INSIGHTS Paper: Automation concepts and solutions for IT operations (BMC Bladelogic vs. IPsoft IPCenter vs. arago AutoPilot)

Automation concepts and solutions for IT

operations BMC Bladelogic vs. IPsoft IPCenter vs. arago AutoPilot

INSIGHTS Paper

Analyst: Rene Buest

November 07, 2013

INSIGHTS

Eliminate the Status Quo – Find your Blue Ocean

© 2013 NewAgeDisruption.com Page 2

Executive Summary

Companies are attempting to reduce IT costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency and productivity by

standardizing their IT environments with virtualization technologies and Cloud Computing. However, in most cases,

companies overlook the fact that standardization alone is no longer enough to achieve these objectives. The main

reasons for productivity losses lie in the IT operation itself, where human error during routine tasks lead to further

errors due to inattentiveness or work overload and time pressure. The introduction of customized automation

solutions, which are managed and controlled by intelligent expert systems, unburden employees and prevent errors.

Furthermore, on average, over half of all IT activities are invested in the manual processing of routine tasks. These

include the administration of applications, systems and the infrastructure.

What concepts currently exist in the large market for automation technologies? What impact do modern solutions

have on companies and which could potentially lead to a paradigm shift? This paper answers these questions and

introduces a selection of three providers. Not all providers on the market can be taken into account due to their

extensive number. Besides large providers such as CA, HP, IBM and Automic there are also a large number of small

providers, such as NetIQ or Kaseya. Instead, this paper focuses on three providers whose solutions print media

suggests offer huge potential. These include the BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite, the IPsoft IPCenter and the arago

AutoPilot.


Index

1 Introduction 4

2 The market for IT automation 5

2.1 The importance of modern IT automation solutions 5

2.2 Market differentiation 6

2.2.1 Orchestration 6

2.2.2 Capacity management 7

2.2.3 Service assurance 7

2.2.4 Data center management 7

2.2.5 Runbook automation 8

2.2.6 Autonomic automation 8

3 Disruptive influences in the IT operation 9

4 Automation solutions in focus 10

4.1 BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite 10

4.2 IPsoft IPCenter V3 11

4.3 arago AutoPilot 12

5 Recommendations for management 13

5.1 IPsoft IPCenter 14

5.2 BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite 15

5.3 arago AutoPilot 15

6 Outlook 15

6.1 IT automation takes center stage for digital companies 16

6.2 Virtualization and Cloud Computing are not possible without automation 16

6.3 Automation is the central pillar for big data 16

6.4 Self-service will become established throughout the entire company 16

6.5 No future automation solution will be able to exist without predictive analytics 17


1 Introduction

The market for IT operations management is constantly growing. Current figures provided by Gartner1 show total

expenditure of 18 billion US dollars in 2012. This relates to growth of 4.8 percent over 2011, when 17 billion US dollars

was invested in this market. As is usually the case for emerging technologies, there is a section which has not yet

realized its potential or has not yet become familiar with the technologies, and a section that has already successfully

implemented specific applications. One thing remains clear: automation technologies offer huge potential to optimize

IT processes and are indispensable in modern IT infrastructures equipped with virtualization technologies and Cloud

services.

It is especially true that in IT operations, a lot of the IT employees' time is spent completing everyday routine tasks,

such as processing numerous support tickets. Depending on the level of efficiency, these activities have a direct impact

on performance and the costs of IT. However, it must be remembered that these tasks in no way add value to the

corporate purpose; rather they only ensure that the current status and operation is maintained. The development of

corporate IT is therefore not possible, or is only possible to a negligible extent, as capital and personnel are tied to the

IT operation. This means that both factors are lacking for the planning and implementation of projects that are

required in the future and which will ensure the company's capacity for innovation in the long-term.

This is where automation technologies can create freedom and relieve IT employees in the everyday business of the

IT operation. This relief can be provided wherever manual processes can be automated. This includes the generation

of new users, the automatic roll-out of entire Cloud infrastructures or the operation of network infrastructure. Besides

cost savings, this also optimizes the efficiency of the IT operation by minimizing human error rates and by applying the

knowledge of normally tied-down employees to other strategic issues.

