Much has been said about the benefits of IT automation, yet its implementation often receives far less attention. How do you go about building an IT automation strategy? Where do you begin? Is it only “possible” for larger IT enterprises? If you automate one task, does that immediately mean you’ll automate all tasks?
In this guide, we provide a straightforward guide on how to build an IT automation strategy in just 4 steps.
💻 Boost productivity with NinjaOne’s Automated IT Systems.
Step-by-step guide on building an IT automation strategy
1. Identify automation opportunities
Start by taking a look at common issues that happen in your organization, especially your service desk tickets. What is happening repeatedly? Are there applications that are crashing? Are you continuously solving the same type of problem?
Here are some common automation opportunities:
- Complex processes: Tasks that require many manual steps to accomplish.
- User onboarding
- Endpoint setup
- Network/wifi configuration & management
- Manage unintegrated security suites
- Printer management
- Auto-install applications
- Uninstall software
- Repetitive processes: Tedious procedures that take up too much time.
- Password resets
- Restarting services
- Deploy software
- Map network drives
- Log file management
- Monitoring: Gathering important data metrics that need to be quickly interpreted.
- Security auditing
- Print queue monitoring
- Documentation users
- Network speed tests
- Software utilization
By identifying these tasks, you can prioritize automation efforts (more on this in the next step!) that will have the biggest impact.
✅ Expert tip: You can also check out this article on the common IT tasks to automate.
2. Prioritize automation initiatives
Not all automation opportunities should be tackled at once, regardless of whether you’re a startup or an experienced IT enterprise. It’s a good idea to evaluate each task based on its:
- Frequency and time consumption: Tasks that occur frequently and take up significant time should be high-priority candidates for automation. Automating these processes can yield the most immediate efficiency gains and free up valuable resources.
- Impact on efficiency and security: Consider how automating a task will enhance operational efficiency and security. For example, automating software updates ensures timely patching, reducing security vulnerabilities and improving IT compliance.
- Feasibility and resource requirements: Some automation initiatives require extensive development time, specialized skills, or additional tools. Assess whether your team has the necessary resources to implement the automation effectively and whether the investment is justified by the long-term benefits. Remember: Don’t automate for automation’s sake.
- Alignment with business needs: When you are looking for IT automation opportunities, consider whether the automation actually creates value for end users. Does it make it easier for them to do their job, or does it save them from wasted time on menial, repetitive tasks? If so, you’ve identified an area where IT automation would be ideal.
✅ Expert tip: Read this guide on “How to Measure Your IT Automation Maturity Level”.
3. Develop and implement automation strategies
Once you’ve identified and prioritized automation opportunities, check whether there’s already an existing automation script to achieve a goal. For automations that don’t already have a script, determine what’s required to automate a given process, use the necessary tools to set it up, test it, and then implement it. Once automation has been added, you should continue to monitor it to determine whether it works, how effective it is, and whether it can be further optimized.
We also recommend leveraging automation tools to build workflows and scripts. Platforms like NinjaOne allow IT teams to:
- Automate endpoint management
- Streamline software deployment
- Schedule routine maintenance tasks
- Implement self-healing scripts to resolve common issues
Ensuring proper implementation helps avoid bottlenecks and ensures seamless automation deployment.
✅ Expert tip: Learn how to create a culture of automation with the “IT Manager’s Guide to Adopting an Automation Mindset”.
Example 1 : Setting up complex automation with NinjaOne
An example of a complex automation you could set up is the creation of a local administrator account. These accounts are used to take privileged actions on endpoints that are managed, and are one of the many ways to automatically deploy security resources to your endpoints.
Using NinjaOne, follow these steps to create a local administrator account automation:
- Navigate to the scheduled scripts section of your device policy
- Create a new scheduled script
- Fill in the name and description
- Set the schedule to Run Once Immediately
- Add your Create Local Administrator Script (NinjaOne users can see the scripts we used here in the dojo.)
