Everything You Need to Know About IT Automation

If IT is the foundation of any business, then IT automation is the blueprint. While countless articles discuss the importance of technology, we sometimes overlook the crucial role of automation in realizing its full potential. Just as a blueprint guides the construction of a strong building, IT automation ensures the efficient and effective operation of IT systems.

When configured and executed correctly, IT automation can empower IT managers to proactively address incidents, maintain robust systems, and bolster cybersecurity strategies—all while optimizing resource allocation and minimizing costs.

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of IT automation, including its definition, examples, benefits, and what you need to look for in IT automation software.

What is IT automation?

IT automation—also known as IT infrastructure automation—is the use of software and scripts to execute repeatable instructions and remove the burden of certain processes from humans. By leveraging an IT automation platform, businesses can standardize workflows, enhance productivity, and ensure consistency in their operations. Automation in IT enables teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance.

Types of IT automation

There are many IT automation examples, each addressing specific operational needs and contributing to overall efficiency.

1. Infrastructure automation: This is an IT process automation that involves the use of scripts and tools to configure IT resources with no or minimal manual intervention. This approach ensures consistency and the faster deployment of servers, storage, and networking components.
2. Business process automation (BPA): Business process automation focuses on automating complex business workflows beyond simple data entry or record-keeping. It streamlines mission-critical processes that are event-driven and central to the organization’s operations. BPA is a key aspect of IT ops automation and helps organizations optimize their daily workflows.
3. Hyperautomation: This is an advanced form of IT process automation that combines multiple technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA), and other decision-making tools. This orchestrated approach enables the automation of complex tasks that were previously unsuitable for automation.
4. Cloud automation: This is a popular option when discussing IT automation examples. Cloud automation refers to the use of automated tools and processes to manage cloud computing services. It enables IT administrators to perform various tasks more easily within both on-premises private clouds and hybrid cloud environments. Implementing IT automation software also allows businesses to scale their operations with more ease and flexibility.
5. Event-driven automation: This approach allows workflows to be triggered by specific events occurring within or across applications, systems, or services. It is an essential function within an IT automation platform that allows IT teams to proactively manage incidents and maintain operational stability.

IT automation examples

Here are five examples of IT process automation that will help you gain a deeper understanding of how it works and how you can apply it to your own organization.

1. Automated patch management: IT teams use IT automation software to automatically deploy security patches and updates across multiple devices. We wrote a guide on how to automate patch management here. 
2. Incident response automation: Using IT process automation, organizations can automatically detect and respond to system failures or common cyberattacks.
3. User account provisioning: When a new employee joins a company, an IT automation platform can automatically create and configure user accounts, grant appropriate access permissions, and integrate them into necessary applications.
4. Cloud resource scaling: IT ops automation enables organizations to dynamically scale cloud resources based on usage patterns.
5. Backup and disaster recovery: Automation in IT ensures scheduled and real-time data backups which reduce the risk of data loss during unexpected events.

Why is IT automation important?

Modern IT infrastructures are increasingly complex, requiring numerous applications, platforms, and systems to reach peak operational efficiency. Manually managing these intricate systems is both time-consuming and prone to errors. In fact, 66% of CISOs in the United States said human error was their organization’s biggest cybersecurity vulnerability (Statista).

Automation streamlines these processes and ensures consistency and reliability. A 2024 Gartner study revealed that automation is integral to improving business agility and delivering more advanced infrastructure and operations (I&O). In addition, 30% of enterprises are expected to automate more than half of their network activities by 2026.

The role of IT process automation in modern IT

IT process automation is a crucial component of proactive IT management. It enables organizations to automate workflows, enhance service delivery, and improve operational resilience. IT ops automation plays a vital role in monitoring systems, responding to incidents, and ensuring seamless IT service management.

What are the benefits of IT automation?

IT management is a constant struggle of results weighed against labor and resource costs. IT automation is among the best ways to streamline processes so that valuable IT talent can be allocated to the most beneficial tasks. The IT automation benefits extend across various aspects of business operations, including:

• Reduced errors: Arguably the most talked about when discussing IT automation benefits, the right IT automation software ensures consistency and uniformity on a large scale by removing the human element from tasks.
• Reduced costs: Automating repeatable tasks, such as application deployment, change and release management, patch management, and service ticket management, can help IT operations trim their budget by operating more efficiently and reducing staff size.
• Increased productivity: Automating workflows reduces manual work and surprises that need to be dealt with, pulling key staff away from more pressing project work and strategic objectives.
• Increased availability: IT process automation of continuity-related services ensures maximum uptime while minimizing risks. Automated maintenance tasks help keep the IT infrastructure running smoothly with minimal room for human error.
• Better security: IT automation is key in modern cybersecurity threat detection and can streamline and optimize incident response. By taking a share of threat detection responsibility away from human eyes, automation reduces the chance that something will be missed while allowing IT professionals to focus their attention on more complex threats.