Automation technologies provide a number of benefits to CIOs in ensuring that corporate IT adds more value to the

company in the future. Various concepts exist which can be used to complete various tasks within the IT operation.

1 http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2490215


2 The market for IT automation

IT automation is tasked with linking various systems and software so that these run independently and autonomously.

A simple example of IT automation is the correct automatic allocation of emails from a list of recipients. A more

complex example is the automatic provision of a fully configured IT infrastructure via self-service by a user.

IT automation also has its limitations, however. In particular, a critical view is taken of automation systems in the areas

of security and risk management, where it is argued that automated systems can make errors that would be avoided

by humans. Examples include pattern recognition and knowledge of language with regard to semantics.

In this discussion, it must not be forgotten that an automated system is not the same as an intelligent system. This

means that a purely automated system does not learn from existing past experiences. Modern IT automation systems

also include intelligent components and can learn from previously managed situations. These solutions are based on

expert systems and will ensure that IT operations undergo a fundamental change in the future.

2.1 The importance of modern IT automation solutions

Modern dynamic IT infrastructures also require new approaches with regard to IT management. As long as new

technologies and concepts such as virtualization, Cloud, converged infrastructures and new network and storage

concepts continue to push into data centers, IT operations will likewise require new tools that lead to high guaranteed

availability in order to maintain everyday business while also making use of the benefits of our interconnected world.

To overcome these challenges, IT operations require a standardized monitoring solution that automatically takes over

routine tasks so that employees can concentrate on strategic issues.

And for good reason. These days, IT operations are tasked with providing an increasing number of services with fewer

and fewer resources. As a result, more and more options and solutions are available to revise the internal IT operation

processes and introduce automation technologies, where this is beneficial, in order to relieve the burden of everyday

routine tasks. This means that IT operations can be relieved from manual and inefficient tasks and these can be

automated. This enables the company to respond more quickly to changes, improves agility and allows more time to

be invested in the IT strategy as well as the corporate strategy.

Besides better resource utilization, the prevention of error sources also plays an important role in the IT operation. As

the saying goes: you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs – and where humans work, errors occur. That is

inevitable. For this reason, the occurrence of errors wherever humans operate IT processes and systems is part of the

everyday business of the IT operation. However, it depends on how this is handled. In general, errors only generate a

reaction, rather than a proactive attempt to avoid the errors or reduce their impact. IT decision-makers must change

their way of thinking in this respect and attempt to minimize or even completely rule out human error.


Traditional automation solutions are no longer enough in this respect. Instead, modern approaches based on expert

systems and self-learning technologies are required.

Traditional automation solutions allow for the functional sequence of previously statically programmed rules and are

ideal for repetitive processes that do not change. These solutions reach their limits if constantly changing tasks that

respond to actions are to be automated and they are not well suited or even totally inappropriate for use in a modern

IT operation.

In contrast, modern IT automation solutions are more flexible, as expert systems are based on self-learning

technologies, and they can understand and process even complex decision-making processes. These types of solutions

no only automate incidents, changes, releases or problems, they are also able to take over more complex issues such

as capacity management or service continuity management.

2.2 Market differentiation

On average, IT employees invest about 80 percent of their time in managing and maintaining applications and systems.

Only the remaining 20 percent is used to evaluate new issues and reconsider the IT strategy. This means that the

majority of the tasks consist of manual routine activities, which can be considerably reduced by intelligent automation

technologies for the IT operation.

In this case, the market for IT automation is divided into several segments, which have a more or less direct influence

on the company and also have the potential to introduce a paradigm shift. The various concepts all serve different

requirements.

2.2.1 Orchestration

Orchestration is responsible for the automatic arrangement, coordination and management of complex systems,

middleware and services. Orchestration is said to have an inherent intelligence or even implicit autonomous control.

However, this relates more to claims and theoretical ideas than technical concepts.

