Transforming Workflows: Why Automation Is the Key to Smarter Operations

Automation is more than just a buzzword — it’s a necessity. Yet, despite its potential to streamline operations and boost efficiency, many organizations still struggle with its implementation.

For many organizations, the journey toward automation begins with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. On one hand, the promise of increased efficiency, reduced manual workload and the ability to be more agile is enticing. On the other hand, there’s a common misconception that automation might force engineers into the unfamiliar territory of software development.

Thankfully, that’s not the reality. Automation isn’t about turning engineers into developers; it’s about empowering them to perform their existing roles more effectively. By automating routine tasks, engineers can focus on more strategic initiatives, ultimately making their jobs easier rather than increasing their workload.

One of the first hurdles organizations face is the question of infrastructure. For those without an existing automation framework, the challenge is twofold: not only must they invest in the right tools and platforms, but they must also decide whether the long-term benefits justify the initial costs.

This decision is only further compounded by the rapidly changing technological landscape. Customers are constantly (and understandably) looking for cost-saving alternatives that can evolve alongside their business needs.

Automation is no longer just about getting from point A to point B — it’s about facilitating complex transitions, such as migrating workloads, converting legacy systems and deploying containerized environments. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), automation tools must also integrate seamlessly with AI workloads, further emphasizing the need for a flexible and forward-thinking approach.

Automation can be a significant game changer for your organization, but it must be implemented with careful consideration. Organizations must adopt a set of best practices to ensure that automation efforts are both effective and sustainable long-term.

Central to a successful automation implementation is version control — a critical component for tracking automation scripts. Additionally, a centralized management repository, coupled with well-documented workflow processes, provides the foundation for a successful automation strategy.

Planning, of course, is equally important. Before diving into automation, it’s essential to thoroughly understand existing processes. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• What tasks are currently being performed?
• Which of these tasks are easily automated?
•  Which stakeholders need to be involved in the automation process?

Standardization and consistency are also key. By sticking to a single structure or platform where possible, organizations can minimize the complexity of their automation environment. This not only simplifies management, but also reduces the risk of introducing errors or vulnerabilities and ensures you get the greatest time savings.

The success of any automation initiative is measured in time saved. For many organizations, this metric is the driving force behind their automation efforts. Consider how much time your engineers spend in outage windows updating systems. If a significant portion of their time is consumed by routine, repeatable tasks, then automation can lead to faster resolution times and increased agility.

However, time savings isn’t the only metric to consider. You must also assess the impact of automation on your IT staff and resources. Is the automation platform consuming too much time, memory or computational power? Ensuring that automation is efficient and doesn’t create an added burden for your business is crucial for long-term success.

The hardware lifecycle management process is often labor-intensive and time-consuming. We had one customer who, because of their industry’s regulations, needed to always have the latest and greatest technology, requiring them to rebuild their data center every few years. CDW helped them implement an automation platform that would make the frequent refreshes easier.

Before they had automation, the customer would need to begin planning for the next refresh about halfway through the current lifecycle, taking up considerable time and resources.

Automation took the engineering components off the IT staff’s plate, allowing them to worry about just two things: figuring out the latest tech and then deploying it. As a result, they can now start the planning cycle later and use fewer resources to complete it.

We understand the importance of customer choice. CDW can help you to assess your IT environment and business needs, so you know which automation solution can work best for your virtual infrastructure.

Wherever you are in your journey, CDW has the technology, services and experts to help you achieve your business and technology goals. We’ll help you deploy an automation platform that makes your business more efficient and agile, freeing up your IT staff to pursue key strategic objectives.

To learn more about how CDW can help you with virtualization and hypervisor solutions, click here.