Everyone by now understands the business benefits of automation. Automating digital processes eliminates manual tasks, meaning fewer errors, more efficiency, and more time to spend developing new services and products. In general, the benefits of automation can look like this:
- Reduced operational costs
- Improved efficiency
- Fewer errors
- Consistent processes
- More time for higher-value tasks
- Faster deployment of services
Automation is critical to keeping pace with competitors and creating services that turn customers into advocates. Automation is used across almost every industry and function. For example, a bank might automate finance reports and HR, or a retailer might automate credit card processing and customer service.
In order to serve customers and keep the business running smoothly, that data has to get from point A to point B (and often to C, D, and E) efficiently and reliably. This can include sending data to a database, processing the data, and then delivering reports to key stakeholders. In some cases, these processes are done manually. This means longer wait times, honest mistakes, and a lot more time spent on routine, day-to-day tasks.
Business Growth Means Digital Complexity
As businesses grow, so too does the complexity of their tech stack. New digital tools are used by different teams, while new services require new IT infrastructure and databases. When growing businesses rely on manual processes, so too do the manual errors. Additionally, manual processes cannot deliver information fast enough to meet expectations in the digital age.
Automation enables organizations to efficiently manage a growing number of processes, tools, work tracking software and services. In many cases, the volume of processes that execute every day far exceeds the manual ability of the workforce. In short, growth requires automation.
But in many cases, business growth leads to digital silos. Teams and departments can require different software and technology, or rely on different databases with different compliance requirements. This leads to silos, vertical tech stacks that are difficult to connect to from elsewhere in the organization.
As a result, silos often have their own automation tools. For example, an IT team might rely on cron jobs, the product development team might use APIs and the finance team might be using custom software.
These silos can be automated from top to bottom, but automating a process between those silos is going to require custom scripting. This means taking an experienced developer away from other projects so they can research, write, test and deploy new scripts. Custom scripts are error-prone, time-consuming, and difficult to manage, creating complexity that slows down the business.
What Is Workload Automation?
Workload automation software allows users to schedule automated processes, or workloads, in any environment. Workloads can be triggered manually, scheduled to run unattended at specific times, or, workloads can be set up to run automatically when specific events occur.
Workloads refer to the actual processing that digital tasks require. By automating the workload, users gain control over the servers that the workloads run on. This makes it possible for organizations to better manage their infrastructure.
Workload automation software can be highly extensible, enabling users to easily connect to any service or application in the business. Workload automation (WLA) tools provide pre-built integrations for all common technologies and platforms. Plus, WLA can also support API adapters that make it possible to connect to any endpoint with an API.
Workload Orchestration
WLA solutions enable businesses to build end-to-end processes that deliver data and services across all silos, departments, and technologies. This is often done through drag-and-drop workflow designers that make it easy to assemble workloads into long-running processes, without needing to do any custom coding.
By providing low-code and no-code automation, WLA can boost the business’s use of automation. Instead of relying on developers with deep expertise, anyone in IT can readily assemble or manage the most automated processes. That means more automation without higher operating costs.
WLA provides a range of features and capabilities for managing automated processes and the servers those processes run on. This includes real-time monitoring, reusable templates, workload optimization, change management, and more.
Additionally, WLA tools can support a variety of use cases. This can include managed file transfers, data warehousing, ETL, business intelligence, and much more. By implementing WLA, organizations can manage numerous automation use cases from a single location. This includes managing other automation and job scheduling tools or consolidating those tools to further reduce complexity and overhead.
WLA enables orchestration by making it easy to manage data and services across the business, regardless of the other technologies being used. This makes it possible to rapidly create new processes and services so that the organization can adapt to any challenge.
Scaling Your Business With Workload Automation
As a business grows, so too do its processes, whether it’s onboarding more employees or expanding services to reach more customers. Automation is key to this expansion as well as the cloud.
Cloud-based resources, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, enable organizations to scale both resources and services without big increases in operational costs. This is because cloud vendors handle maintenance such as up-time and updates, meaning your organization doesn’t have to install or manage any new physical hardware.
However, most enterprises today are using multiple cloud vendors in order to leverage the best tools available. That means managing workloads across disparate cloud platforms, as well as on-premises systems.
With WLA software, organizations can integrate any cloud service and dynamically scale virtual servers to better manage cloud costs and meet customer needs in real-time. The right WLA tool enables businesses to create flexible processes and to quickly adapt to new challenges, regardless of the technologies or platforms being used.