What are the disadvantages of IT automation?

There are always two sides to every story, and while automation is a powerful and inevitable part of the future of IT, there are still some counterpoints to consider.

⚠️ We’ve written a more in-depth guide on the 6 common IT operational challenges and how to overcome IT automation challenges. However, it’s still worth mentioning a few disadvantages:

• Inflexibility: Automated processes are often rigid and unyielding by nature. While their knack for consistency and uniformity is one of the greatest benefits of automation tools, it can also be their downfall. Nothing beats a human touch when things go awry, processes break down, or ghosts appear in the machine.
• Upfront cost: It’s important to remember that while automation in IT usually reduces costs in the long term, significant upfront costs are still required for deploying and configuring the hardware. (And let’s not forget any costs associated with maintenance and future upgrades.) It’s important to balance the amount of time and resources that will be saved over time versus these upfront investments.
• Harder to address errors: Studies have shown that, while IT process automation systems generally produce fewer errors, they are much harder to fix if they do produce one. It’s important that automation systems are configured properly from day one and that risks of errors —no matter how small— are thoughtfully balanced out against the benefits.
• Human error isn’t technically eliminated: IT automation softwares still needs to be configured and maintained. There is typically a cost and expertise requirement that goes along with doing these things properly. And since you really want to avoid bugs in an automated system (see above) this is an important consideration to keep in mind.

The future of IT automation

IT automation is already widely used by IT departments and managed IT service providers, but it continues to evolve day after day. The lean operational mindset is driving developers to create more autonomous systems that require even less human interaction than what is in use currently. Even now, automated systems still require IT professionals to create and implement certain elements, like scripts, policies, templates, and workflows.

The future of IT process automation is expected to be shaped by AI, ML, and predictive analytics. AI-driven automation will allow IT systems to make intelligent decisions, anticipate potential failures, and optimize workflows dynamically.

As we mentioned, these technologies are already being widely used in cybersecurity threat detection tools, and the potential for AI to become a key player in overall IT is only increasing. Of interest is a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that predicted 40% of global businesses supporting AI-enabled automation to augment their security protocols by 2027. The report reads, “Automation is a necessary technological capability to address the concomitant risk of aggressive, rapid development practices.”

The further along we get along this trend, the more IT teams will be freed up to work on more strategic initiatives for their stakeholders or clients. While the reduction in labor needs seems like a decisive blow against IT professionals, it will enable Information Technology to continue its climb into the C-Suite, helping to secure IT a permanent seat among the executive leadership that drives the organization.

💡 We recommend consulting our guide on creating an effective IT automation strategy for guidance on leveraging IT automation trends to enhance business security.

Features to look for in an IT automation software

Selecting the right IT automation software is crucial for maximizing efficiency and ensuring seamless integration with existing IT systems. When evaluating an automation tool, we recommend looking for these key features.

• Workflow orchestration capabilities: A robust IT automation platform should automate complex processes across multiple systems. Scalability is another critical factor: Businesses should invest in a solution that can grow alongside their evolving needs without requiring frequent overhauls.
• Integration capabilities: A well-rounded IT process automation solution should support API-based integrations to enhance flexibility and connectivity across different systems.
• Security and compliance: An effective IT ops automation platform should include role-based controls, audit trails, and encryption mechanisms to safeguard information
• Ease of use: A user-friendly interface, coupled with built-in automation templates and drag-and-drop workflow builders, ensures that both IT professionals and non-technical users can implement automation in IT efficiently.

How NinjaOne can help with your IT automation efforts

NinjaOne is a powerful, easy-to-use remote monitoring and management platform that provides a single-pane-of-glass view into all the endpoints within an organization, and all the tools IT teams need to improve delivery. Its IT Automation software simplifies and automates the day-to-day work of managed service providers and IT professionals so they can focus on complex, value-added services, end-user relationships, and strategic projects.

NinjaOne’s IT management software has no forced commitments and no hidden fees. If you’re ready, request a free quote, sign up for a 14-day free trial, or watch a demo.