IT managers have to manage ever larger environments. Automating recurring but mostly uninteresting tasks can enable teams to concentrate on higher value-added or more complex missions.
But is automation always simple and relevant?
User creation, software inventory for license management, analysis of hardware and software to understand problems, storage administration... These are just some of the tedious and repetitive operations regularly singled out by IT teams.
These are all time-consuming tasks that prevent us from being more efficient in shortening time-to-market, developing new products and so on.
What's more, the integration of heterogeneous environments and hybrid clouds doesn't always simplify the situation.
One solution is to automate certain operations. This is not a new option. The best-known tools come from open source. Puppet (licensed under Apache 2) automates a large number of administration tasks, such as installing software and services, or modifying files. As for Chef, the configuration management tool, it has the advantage of being multi-platform.
What makes online automation different and special?
Like cloud applications, it offers highly innovative solutions that are often more accessible to SMEs. Cloud providers are multiplying the number of processes aimed at designing an infrastructure that is sufficiently automated to support a company's growth without significantly increasing IT headcount.
This option doesn't just apply to servers. It also applies to storage, network equipment and all environments. This "robotization" (for Robotic Process Automation) of IT resource operation activities can enable :
- faster process processing
- lower costs for IT service operations
- a significant reduction in the number of human errors
- standardized methods
- simplified controls, etc.
The Cloud: facilitator and gas pedal
Cloud-based automation lets you run fully configured resources in a matter of minutes. It ensures compliance (test quality improves, keeping users happy) and governance across the enterprise by automatically and consistently checking log status, installing monitoring tools (including pre-set security rules for different network zones) and sending data.
This enables developers to respond more effectively to business requirements, and systems engineers to concentrate on improving the infrastructure by, for example, increasing the number of servers, installing an application or restarting a service. In short, automation reduces human effort (technical and financial reporting can be automated) and streamlines processes.
But beyond these purely "technical" aspects, this strategy enables the company to implement harmonious management between legacy and cloud, so as not to give in to the fashion for all-cloud or even total virtualization.
No rush
The argument is sound: only automation can reduce the cost of traditional IT (fewer resources used) and errors, while at the same time being innovative. Implementing an approach borrowed from DevOps makes it possible to meet this challenge.
The idea is to be able to treat infrastructure as software, and to benefit from the practices of the development world. For example, the developer's line of code needs to reach production faster, and with higher quality.
On paper, it seems obvious. But automating your work is not as simple as ticking a box to save time. As with any technical evolution, robotization requires upstream preparation. New concepts and tools (languages, plug-in ecosystem, security systems, etc.) need to be appropriated.
As with migration to the cloud, it's best to proceed step by step, without rushing. Starting with a few simple, perfectly mastered tasks is a wise precaution.
And the first stage is documentary:
- Identification of repetitive tasks performed per day
- Evaluation of the time spent on each task
- List of steps required to complete each task (subtasks)
- Details, for each stage, of the elements required for the production process
- etc.
Once the first automation tests have been successfully carried out, you can consider robotizing processes that are more complex to implement and with which you are not entirely familiar.
But not all tasks can be automated, and their criticality needs to be assessed with a partner. He or she will be able to draw on his or her experience to implement automation procedures tailored to your needs.