The use of orchestration is frequently referred to in connection with the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA),

virtualization, converged infrastructure and the provision of dynamic data center infrastructures. In this respect,

orchestration relates to the alignment of applications, data and infrastructures to the corporate requirements. It is

responsible for defining the relevant guidelines and service levels for the automated workflows, provisioning and

change management. This enables the establishment of an infrastructure aligned to applications, which scales the

application up and down as required. Orchestration can also be used for the central administration of resource pools,

including the settlement of resources. For example, this significantly reduces the time required for providing several

instances for a single application.


The importance of service orchestration has increased in times of Cloud Computing, as workflows and processes can

be implemented and combined across divisions. As a result, some business processes only exist within the company

while others are required across the individual companies and others still have to be operated over the internet or

other data connections.

2.2.2 Capacity management

The main objective of capacity management is to ensure that all IT capacities within a company cost-effectively fulfil

current and future business requirements. The constantly changing functions and use of IT services also impact the

required amount of computing power, storage space and additional IT resources. The challenge lies in understanding

the current requirements and how they will change in the future. Recurring peak loads that occur at a particular time

of day must be analyzed in order to understand the cause, its impact and the measures that need to be implemented,

e.g. in the infrastructure, in order to ensure that the performance of the entire infrastructure is not at risk. This ensures

the long-term stability of the IT infrastructure which optimizes its performance and efficiency and comprehensively

justifies financial investments.

2.2.3 Service assurance

Service assurance is responsible for ensuring a predefined service quality in order to deliver the promised and expected

quality to the customer. Moreover, it allows service providers to identify faults at all levels of the infrastructure,

promptly rectify these faults and minimize downtimes. This also includes methods and processes to proactively

identify any reduction in the service quality or malfunctions by infrastructure components.

There are many reasons for service assurance. The measurement of the performance of a certain service is frequently

referred to as the most important characteristic. The result can then be linked directly to the experiences from

customer service, in order to justify or proactively prevent potential customer losses. Service assurance is therefore

an important factor in ensuring service quality as well customer satisfaction and should be reproduced in all other

company divisions.

2.2.4 Data center management

The issue of data center management relates to a select group of people who are responsible for supervision and

technical issues within the data center. This includes the operation, the server, data security, quality control and the

management of services and applications. To execute this role, data center management is integrated into other IT

systems, including virtual systems, proprietary systems and the areas of automation. Data center management

requires a series of tools, IT guidelines and strategies for the establishment and maintenance of a secure and efficient

data center.


Data center management solutions are predominantly implemented in order to ensure compliance with standards

and policies. Some automation solutions in this area only report on the infringement of guidelines and standards (low

level of automation), while others can apply direct changes in order to comply with the agreed standards (high level

of automation). These solutions are adequate for all divisions and can be classified as a commodity. This primarily

includes infrastructures and other components in mature IT environments that do not have to be further

individualized. Data center management tools predominantly offer functions for automatic provisioning,

implementation and patching for standardized environments. This generally takes place by replicating previously

manually tried and tested work steps, which are then provided for previously standardized and identical infrastructure

components.

2.2.5 Runbook automation

Runbook automation (RBA) enables the definition, establishment, orchestration, administration and reporting of

workflows to support operational processes for systems and networks. RBA automates simple or complex multi-

system tasks on remote servers, which are normally performed manually. A runbook process can cooperate with all

kinds of infrastructure components such as applications, databases and hardware. RBA is used in order to improve the

efficiency of the IT operation and, in doing so, optimize the mean time to repair (MTTR) as well as the mean time

between failures (MTBF) and to automate the provision of IT resources.

The runbook automation category includes all solutions that archive standardized processes and either send them to

an expert to be reviewed (low level of automation) or automatically start a process after identifying the situation (high

level of automation). RBA therefore acts as a type of conveyor belt. If a situation or task is known and an appropriate

response is available, the RBA can ensure the correct approach and potentially respond automatically. However, due

to its static processes, runbook automation is less suited for IT environments with a high frequency of change, which

is the case in an IT operation. The use of RBA is therefore limited to highly standardize IT environments or IT divisions

in which commoditization is more advanced.

