused by tedious manual procedures.
History of Automation

Automation has emerged through mechanization. Mechanization began during the Industrial Revolution as humans sought ways to replace human and animal power with mechanical sources; here are some major historical developments which led to automated systems and mechanization.
Early Developments
Stone tools were a prehistoric mans initial attempt at harnessing physical strength with human intelligence. Over thousands of years, these early tools evolved into complex machines like wheels and levers which remain essential components in modern-day systems.
These devices amplified human muscles. Soon thereafter, powered machines were invented that did not require human power for operation - such as simple steam-driven machines, waterwheels and windmills.
Chinese civilization invented trip-hammers powered by water wheels and running water over 2000 years ago; early Greeks tried their hands at steam-powered reaction motors around 1335; Europeans eventually developed complex mechanical clocks equipped with their own built-in source of power (typically weights). Windmills with automatic sail turning mechanisms were first developed during the Middle Ages across Europe and the Middle East.
Later, steam engines marked a breakthrough in powered machines - as such their introduction was considered the beginning of industrialisation. Over two centuries since Watt introduced his engine there have been numerous powered machines developed using steam power as well as electrical current and various forms of energy such as chemical mechanical or nuclear sources of power.
Negative feedback is an automatic control method utilized to maintain constant levels of operation for any system.
A thermostat is one such example of negative feedback control used to regulate room temperatures within modern buildings; when room temperatures decrease below an predefined point, closing an electrical switch activates heating units when room temps decrease while when temperatures increase again, opening this same switch activates heating units again; with its adjustable settings this thermostat can even be programmed to activate heating units at certain temperature points or any time period that suits you!
The weaving machine marked an important innovation in automation history, showing its concept as an automated machine.
It was devised an automatic loom that enabled complex textile patterns by controlling shuttles of different colors with wooden cards with holes punched into them - using these cards, Joseph-Marie could determine patterns. These cards were the precursors to modern paper tapes and cards used to control automated machines. Charles Babbage was an English mathematician who popularized programming machines during the late 19th century.
His idea for an "analytical machine", capable of both performing mathematics as well as data processing was never completed and can be considered the precursor of digital computers today. Computers.
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Modern Developments
In the 20th century, significant advances were made across various fields: digital computers were invented; data storage technology advanced significantly; sensor technologies improved, as did mathematical theories of control - all leading to increased automation technology advancement.
Electronic digital computers such as ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Automatic Calculator), brought automation control functionality more closely together and calculations became faster than before.
Since 1960, integrated computers have caused miniaturization trends within computer technology which result in machines which are smaller yet still faster at performing calculations - microprocessors being one such multi circuited miniature device which perform all logic and arithmetic operations of digital computers in miniature form.
Recent advances in computer technology have also brought changes in how program commands are stored: magnetic tapes and discs, magnetic bubble memory devices, optical data storage readable by lasers (video disks), electron beam-addressable memory systems.
Programming language development also advanced considerably - modern programming languages have become easier to use while offering increased logic processing capacity and data processing power.
Sensor technology has advanced to such an extent that an assortment of measuring devices can now be seamlessly integrated into automated feedback control systems, including electromechanical probes with high sensitivity, scanning lasers, electrical field technique and machine vision systems.
Some sensor implementation requires computer technology - for instance machine vision requires processing vast amounts of data via high speed computers - making this technology particularly suitable for industrial tasks like part recognition, quality inspection and robot guidance.
Since World War II, an advanced mathematical theory for control systems has emerged. It comprises traditional negative feedback control theory; optimal and adaptive control theories as well as artificial intelligence applications.
Traditional negative feedback theory uses linear ordinary differential equations such as Watts Flying-Ball Governor to analyze issues.
while more complex processes follow similar physical laws described by differential equations. Both optimal control theory and adaptive control theories attempt to optimize process performance through selecting an index of performance for operations while operating them accordingly.
Adaptive control differs significantly from optimal control in that adaptive control is meant to operate within unpredictable, often-changing environments; to effectively implement its strategies, sensor measurements may be required.
Read More: IT Priorities 2023: Software Development
How To Implement IT Automation In Your Business

