An IT process refers to a systematic sequence of activities or steps to achieve specific objectives within an organization. For instance, incident management identifies, analyzes, and resolves incidents to restore normal IT service operations as quickly as possible. The end goal of this IT process is to determine the incident and identify patterns to stop recurring issues in the future. IT process automation tools here can automate the series of tasks in the incident management process, such as incident identification, logging into the system, prioritizing incidents, and resolving incidents with periodic review.

According to Fortra’s recent survey on IT process automation, 72% of respondents express intentions to enhance IT automation adoption within the coming year.

What is IT Process Automation?

IT Process Automation (ITPA) is the automation of IT services, support and administration. It utilizes software to establish standardized instructions and procedures to minimize human involvement in IT operations. Automation software operates within predefined parameters, tools, and frameworks to execute tasks with minimal human intervention. ITPA tools, such as workload automation platforms, oversee applications and IT workflows, offering insights to streamline IT processes across various functions.

For example- Traditionally, deploying software involves numerous manual steps such as configuring servers, installing dependencies, deploying the application code, and performing various tests. With IT process automation, you can create scripts or utilize specialized tools to automate these tasks.

As per the report, process automation market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% and anticipated to increase USD 19.6 Billion by 2026.

Growing Trends in IT Process Automation

The future scope of IT process automation (ITPA) is quite promising as more and more organizations are turning towards automation to streamline their IT processes and increase efficiency. With the increasing complexity of IT infrastructures and the growing demand for digital services, automation in IT is becoming increasingly important.

Here are some potential trends and developments that may shape the future of IT process automation:

  1. Adoption of AI and ML

    AI and ML can be used to automate complex IT processes, reduce manual errors, and provide intelligent insights. As AI and ML technology continue to advance, it will be integrated more and more into ITPA solutions.

  2. Focus on Cloud Automation

    With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, IT process automation will be required to manage complex and dynamic cloud environments. Cloud automation tools will be used to automate the provisioning and management of cloud resources.

  3. Increased Integration with DevOps

    DevOps practices emphasize automation, and as such, ITPA will play a critical role in enabling DevOps teams to streamline their workflows and reduce the time required to deploy applications.

  4. Rise of Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

    RPA involves the use of software robots to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. As RPA technology continues to advance, it will be used to automate more complex IT processes, freeing up IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives. As per the report, the market for workflow automation is expected to increase a CAGR of 33.3% from 2023 to 2030.

  5. Low-Code/No-Code Platform

    Unlike traditional application development platforms, low-code platforms allow developers to create applications with less code. Most of them provide drag-and-drop interfaces and other tools that make application development easier and faster. With higher adoption of IT Process Automation, Low Code/No Code platform can make the implementation smooth and fast.

  6. Process Mining

    Trends in IT process automation involve more than technology. It requires utilizing technologies to automate multiple simple or complex processes without compromising the quality and efficiency of a process. Processing mining is one of the growing trends That entails a thorough examination of the process, its relationship, and the data required for process execution.

Common Challenges with IT Process

IT teams encounter several challenges and complexities while dealing with regular business processes. IT process challenges can vary depending on the organization’s size, industry, and specific IT infrastructure. However, some common challenges that trouble IT teams include:

Common Challenges with IT Process

  1. Integration Difficulty Between Systems

    Multiple applications and systems, such as CRM and ERP, manage various IT operations in an organization. Lack of integration between these systems leads to data silos and fragmented workflows. IT process automation solutions can seamlessly integrate multiple new, cloud-based or on-premise systems and create a unified data exchange and access system.

  2. Error During Task Execution

    Relying on manual processes for repetitive IT tasks such as data entry, file sharing, and user access management can expose your system to costly human errors and inaccuracies. IT process automation tools can execute tasks precisely as programmed and validate steps at each stage to ensure correct data inputs and output meet pre-defined criteria.