2.2.6 Autonomic automation

Autonomic automation or autonomic computing is a new concept that is not yet widely available. Its particular

strengths lie in knowledge-based automation. This means that this type of system can make decisions similar to a

human administrator. Actions are triggered automatically and results are correlated. This enables almost all standard

errors to be prevented by proactive actions. An autonomic solution is based on modular and reusable knowledge

modules, which dynamically combine to form work processes during an incident and which enables a response to

unforeseen or unknown errors. Autonomic automation therefore currently belongs to the latest form of automation.

The objective is to allow a machine to respond as adaptively and flexibly as a trained expert, but operate and document

as quickly as a machine.


In this case, atomic knowledge modules (orchestration of the desired results) may be combined into a script (runbook)

as needed. In contrast to orchestration and a runbook, this type of knowledge-based solution does not require

predefined processes. This form of automation can therefore be used in both individual as well as standardized

environments and enables a switch from a reactive to a proactive model for the IT operation. This leads to a

provisioning model in which the actual work is performed by the machine and the IT experts can concentrate on the

resolution of complex problems, the implementation of changes within the IT operation and the provision of new

knowledge elements for the machine.

Figure 1: Various automation concepts and their impact on changes.

3 Disruptive influences in the IT operation

Each of the specified concepts fulfils certain requirements for the automation of the IT operation and is necessary for

the consistent fulfilment of most tasks. However, many differ in their ability to have a direct influence on the company

or to even ensure a significant paradigm shift.


Areas such as service assurance and data center management may fulfil standard tasks and be essential for basic

operation, but neither provide any potential for decisive changes within the company or the industry. The same can

be said for capacity management and orchestration. The understanding of the current IT capacities and those required

in the future as well as the design and coordination of the services are extremely important and both have a specific

impact on the company. However, they do not have a disruptive vector with the potential for decisive changes.

Runbook automation and especially autonomic automation are entirely different in this respect. Runbook automation

enables the automatic execution of complete workflows in order to handle static process series and relieves

employees in their highly standardized routine tasks.

Autonomic automation even takes it a step further and is currently the key disruptive technology in the area of

automation solutions. It not only combines the characteristics of runbook automation and orchestration, but also

packages the knowledge in the IT operation into small modules within a knowledge pool. This is an extremely flexible

approach that responds to anomalies in real time and is not reliant on static workflows, as the existing knowledge

modules are dynamically assembled to form a complete course of action. Once the knowledge base has initially been

learned, autonomic automation has the potential to work in a similar manner to an independent virtual employee.

This results in a lower dependency on individual employees and external service providers and enables employees

within the company to focus on higher value tasks.

4 Automation solutions in focus

4.1 BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite

The BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite is one of the comprehensive Data Center Management solutions on the market.

In addition to server, network and database automation options, this also allows for the automatic provision of

applications. A service assurance module is also included in the BMC automation solution, as are orchestration

functions and a Cloud Lifecycle Management for the flexible administration of scalable infrastructures.

The benefits of the automation solution include a completely integrated discovery and dependency module, in order

to obtain a comprehensive overview of all the systems and applications as well as their interdependencies within one

infrastructure. The deployment, release and configuration management, which are also closely integrated into the

solution and which are important components in modern data center management, in order to provide or update

automated infrastructure components, also make a good impression.

BMC Bladelogic's deployment model is rigid. This means that it only supports functions and parameters that are

supported by Bladelogic itself. The expense is considerable if new objects are created, as each individual object that is

created has to be individually configured into the overall software. The configuration management can only be used

for data that was already known prior to the installation. If new data needs to be considered, individual objects have


to be created and then manually configured into the entire infrastructure. The change management functionality is

limited to the infrastructure and standard software defined by Bladelogic. Apart from for release management, no

additional functions and reporting options are available at application and process levels.

BMC Bladelogic is also poorly structured with regard to the issues of error analyses, incident management or problem

management, as only changes and policies are administered. This means that no response is provided for potential

errors; rather the occurrence of errors is prevented by the precise specification of a "correct" environment. However,

the more complex the infrastructure and the greater the dependencies or the reuse of the infrastructure, the less

likely it is that a "correct" system can be specified, as this changes with every new dependency. If an error does occur,

this is documented but not rectified. This means that the system does not respond automatically and no unknown

events are dealt with. Rules for responses can be manually recorded with knowledge of the entire infrastructure, but

it cannot respond to changes.