IT automation has many uses. Automating these areas will increase efficiency within your company.
Cloud Processes
Automation of cloud processes has never been more essential for businesses operating hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
You can achieve full orchestration of your cloud operations by incorporating IT automation.
Automating cloud processes involves selecting specific or clusters of cloud processes for automation. While you might not yet have all critical clouds automated, as your experience grows you will likely automate more important ones.
The Service Desk Is A Help/Service Desk
Every company (or at least should) have a service desk. Automation is an area thats ripe.expert explains that there are many areas where simple task automation can make an immediate difference.
Devops & Software Development
DevOps is built around the principle of automation. DevOps is not fully implemented if you dont automate your software development process.
DevOps can be applied across the entire software development lifecycle.
- Deployment automation (CI/CD)
- Test automation
- Watching
- Log management
Business Processes
Gartner defines automation of business processes as:
Automating complex business processes, functions and data beyond the traditional data manipulation and record keeping activities.
Cognitive technologies are leading the way in improving process automation, and include:
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Machine Learning (ML)
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- Predictive Analytics
By 2025, the BPA market is expected to reach $232 billion dollars.
Configuration
When you are running a digital company, configuration is a necessary function. There are many things to configure, including cloud services, networks, servers and environments.
Automating configuration allows you to:
- Check that environments are configured correctly
- Reducing errors
- Productivity increases overall
Resource Provisioning
Provisioning resources becomes essential when working in a digital business. It is the process of sharing and allocating server space, and granting users access to programs and cloud processes that are required to perform your job.
Its also a great place for automation.
Monitoring And Response
IT professionals can automate security processes like monitoring and responding to threats so that they can concentrate on other things such as bug fixes, infrastructure issues, and testing.
What Are The Benefits Of Automation?

Automation can improve employee morale, accuracy, and reliability. Well look at 10 benefits of automation in more detail.
Increased Employee Satisfaction and Retention Reduced Errors Improved Productivity Standardization of Data and Cleaner Processes Scalable Processes
1. Efficiency
Automation can have a significant impact on your organizations efficiency in many ways, especially when software robots are used to mimic repetitive human actions, like the robotic process automation software.
Some of the effects are:
- Faster Processing - Compared to humans RPA can complete many times more processes, so you can handle transactions more quickly.
- 24/7 Operation - RPA robots do not need to sleep or get tired. They work around the clock to keep certain business operations and tasks running. They can also put off tasks until the morning if something requires human attention.
- Analytics Collection - RPA collects data from everything it does and files it in reports for you to analyze. This allows you to find issues with your processes that you may not have been aware of. This will allow you to check for common problems with processes, such as bottlenecks, inefficiencies and slow areas.
- Improved Accuracy - Using RPA software can help to eliminate the vast majority human errors from processes, as it is designed to follow specific rules.
2. Productivity
Process automation brings tangible productivity gains by offloading repetitive tasks to robots that work faster and longer than humans, significantly increasing overall output.
One such benefit of process automation is productivity boost: one robot could complete many more repetitive tasks per hour than their human counterparts can manage on its own.
Automation can help reduce time wasted due to the "productivity paradox." This occurs when new technologies slow down processes by making people spend time learning how to navigate them; RPA provides the solution.
RPA robots can boost production by a certain amount, but it depends on the type. There are two types of robots that work differently with humans:
- Attended Bots - These bots work with humans to complete transactions. The bot can handle data, calculations and reporting while the human focuses on tasks that are customer-centric. The process is slower because of the human component of RPA.
- Unattended Bots - In this case, the processes are automated without any human intervention. The bots can operate 24 hours a day, which increases production.
The type of bot that you select depends on your business and the tasks you want to automate. Some decisions require human intervention, while others dont.
Automation can help solve many problems in a process by streamlining it , which means more production and less time wasted.
3. Cost Savings
Automating your business can save money in various ways.
Workers can concentrate their attention and creativity on more vital and creative tasks. Saving you both time and money.
Your employees can now concentrate on more pressing issues within your organization.
Reduce or even replace portions of your salary that go toward these activities by investing them into different jobs that have an immediate and tangible effect on your business.
Read More: What Are The Advantages of Using Cloud-Based Enterprise Applications?
4. Compliance
RPA offers solutions for businesses in industries where compliance with specific regulatory standards (finance, healthcare etc) is mandatory - industries like finance or healthcare for instance - where RPA can assist you to stay compliant.
RPA will assist your compliance team to help meet regulatory demands more easily.
RPA can help businesses improve their compliance program by adding another level of control and oversight over processes.
RPA bots are specifically programmed to perform each process the exact same way every time, which minimizes any chance of errors occurring during execution.
They report their actions in an activity log which provides 100% accurate audit trails of everything the RPAs do.
Understanding data usage requirements and handling it responsibly are integral parts of most security regulations that mandate companies.
5. Reduced Errors
Errors cost businesses $62.4million each year. But using RPA Robots reduces this risk as these robots perform tasks as programmed every time without making typos or human-induced mistakes based on attention span or fatigue.
Less errors you commit will make life simpler for both employees and management, not to mention saving both money and time on reworking efforts.
RPA technology can also assist organizations in their quest for greater accuracy by gathering data and producing reports which provide more clarity into its processes, along with ways of optimizing efficiency.
6. Customer Satisfaction
One of the greatest advantages of robotic process automation lies in its beneficial impacts on customers, their interactions with your business, and your service to them.
RPA allows you to respond more rapidly and efficiently to customer inquiries and demands by fulfilling them at exactly the moment they require answers.
Your customers time will be respected while being met successfully when answers are needed quickly and accurately.
Used previously to take days or hours, but now takes mere minutes. Of course, it can also be utilized for various customer interactions including order processing.
Automation will increase your businesss credibility through improved word of mouth, online reviews and repeat customers.
7. Increase Employee Satisfaction And Retention
Boring work is one of the leading causes of employee fatigue. RPA specializes in eliminating repetitive, time-consuming tasks to give workers more space and freedom for creative, critical and innovative thought processes.
Implemented successfully, workplace solutions like this one can boost efficiency, morale and productivity within an organization.
Many businesses struggle to win over those impacted by RPA because many feel concerned that automation could take away their jobs.
Once employees realize RPA will not leave them jobless and that their jobs can actually become easier due to RPA software, many become staunch supporters.
8. Eliminate Paper-Based Processes
RPA can be an eco-friendly choice by digitizing processes that traditionally consume large quantities of paper or resources and dont even need consumables - an eco-friendly decision indeed!
Digital document workflow automates processes involving files by sending each document directly to its intended reviewer, then saving it securely in an easily searchable shared folder.
Setting up digital document workflows allows your business to cut paper costs while saving both money and time.
9. Data Standardization And Cleaner Data
As has already been noted, one advantage of automating processes is standardizing information handling - meaning no time-consuming cleanup operations within your company!
To expand your business successfully, it is imperative that you set measurable goals and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).
Without adequate checks in place to protect against errors when handling information manually, measuring strategy or trusting KPIs becomes extremely challenging.
Accurate and standard information makes it easier for us to recognize patterns, review long-term plans, identify issues, make informed decisions about the future, and implement business intelligence strategies into practice.
10. Scalable Processes
An automated robotic workforce can be scaled according to your businesss size.
As your business expands, RPA technology makes scaling quickly and cost effectively possible. Automation makes scaling fast and straightforward depending on season or consistent growth patterns.
RPA offers an adaptable solution that meets the exact demands of its user at exactly the time they require them.
It has proven its success time after time.
Automation: Its Importance

