61% of IT operations employees cite reliance on manual processes as the cause of low productivity. 1: In the same survey, IT Ops employees claim to spend their day coordinating teams and performing routine activities such as monitoring, tuning, or general maintenance (see figure 1).
One way to overcome this challenge is to adopt IT automation software to automate IT operations. However, 68% of IT professionals surveyed above also complain about not having enough time to research solutions within this complex tool landscape.
Given the complex landscape of tools, businesses should consider each IT automation software:
- Determine the type of IT automation their business requires
- Shortlisted for market leaders
- An evaluation of the main features of these tools
In this article, we aim to help your review process by providing a list of the top IT automation market leaders and classifying them according to 4 types of IT automation. We also explain 5 key features to help you identify the most suitable IT automation software for your business.
What are the different types of IT automation?
IT automation can involve automating various activities, tasks and processes. These different types of IT automation have specific areas of focus and goals. Knowing each type or category of IT automation can help organizations:
- Assess their current level of automation in each area and identify areas that require further investment
- Prioritize and focus their automation efforts on the areas most important to their business operations
- Choose a tool that fits their goals and resources
- Allow teams to stay focused on their area of expertise.
Disclaimer.
We present a classification for this crowded market structure. However, classification may be better because these categories may overlap. Also, the solution can deliver multiple types of IT automation. For example, RMM platforms for remote monitoring and management typically include most of these solutions under the package.
1. Workload automation and job scheduling
Workload automation is a special type of IT automation that focuses on automating the planning and execution of work such as:
Job scheduling software allows IT teams to automate the scheduling and execution of tasks and workflows such as backups, maintenance tasks, and software updates.
Learn more about workload automation by checking out:
Check out our comprehensive workload automation guide to compare more workload automation and job scheduling platforms.
2. ITSM Automation
ITSM automation refers to the automation of IT service management (ITSM) processes to improve IT service delivery, quality, and compliance with IT policies and procedures.
ITSM automation tools automate processes such as:
- incident management. The process of recording, tracking, and resolving IT incidents, such as system outages or performance issues.
- Change in management. The IT change management process, including assessing the impact of changes, obtaining approvals, and implementing changes.
- Service request management. The process of handling end-user service requests, such as software installations or hardware upgrades.
- Self-service portals. Access IT services and information without human intervention, such as resetting a password or updating status.
3. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
RMM, also known as remote IT management or network management, proactively monitors and remotely manages software, networks, hardware, and client endpoints. RMM platforms automate several IT tasks and operations, including:
- Configuration Management automation automatically handles software and hardware configurations in an organization’s IT infrastructure, such as file management and software deployment.
- Patch management automation detects, tests, deploys, monitors, and reports software patches.
- network automation manages and operates networked computer such as network configuration and troubleshooting.
4. Data warehouse automation
Data warehouse automation designs, develops, and maintains data warehouses with minimal input from developers and data engineers. These tools consist of several features such as:
- ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
- data modeling
- Data quality and testing
- Location:
- maintenance
Shortlisted for market leaders
Once businesses specify the subset of IT automation they are interested in, they must compare a range of vendors to identify the most appropriate tool. However, the diversity of players in the market complicates the review process.
Therefore, we shortlist the key players based on 3 factors.
- The number of employees on LinkedIn. We considered vendors with more than 10 employees listed on LinkedIn, as this indicates an established company with a higher level of expertise to provide better product support.
- Review: Vendors with no reviews on any platform were excluded, as a lack of feedback may suggest low uptake of the tools.
- concentrate. We’ve included vendors that offer specialized IT automation tools.
market leadership
The best vendors on the market have the most extensive and complete tools. In addition, these vendors have more B2B reviews that can serve as reliable sources for deciding which solution to choose. As a result, we have preferred sellers with the highest ratings and reviews.
Below is the total number of B2B reviews and average scores across all vendors on major B2B review platforms (such as G2, TrustRadius, Capterra, and Gartner Peer Insights) for IT automation tools:
5 Key Features of IT Automation Software
We created a shortlist of vendors based on market leaders and types of IT automation. There are two main aspects to consider when evaluating these vendors.
- Your company’s IT automation priorities (goals and challenges)
- 5 important features:
1. Low code
Low-code IT automation tools allow IT teams to create and deploy automation workflows and processes using visual interfaces and drag-and-drop pre-built automation components without extensive coding skills. IT automation market leaders often provide low-code tools.
2. Integration
Integration capabilities allow automation tools to connect with other systems and applications in the IT environment, including ITSM platforms, cloud platforms, monitoring and alerting tools, and configuration management tools.
Integration typically involves using APIs to enable different systems to communicate and share data. IT automation tools can offer pre-built integrations or allow users to create custom integrations using APIs.
3. File and Data Transfer
File and data transfer for IT automation refers to the automatic transfer of files and data between different systems and applications in an IT environment. This feature simplifies the flow of large volumes or complex data and reduces manual data entry and transfer tasks.
IT automation tools can automate file and data transfer tasks in two common ways:
- SFTP/FTP transfers. IT automation tools can use Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to transfer large files between systems.
- API-based transfers; IT automation can automate the transfer of data between different systems and applications using APIs. For example, the IT team wants to share customer data with the customer analytics team.
4. Incorrect registration
Error logging is an important process of recording and storing information about errors that occur during IT automation workflows or processes. It enables IT teams to monitor automation workflows and processes in real-time, troubleshoot and improve automation processes by identifying error trends and patterns.
Many IT automation tools include built-in error logging functionality, and third-party log management tools can aggregate and analyze error logs from multiple systems and applications to identify trends and patterns in the IT environment.
5. Schedule feature
IT automation tools offer scheduling options, including one-time, recurring, and trigger-based scheduling to automate backups, maintenance tasks, and software updates. Scheduling combined with other features such as notifications and error handling ensure consistent and reliable execution of tasks.
transparency statement
AIMultiple serves multiple technology vendors, including Redwood, which powers Active Batch, RunMyJobs, and Tidal.
Further reading
Learn more about different types of automation such as workflow automation, robotic process automation (RPA), and business process automation (BPA).
- “Impact of Automation on IT Operations”. Freeform Dynamics Ltd. July 2017. Reviewed May 23, 2023.
- “Impact of Automation on IT Operations”. Freeform Dynamics Ltd. July 2017. Reviewed May 23, 2023.
Hazal is an industry analyst at AIMultiple. He is experienced in market research, quantitative research and data analysis. He holds a master’s degree in social sciences from the Carlos III University of Madrid and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Bilkent University.