4.2 IPsoft IPCenter V3

The IPsoft IPCenter V3 can be classified in the category of runbook automation. IPsoft is predominantly a provider of

(remote) managed network services with extensive experience in the administration of infrastructure and network

components. The IPCenter V3 is a solution for ITSM process management and provides support in the areas of service

transition, service operation, continual service improvement, service delivery management and service design. The

IPCenter V3 portfolio is extremely comprehensive. It includes modules for configuration management, a workflow

engine with event management, problem and incident management and monitoring agents and a solution for change

management and reporting.

Most IPCenter V3 functions are web-based applications, which only provide a minimum of functions compared to a

comprehensive ITSM solution for automated process management. The two basic offers include the "IPCenter

Platform" and "IPsoft Autonomic Service Management", both of which are managed service solutions. It is possible to

provide the IPCenter as an on-premise installation for a data center, but there is currently no evidence of a successful

installation within a heterogeneous ITSM environment. In principle, the IPCenter installation is hosted in an IPsoft data

center and connected via a VPN and a monitoring gateway. This can be viewed as an innovation, as a hosted version

definitely has its advantages compared to a license model with software. However, in this case, customers are heavily

dependent on IPsoft and its support employees, which can be viewed as a lock-in situation.

The IPCenter is based on an integrated CMDB (configuration management database), which needs to replicate all the

available configuration information from the existing customer CMDBs and directories. A comprehensive integration

is required in order to use dynamic infrastructures including Cloud functionalities. Furthermore, no public information

on its comparability to other CMDB solutions is available.


IPsoft's IPCenter is a comprehensive hosted ITSM solution, which has a very low depth of function and a basic runbook

automation solution. The main focus is on the issues of infrastructure and database operation. Technical support is

provided by internal IPsoft support employees. A manual analysis of the monitoring and ticket information is required

for the actual automation of the infrastructure, in order to define or adjust what are known as automata, SOPS

(standard operating procedures) or runbook modules, which are referred to as "virtual engineers" by IPsoft. However,

as all the infrastructure's automation features have to be performed by IPsoft employees or trained customer

representatives, the IPsoft "Virtual Engineers" lack the functions to apply self-taught knowledge, which would allow it

to be referred to it as modern automation technology.

4.3 arago AutoPilot

The arago AutoPilot is an automation solution from the area of autonomic automation. This is a new concept in the

field of automation, as the automation solution virtually acts as an autonomous human employee and can make

independent decisions within the IT infrastructure. arago has achieved success rates of up to 80% in this respect. The

solution is based on a knowledge pool, which includes the knowledge of employees from the IT operation and which

needs to be constantly updated in order to increase the level of automation and to understand the constantly changing

IT infrastructure. So-called knowledge modules are stored in a modular and reusable fashion and dynamically

assembled on-demand to form a chain of actions. If an error cannot be rectified by the AutoPilot, this is categorized

and documented and sent to an administrator.

In order to expand the individual knowledge pool with different empirical values, arago had the vision of allowing

exchange between customer pools, if desired. This would automatically increase the level of automation of every

individual instance and improve the AutoPilot's learning curve.

As arago's AutoPilot is more focused on the intelligent automation of the IT operation, a couple of key functions for

the infrastructure automation are not taken into consideration. It lacks an internal discovery module to obtain an

integrated overview of all systems and applications, as well as internal deployment and release management to

provide and update the infrastructure. The AutoPilot also lacks configuration management, although this can be

accessed externally.

However, the AutoPilot provides a number of functions that compensate for the unavailable options. These include

interfaces to various discovery and CMDB systems, which can be controlled, such as IBM Tivoli TADDM and IBM Tivoli

CCMDB. Furthermore, deployments can executed by using manufacturer-specific deployment functions or other

deployment tools. The same applies with the use of various configuration management systems and solutions. The

AutoPilot can also be integrated into all ITIL-compatible operating processes and its algorithm approach means that it

is designed to deal with changing environments and particularly to respond to errors, failures and problems caused by

changes and to rectify the causes across the entire infrastructure. It is able to respond automatically and combine


known reactions to errors and events. The AutoPilot is also able to control the entire IT landscape from the

infrastructure through to standard software and individual applications.