  3. Communication Gaps

    In IT processes, manual procedures often entail numerous handovers and approvals, leading to information loss, task completion delays, and missed deadlines. IT automation solutions can streamline communication channels within IT teams and simplify task assignment and approval processes, ensuring timely completion.

  4. Disorganized IT Data

    Around 66% of CIOs in a survey listed data security as their top challenge in IT. IT teams handle various data, including customer information, security data, performance metrics, configuration data, and application data. Manual data handling can present challenges with human errors and be burdensome and overwhelming. However, IT process automation solutions enable the establishment of automated workflows to extract, validate, and analyze large volumes of IT-related data.

  5. Visibility and Control Issues

    A lack of visibility in IT processes can lead to inefficiencies and missed deadlines. IT automation tools provide end-to-end visibility and predefined workflows, ensuring tasks are routed correctly. This proactive approach helps manage IT operations effectively and optimize performance across diverse data types, such as configuration data, system logs, and user activity logs.

IT Process Automation Examples

IT process automation (ITPA) is valuable for the IT team and the organization. It streamlines various processes, such as enhancing incident resolution rates, ensuring software updates automatically, simplifying user provisioning, and offering many other benefits. Here are ten instances demonstrating the capabilities of an IT process automation solution:
IT Process Automation Examples

  1. Service Desk Automation

    The IT service desk manually manages ticket creation, routes tickets to appropriate teams, and resolves employees’ issues. However, the high volume of service tickets makes instant resolution challenging. The IT process automation tool automatically classifies the service desk tickets and assigns them to the right service desk engineer. This way, IT process automation solutions improve the SLAs and offer instant resolution to users.

  2. Active Directory

    IT process automation enables automated user provisioning, group management, and access control within the active directory. For instance, when a new employee joins the organization, an automated process can create their user account, assign appropriate group memberships, and grant access to necessary resources based on predefined roles.

  3. User Notification

    Informing users about the license update and server maintenance and giving manual updates on system changes are uphill tasks. With IT process automation, automated notifications can be configured to alert users about system updates, maintenance schedules, or any relevant changes, ensuring timely communication and improving user experience.

  4. System Health Check

    Health checks capture the current state or condition of a system’s well-being or functionality at a specific time. Monitoring and determining the status of devices and the agent’s application and sending an alert before any critical issue arises can be exhausting. IT process automation facilitates regular system health checks, and alerts can be triggered for any anomalies, enabling IT teams to take immediate action to maintain system reliability and availability.

  5. Application Monitoring

    IT organizations find monitoring application performance, availability, and resource utilization challenging to ensure optimal performance. The robotic application monitoring system can monitor a critical business application’s response time and availability. If the application response time exceeds predefined thresholds or becomes unavailable, the automated IT system sends alerts to the IT team for immediate investigation and resolution.

  6. Workload Automation

    IT automation can schedule and execute routine tasks such as data backups, batch processing, and file transfers. For instance, workload automation can trigger on-time backups of databases and critical files, ensuring data integrity and disaster recovery readiness without manual intervention.

  7. Server Management

    Server management involves provisioning, patching, configuration, monitoring, and implementing backup and recovery measures. IT process automation solutions can automate the deployment of server configurations based on predefined templates, ensuring consistency and compliance with organizational standards. Automated patch management processes can also provide timely application of security updates to safeguard against vulnerabilities.

  8. Network Device Management

    Network automation can simplify the configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of network devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls. For example, automated network provisioning tools can streamline the deployment of network configurations and policies across multiple devices. Automated monitoring and alerting mechanisms can detect real-time network outages or performance degradation, enabling prompt remediation actions.

  9. Security Management

    In the past two years, 49% of respondents have suffered a data breach, a notable increase from 39% the previous year. Security automation utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze patterns and behavior of malicious software. For example, security automation in service desk agents can resolve alerts for USB block/unblock, clean up application requests, and email alerts for account activation/deletion.