You can check out other NinjaOne automations here.
Example 2: Applying an IT automation strategy to your ticketing process
A lot of the work that IT and MSP teams do is hands-on endpoint and device management that occurs in their RMM. With all those responsibilities, there are also a lot of things happening in their system that add to the administrative burden of work. IT automation is not just about delivery, but also about administration and management of your business.
When each ticket comes in, technicians have to go through the process of either assigning the ticket to someone, taking notes and putting it in a ticket or going through an escalation process. Luckily, there are ticketing automations that you can do on the help desk side of your organization to drive your business efficiencies.
Here are some examples of using IT automation to drive efficiency in your help desk:
- Routing tickets to a specific board by parsing the subject line
- Auto respond outside of business hours and escalate urgent tickets
- Automatically remind the requestor we’re awaiting a response and change the status if no reply is received
- One-click ticket escalation via response templates
- Automate the approval process with custom fields
4. Monitor and optimize your automation processes
Automation is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. It requires continuous monitoring and refinement to remain effective. It’s wise to regularly track your automated processes to identify any inefficiencies, unexpected failures, or gaps in performance. If an automated task is not yielding the desired results, adjustments may be necessary to optimize its efficiency and effectiveness.
How to integrate IT automation into your organization
Automate the low-hanging fruit today
Reflect on the necessary tasks within your organization. Determine what tasks drive a high volume of tickets in your helpdesk, or what you’re doing multiple times per week or month in other areas of your business that use IT. If there are easy tasks you can condense into a one or two-step process, that’s also IT automation. Additionally, any information gathering that can be automated can remove unnecessary manual effort.
Invest in more complex automation
Simple IT automation is beneficial for basic tasks, but your organization could gain more benefits from using more complex IT automation. For example, consider what can be done with scripts rather than remote access. You can also consider what tasks are prone to human error or figure out which tasks you can fully close-loop automate and completely remove the human element.
Automate entire workflows
Multi-step or complex processes can take a lot of time, but IT automation can simplify them and cut down on overall time spent. You can use Ninja for monitoring and as a logic switch to route automation and tickets.
Increase business efficiency with IT automation
Complex, manual processes and an overload of IT tasks can weigh down the individuals in your organization. Fortunately, you can automate many of these tasks and increase business productivity. IT automation reduces wasted time and increases process effectiveness and efficiency across your entire IT environment.
NinjaOne uses IT automation to enable you to increase productivity while reducing cost and wasted time. With NinjaOne, you can automate repetitive endpoint tasks, important documentation, recurring maintenance tasks, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How do you go about building an IT automation strategy?
Start by identifying repetitive or complex tasks. Then, prioritize automation opportunities based on impact and feasibility and implement the right tools. Lastly, we recommend continuously monitoring and refining automation workflows.
2. Where do you begin with IT automation?
Assess your current IT processes and identify areas that consume the most time and resources. Focus on tasks like software deployment, patch management, and user provisioning, which can significantly benefit from automation.
3. Is IT automation only feasible for larger enterprises?
No, IT automation is beneficial for organizations of all sizes. IT enterprises of all sizes can leverage automation to improve efficiency, reduce manual work, and optimize IT operations just as effectively as larger enterprises.
4. If you automate one task, does that mean you have to automate everything?
Not necessarily. Automation should be implemented gradually based on priority and feasibility. Some tasks are better suited for automation than others, and a balanced approach ensures a smooth transition without overwhelming IT teams.
5. What challenges can arise when implementing IT automation?
Common challenges include selecting the right tools, overcoming resistance to change, ensuring security and compliance, and maintaining automation workflows to adapt to evolving IT needs. Proper planning and monitoring help mitigate these challenges.
6. How can you measure the success of an IT automation strategy?
Success can be measured by reduced manual workload, faster task completion times, improved security compliance, fewer human errors, and overall cost savings. Regular performance reviews help fine-tune automation processes for maximum efficiency.