5 Recommendations for management

The issue of automation is one of the more challenging topics within an IT operation. Finding an appropriate solution

that meets the internal requirements is just as difficult as selecting other IT systems.

Not all the requirements can be found in a single solution, so the selection may consist of a combination of two or

more systems. However, the influence that the solution can offer the company beyond customary automation must

be considered when making the initial selection. This means first gaining an understanding of how and in what form

the automation will be integrated into the everyday IT operation and the positive effects this has on corporate IT and

on the company as a whole.

Disruptive technologies have the ability to bring about a paradigm shift within a sector, as well as across sectors in

many cases, and also impact on corporate IT. Figure 1 presents the essential areas of automation solutions and

classifies these based on their direct impact on companies and their capacity to bring about changes. Figure 2

categorizes the automation solutions provided by BMC, IPsoft and arago based on their character.

This shows that BMC Bladelogic, as a data center management solution, is required for a solid and automated IT

operation, but that it does not have any influence or offer great potential for changes. This is not the case with IPsoft's

IPCenter. The runbook automation allows the solution to unburden IT operation employees to some extent, which

allows them to devote more time to other IT issues. However, it must be said that the relief provided by the IPCenter

is primarily due to IPsoft employees, who manually adapt the scripts in order to create apparent automation. arago's

AutoPilot is currently the prime disruptive technology in the automation market. The autonomic automation approach

enables the solution to provide real automation without manual intervention by human administrators or external

support. The AutoPilot puts the IT operation in a position to relieve its personnel from routine tasks without relying

on external assistance. This has a direct impact on the company, as approx. 80 percent of any faults and problems can

be rectified without human intervention, while also being responsible for a paradigm shift within the sector, as human

knowledge is automatically applied to the control and management of systems.


Figure 2: BMC, IPsoft and arago and their impact on changes.

5.1 IPsoft IPCenter

At first glance, the IPCenter's technology portfolio seems to be extremely diverse, but it predominantly relates to

infrastructure and database management. In addition, there is no information as to whether the IPCenter has already

been tried and tested within on premise environments and whether advantages exist compared to static runbook

automation. Furthermore, nothing is known of its usability in complex environments with a high number of customized

applications.

As an IT manager, it cannot be assumed that the IPCenter is an actual intelligent automation solution. It requires too

many interferences with internal IPsoft employees, who perform a manual analysis of the monitoring and ticket

information. There is no sign of self-learning technology. The user does not realize this at first sight, as it is a hosted

solution that is operated in IPsoft's data centers.

However, the IPsoft IPCenter is the right choice for anyone searching for a hosted automation solution with a focus on

infrastructure and database operation and runbook automation.


5.2 BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite

BMC Bladelogic has a proven track record as a data center management solution. As one of the comprehensive

solutions on the market, it enables server, network and database automation as well as the automatic provision of

applications. Services for orchestration and discovery as well as for deployment, release and configuration

management are also available.

However, BMC Bladelogic displays weaknesses in the areas of error analysis and incident and problem management.

The solution is only able to manage changes and policies; it cannot respond to errors, but preventive attempts are

made to avoid errors. This is made increasingly difficult by the fact that the infrastructure increases in complexity and

the dependencies increase, as the entire infrastructure changes with every additional dependency. Any errors are then

simply documented. BMC Bladelogic cannot trigger any automatic responses or react to any unforeseen events.

The BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite is anything but disruptive, but is well suited for use as a supporting technology,

which other intelligent solutions do not provide.

5.3 arago AutoPilot

The intelligent automation concept provided by the arago AutoPilot is focused on a very specialized issue within the

automation market. This means that a few key areas for infrastructure automation are not considered. This includes

internal deployment and release management, configuration management and a discovery module.

These perceived weaknesses are compensated by interfaces to various external automation systems. For example,

deployments can be implemented by accessing manufacturer-specific deployment functions and tools or by

connecting to external discovery and CMDB systems.