  10. Employee Onboarding

    Recruitment to provide asset management access, service desk agents face numerous tasks that demand continuous manual attention. In this scenario, the IT process automation tool can assist in automating the employee onboarding process by handling tasks such as creating welcome emails, verifying digital documents, provisioning user accounts, managing documentation, and sending training reminders and notifications.

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Benefits of IT Automation

While automating manual and repetitive is the biggest perk of using IT process automation, the real business value of ITPA lies in more tangible benefits, including-

  1. Faster Response Time

    Whether it’s a request for a password reset or resolving a software bug, time is of the essence. Automating the IT request logging process can efficiently categorize and prioritize all requests, ensuring timely responses based on their urgency and importance. Cadence, one of the AutomationEdge customers, struggled to improve ticket resolution, but partnering with AutomationEdge enabled them to achieve a 30% increment in service ticket resolution time.

  2. Reduce Operational Cost

    IT process automation solutions enable organizations to achieve 90K USD cost savings by automating service ticket management. These tools automate repetitive tasks like data entry, log management, service ticket resolution, and system administration. With little reliance on manual efforts, organizations can reduce their operational costs.

  3. Better Visibility

    IT automation provides comprehensive visibility into IT processes and operations. Robotic application monitoring tools track performance metrics, system health, and compliance in real time, enabling IT teams to identify issues proactively and take corrective action before they escalate. Enhanced visibility facilitates better decision-making and resource allocation based on accurate data insights.

  4. Enhanced Employee Productivity

    By automating repetitive tasks, employees can focus on high-value activities that require creativity and critical thinking. Automation frees up time for IT professionals to innovate, collaborate, and contribute to strategic initiatives, ultimately boosting productivity and job satisfaction. For example, automating the employee onboarding process streamlines tasks such as account provisioning and access management, enabling HR personnel to dedicate more time to strategic initiatives.

Factors to Consider While Selecting an IT Process Automation Tool

When you are ready to choose an IT process automation way to streamline your IT process, the challenge comes in selecting the right tool. There are many aspects to consider before deciding, as every process automation tool has benefits and drawbacks. Some of the factors that need to be considered when choosing an ITPA tool are

  1. Ease of Use

    Ease of use is crucial for any software, especially when deploying an IT process automation solution to streamline internal processes. While some automation tools may offer advanced features, they can be challenging, leading to additional training costs and potential frustration for employees. Choosing an ITPA platform with a user-friendly automation tool is essential, ensuring efficient administration outputs and minimizing the learning curve.

  2. Interface Design

    The interface design of an IT process automation tool significantly impacts its usability. A quality ITPA solution offers a user-friendly interface that facilitates easy functionality. The best software provides a visual interface, enabling users to perform tasks without extensive learning. Additionally, accessibility for programmers ensures flexibility, reducing reliance on in-house or external IT resources and ultimately lowering operational costs.

  3. Scalability

    Many vendors promise to help organizations adapt to operational demands, but not all deliver. Scalability is crucial here. You need a tool to adjust operations according to your needs. A good ITPA solution offers adaptable software bots to execute tasks on demand across various systems and devices. This flexibility enables seamless scaling without adding extra costs to your business.

  4. Reliability

    Reliability is paramount when embarking on your automation journey. You need IT process automation solutions with built-in applications and specific features to monitor performance and enhance internal capabilities. During your search, prioritize tools capable of accommodating multiple users and seamlessly detecting and resolving errors without manual intervention. In instances requiring human interaction, ensure the software allows for manual intervention.

  5. Technology Integration

    A robust IT process automation solution should seamlessly integrate with various systems and technologies, forming the backbone of a digital workforce. Strong integration capabilities lead to healthier, faster, and more effective automation. Choosing a tool that can adapt its operations as needed is essential. Assess each tool’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure it aligns with your organization’s needs and potential future usage.