As businesses expand and customers demand faster processing times for goods and services, automation becomes ever more essential for continued business operations.
Process automation not only ensures efficiency but will ensure continuity.
Budget savings from process automation can be used for creative initiatives, hiring needed talent or expanding a business.
Process automation can dramatically decrease both time and budget requirements for performing these tasks, creating time savings while improving accuracy.
Automation technologies such as patient portals, healthcare apps and telehealth can make billing and payment processes seamless for patients and providers - giving insight into just how valuable automation is within healthcare settings.
Here is one such example from industry which shows its significance:
Business leaders looking to remain competitive should adopt an automation strategy as more industries invest in it.
IT Automation Best Practices

Here are some tips for developers to use when automating IT:
- Consider Carefully What You Want To Automate: Its impossible to automate everything. It may be tempting to automate everything, but you need to decide in advance which processes you want to automate.
- Automate: the processes that require the least skill and most time.
- Get The Teams Buy-In Before Making Major Changes To Your It Infrastructure: Talk to the IT team to get their ideas, and then get their approval. This will make the transition easier.
- Prioritize Flexibility: Automation is often criticized for its rigidity and lack of flexibility. Prioritize flexibility within your IT organization if you want to make the most of IT automation.
- Create A Long-Term Plan: Prioritize the tasks that are most important for your long-term growth.
- Lead Automation Specialist: By designating someone to be your automation lead, businesses can use that person to direct resources in the name of automating.
- Use documentation. Each time a process has been automated, documentation should be produced.
- Sometimes: its okay to say no. You should decline automation projects that dont match your infrastructure and processes. It is crucial to success that you are discerning when it comes to automation.
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Bottom Line
RPA (robotic process automation) offers many advantages to any business. From streamlining processes to cutting workforce costs, automation offers numerous perks when used effectively by both sides.
Automation creates value when all parties involved collaborate on solutions.
RPA benefits extend well beyond their external effects on an organization; they can also have positive ramifications within.
For instance, RPAs benefits have an undeniable positive influence on an employers workforce and employee engagement levels.
Automating processes by hiring IT project managers can improve productivity and employee morale while helping ensure the sustainability and continuity of a business.