The knowledge-based and self-learning automation concept (autonomic automation) provided by the arago AutoPilot

is currently the prime disruptive technology in the automation market. However, an integrated automation approach

requires additional supporting technologies such as the BMC Bladelogic Automation Suite.

6 Outlook

It can be assumed that, in the coming years, the administration of most IT infrastructures will be performed by

intelligent automation solutions. This is a necessary trend that must be encouraged by IT management in order to

continue to promote the elimination of human error from the IT operation as well as negative side effects. Solutions

such as the BMC Bladelogic Automation, IPsoft IPCenter and arago AutoPilot are important tools in order to equip the

IT operation with robust and stable solutions. What are other factors that will influence the automation market?


6.1 IT automation takes center stage for digital companies

These days, companies are influenced by various trends that have a direct impact on their digital strategy. Besides

current topics such as Cloud Computing and Social Media, this also includes well established areas such as websites

and mobile technologies. It is becoming increasingly important to ensure that the underlying supporting technologies

and processes operate efficiently and flawlessly. The problem is that all the necessary processes, applications and the

remaining infrastructure have extremely complex interdependencies, which can no longer be managed manually by

any IT operation. IT automation is essential in order to ensure the operation, maintenance and continuity of IT within

a company.

6.2 Virtualization and Cloud Computing are not possible without automation

The increasing significance of virtualized environments and Cloud Computing is resulting in an even greater need for

automation, as resources are required for the processing of workloads and processes across several machines.

Resource allocation is the key to success within virtual and Cloud environments in achieving the cost savings promised

by Cloud Computing. Modern virtualization and Cloud infrastructures do no function without a high degree of

automation, in order to allocate the corresponding workloads to the relevant resources and concentrating these in

areas where they are required at any particular moment, then withdrawing the resources once the processing has

been completed.

6.3 Automation is the central pillar for big data

Traditional data warehouse concepts are being overwhelmed by the growing amount of data, its complexity and the

speed at which it arises. Together with business intelligence solutions, the individual data warehouse model has

become obsolete. In the future, data will be requested from various sources in real time and subsequently processed.

This increasingly requires workload automation solutions, which are responsible for integrating the relevant data flows

into an automation process, in order to obtain better control of all the sub processes. This provides better

opportunities for improving the data update process and structuring it more efficiently, which leads to improved data

quality and faster analyses.

6.4 Self-service will become established throughout the entire company

The linking of individual company processes will grow over time. Likewise, their dependency on IT technologies will

also continue to increase. An automated self-service infrastructure is essential in order to also allow employees to

benefit from this trend and to enable them to access information more quickly and complete their activities more

efficiently. This allows employees to start their process from a service catalogue without establishing prior contact

with the IT department.


6.5 No future automation solution will be able to exist without predictive analytics

Current workload automation solutions are able to proactively predict peak loads in order to provide sufficient

resources accordingly. The next steps to come are "what if..." forecasts, which can be used to plan for the future and

which can be used as a basis to execute workflows using a variety of different systems. The arago AutoPilot is focused

on precisely this area. If these forecast mechanisms are then closely linked to the service level agreements of

workflows, this will provide IT departments with a powerful tool for controlling workloads and resources across the

entire company.


About New Age Disruption

New Age Disruption is an independent IT management advisory firm, offering high-quality and in-depth research,

analyst and advisory services. Under the direction of Rene Buest the focus is on the topics of cloud computing, business

technology and collaboration.

For more than 16 years, we deal with the impact and the resulting strategic use of information technology for business.

To this end, we strive to identify disruptive technologies and trends as soon as possible, and to prepare our clients for

the future.

Our focus is on three strategic areas “Research & Analysis”, “Advisory & Strategy” and “Content & Lectures”, which

are linked up with each other, for seamless integration and comprehensive benefits.


Contact

New Age Disruption Eliminate the Status Quo – Find your Blue Ocean

Rene Buest Dipl.-Informatiker (FH) M.Sc. in IT-Management and Information Systems Koernerstrasse 30 24103 Kiel Phone: +49 (0)431 28 93 42 52 Mobile: +49 (0)173 36 49 461 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: http://newagedisruption.com

Twitter: @ReneBuest

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