In our hyper-connected digital age, there has never been more pressure on IT departments to ensure the smooth, cohesive and successful running of their organization’s internal infrastructure.
Regardless of your sector or industry, in many ways, your IT department is the backbone of your entire operation. If your IT department is inefficient, every element of your business will suffer.
As digital technologies evolve, opportunities to automate key aspects of your IT department’s daily initiatives continue to emerge.
IT automation has the power to make your organization more secure, more productive and more time efficient than ever before. Here we explore the three most time-consuming tasks facing today’s IT departments and how it’s possible to automate them to your advantage.
Distribution
Fundamentally, software distribution encompasses each of the aforementioned areas and more.
As contemporary IT systems become increasingly complex, not only do they consume colossal levels of bandwidth, but they take an incredibly large amount of time to manage. That said (you might be spotting a theme at this point), automating key elements of your software distribution strategy is the way forward.
How? Concerning the automation and general improvement of your internal software distribution processes, the route to success is stripping down your physical assets by basing the majority of your system’s key components in the cloud. In turn, this will eliminate the need to invest in expensive infrastructure or become hindered by time-consuming processes.
By examining your current infrastructure and identifying what you can trade for the cloud, you’ll foster efficiency while creating a clear-cut path for distribution-based automation.
Cloud-based IT software distribution solutions serve to automate these most intricate of processes while increasing operational efficiency and consuming far less bandwidth – the key ingredients to operational success.
“Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation.” – Dean Kamen
Across the board, software deployment can drain a huge amount of time, money and resources. But, by automating your IT department’s most frequent or critical processes, you will save tons of time and free up your department’s schedule to take care of other tasks in the pipeline.
Maintenance
Regular IT maintenance is integral to the ongoing health and success of your organization.
Ensuring that every component of your infrastructure is operational, updated and working to its optimum capacity is incredibly time-consuming.
But, while performing system maintenance was once a primarily manual task, IT automation solutions have made it possible to deploy tailored maintenance plans at predetermined times and frequencies, making the whole process secure, controlled and fluid from start to finish. A time-saving innovation with an endless stream of organizational benefits.
How? On an individual basis, installing automated disk check or cleanup software and scheduling periodical updates on each computer within your company’s system will ensure the ongoing performance and health of each cog in the wheel, so to speak.
Moreover, using your operating software’s in-built system backup automation, programming it to operate on a regular basis, you will keep on top of your maintenance duties with minimal intervention.
On a wider scale, utilizing a cloud-based software solution powered by micro-agents will help you perform such tasks on larger, more complex systems while ensuring all of your files, assets and efforts are securely backed up in the cloud, thus ensuring security, while saving you energy to apply on other aspects of the business.
Security
In the age of information, cybersecurity is of paramount importance. On an average, there are over 130 large-scale, targeted breaches in the US alone every year, a number that is growing by 27% every 12 months.
Any form of a cyber breach can prove devastating to your business and it’s the responsibility of your IT department to fortify the organization against any potential attacks.
System troubleshooting, updates, security software installation and patch management activities are not only incredibly time-consuming but as a regular task, they present an ongoing challenge for over-stretched IT departments.
By automating all of these vital processes, you will ensure the ongoing protection of your business empire while empowering your IT operatives to focus on more strategic initiatives that further benefit the organization.
How? As cybersecurity is so integral to your company’s future, it’s important to note that while getting autonomous tech to do most of the heavy lifting will prove incredibly effective – you must work collaboratively with your IT department to ensure that your automated initiatives are working to the best of their abilities to avoid any unforeseen breaches.
When looking at autonomous security solutions, it’s important to consider your existing platforms as well as the size of your company and choose your tools accordingly. To really win in the battle against corporate targeting cyber criminals, you will need to look for the following qualities in potential protection-based automated solutions:
- The ability to detect existing weaknesses in your infrastructure or system.
- The ability to run regular routine security checks and software updates.
- The ability to scale seamlessly with the growth of your organization.
- The ability to record all of your patching activity for security data and auditing processes.
For more IT-enhancing insights for your business, read about the top five collaboration tools for DevOps teams.
Guest Author- Jeff Broth
Jeff Broth is a business writer, mentor, and cybersecurity advisor. He has been consulting both enterprises and SMBs for the past seven years.
