What Is Workload Automation?

In our current hyper-competitive, 'always on' business world, organizations no longer have the luxury of slow process resolution. Old-school batch processing methods simply don't make the grade. Posting a midnight run job might have been enough in 2010, but today, successful businesses depend on real-time processing. Workload automation software can help organizations achieve increased IT efficiency, boost overall productivity, identify–and resolve–issues before they become more significant problems, and reduce operational costs.

What is Workload automation?

Workload automation (WLA) is a process. By definition, WLA is a software-enabled method of scheduling, initiating, and executing specific business processes and transactions, including workflow and associated functionalities. More specifically, it refers to the total amount of processing a computer is handling at any given moment. Automation completes this process without the need for human interference and is frequently found in cloud or virtualized ecosystems. WLA focuses on event-driven processing rather than batch processing's time-driven rubric. We can now assign many of the tasks to WLA that were collected and processed overnight in batch processing runs. Historically, these tasks typically fell to the IT department for execution because of batch processing's complex nature. Advances in technology and software implementations have changed all that. New platforms offer greater accessibility and ease-of-use, enabling administrators from any department, company-wide, to successfully manage complex automated workflows without IT involvement.

Workload Automation vs. Job Scheduling

Too often, the terms 'workload automation' and 'job scheduling' are used interchangeably. The problem is, while they are related, they aren't the same. Job scheduling describes more narrowly defined native tools used to automate batch processing once business processes are completed, like database maintenance, for example. Workload automation is more comprehensive than traditional job scheduling. It is an advanced, more adaptive type of job scheduler. WLAs support multiple workflows and applications, including those with inter-system interactions or dependencies. This makes WLA highly scalable and a value-added enterprise product.

Improved Efficiency With Workload Automation

Workload automation takes a more sophisticated approach to process, establishing a consistent set of controls and procedures, and allowing organizations to maintain best practices while accommodating continually evolving business needs. Workload automation typically offers a single control-access-point making it easier to manage multiple tasks and complete tasks in less time. This makes it a useful tool for time-sensitive jobs or those that must be completed within other events' specified framework. And user-friendly self-service features empower users to initiate processes eliminating IT dependence.

Quality of Service

WLA allows organizations to monitor and run batch processes with increased efficiency, increasing your ability to meet quality-of-service goals and commitments (Service Level Agreements) more efficiently without sacrificing the kind of customer service your customers deserve. With WLA, you'll experience increased availability levels while reducing slow down and disruption instances.

Boost Productivity

When you implement intelligent workload automation, every part of your organization benefits. WLA can erase the challenges associated with monitoring and managing business processes spanning multiple platforms, thereby enabling greater business process administration and more efficient use of computing resources.

Transform Business Processes

Eliminate costly human error in mission-critical production environments. Achieve and maintain advanced service levels, accelerated business-critical report delivery, and free-up workforce resources to allocate to other important projects.

Increased Adaptability

A single-point access control workflow process can expedite organizational maturity and growth. Through an adaptable and scalable WLA system, your organization can offload decision-making.

Workflow Automation: A Value-Added Resource

Workload automation delivers a broad range of value-added benefits to diverse business conditions, including:

• Financial services can use WLA to carryout critical data warehousing functions in addition to regulatory reporting, online banking, and ATM transactions.
• Telecommunications benefit from WLA through constant maintenance of complex scheduling and billing processes.
• WLA can help logistics and supply chain organizations successfully manage multiple interdependent processes involving multiple facilities or supplies without sacrificing efficiency
• Government and public service agencies can hand over critical, repetitive tasks to WLA, further benefiting from big data and analytics application integrations.
• Retail, e-Commerce, and consumer service businesses can optimize interdepartmental processes, in addition to integrating legacy ERP applications with custom-built ones.
• International management organizations can task WLA to automate daily exchange rates, pass payroll data, and upload consulting transactions.
• Transportation companies can assign WLA everything from AP, invoicing, and asset management to multiple customers and client-facing activities, such as ensuring trailer tracking software updates.
• WLA solutions monitor and manage processing frameworks to sidestep resource conflicts adjusting in real-time to accommodate potential resource shortages.

Additional industry-agnostic WLA benefits can include

• Increased efficiency across departments.
• Reduced workflow turnaround time.
• Fewer delays or errors in end-to-end processes.
• Forecasting capabilities.
• Reduction in IT operating expenses.
• Increase in batch processing.
• Reduced server needs.

These are just some of the ways WLA can deliver benefits.

If you're exploring ways workload automation can help your business stand out against the digital landscape, reach out to the workload automation experts at SMA Technologies. Our OpCon workload automation can help take your business to the next level.