  6. Support & Professional Services

    Strong support minimizes deployment delays and enhances maintenance procedures. Look for a product offering various training options such as webinars, tutorials, and classroom sessions. While some vendors provide dedicated support teams and service level agreements (SLAs), others offer standard tool-related support. You may need to train your team or hire professional services for implementation, so having a training cost estimate from the vendor is beneficial.

How to Implement IT Process Automation?

Implementation plays a significant role in making the most of IT Process Automation. This implementation can comprise the following steps:

  1. Identifying Automation Candidates

    In the first step of implementation, the best-suited IT operations can be selected for automation using metrics and KPIs.

  2. Defining Process Requirements

    The second most important step of implementation is to list down the requirements to automate the shortlisted IT operations, like Software, hardware, licenses, data, permissions, etc.

  3. Automation Partner/Tool Selection

    Once you list down the requirement, you can get an idea of the tool you require. If not, you can partner with an automation provider that can provide the best-fitting tool matching your requirements and cost. However, while choosing a tool, you must consider cost, flexibility, compatibility, the scope for scaling, and ease of use.

  4. Execution

    IT Process Automation execution may vary depending on your hardware and software. If you opt for multiple tools, ensure they are compatible with each other while configuring. You can also create the necessary templates and data inputs.

  5. Automation Testing

    Before making it live, you must test your newly implemented automation in the live environment. Ensure all data inputs, outputs and functioning. Create alerts or notifications wherever needed.

  6. Employee Training

    Well-aware employees are necessary to handle or monitor newly implemented IT Process Automation. Provide necessary training, support and guidance.

  7. Feedback

    Once everything is done, the next part is monitoring and optimizing. Here, Change management comes into play. Make necessary changes in the way your business processes are being carried out to ensure that the automation meets your requirements.

How can AutomationEdge IT Process Automation Solution Help?

AutomationEdge offers a comprehensive IT Process Automation (ITPA) solution that addresses various automation needs within an organization’s IT operations. Here’s how AutomationEdge’s ITPA solution can help:

  1. Ready Solution Workflows: AutomationEdge enables the creation of automated workflows for IT processes such as incident management, change management, and service request fulfillment.
  2. Intelligent Automation: The solution incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities to automate complex IT tasks. This includes predictive analytics for proactive problem resolution and natural language processing (NLP) for automated ticket classification and routing.
  3. Self-Service Portals: AutomationEdge provides self-service portals for end-users and IT teams, allowing them to submit and track service requests, access knowledge bases, and perform routine tasks without manual intervention.
  4. Integration Capabilities: AutomationEdge integrates seamlessly with existing IT systems, applications, and tools, enabling end-to-end automation across the IT landscape. It has a rich library of 250+ connectors to IT systems and applications.
  5. Ticket Intelligence: AutomationEdge Ticket Intelligence assists in identifying automation opportunities by analyzing IT ticket data stored in your ITSM system.

Conclusion

IT process automation is becoming increasingly indispensable as a vital tool for progressive organizations aiming to enhance productivity and operational efficiency. Looking ahead, the future of IT Process Automation promises even greater advancements with the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Generative AI paving the way for unprecedented levels of agility, scalability, and innovation in IT operations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • What is IT Process Automation?

    IT process automation involves the use of automating the repetitive and time-consuming tasks that takes a large portion of time in processing service ticket request like password reset, payroll, employee onboarding, and a lot more.

  • Why Use IT Process Automation?

    Having a high volume of service ticket requests and extracting, analyzing and processing data manually leads to delayed resolution. Leveraging automation in IT involves the use of chatbots and self-service portals where customers can raise a service ticket and get auto-ticket resolution at a faster pace.

  • What are IT Process Automation Use Cases?

    Using automation technologies like RPA, IT leaders can automate user management, asset management, data sharing, service desk automation, and many other processes.

  • What are the Benefits of IT Process Automation?

    With automation in the IT process, IT leaders can get away from repetitive and time-consuming processes like resolving password reset requests and service desk tickets. Having IT process automation in an organization a lot of time is saved, and overall process efficiency is also increased.