What Resources Are Required to Run Workload Automation Software?

Workload automation (WLA) is a modern solution for modern businesses because it helps organizations regain time in increasingly complex IT environments where resources are limited. When workload automation software is robust enough to orchestrate automated business processes across multiple systems in a hybrid environment, organizations enhance their operational agility and gain a competitive advantage in the process.

At its most basic level, the goal of workload automation is to free up your internal resources from mundane, repetitive tasks. That doesn’t mean the tool runs on its own, of course. Once you’ve set up your workload automation solution, it’s important to be mindful of the ongoing resources needed to run your WLA software. And while it’s true that your organization will need to allocate resources to manage your workload automation software, the resource investment will be minimal, especially when compared to the resources needed to run your operations prior to automation.

Do I need special equipment to run workload automation?

Because of the vast benefits workload automation offers organizations, many assume that it requires special equipment. This is not the case. The only equipment workload automation requires is server space. The server where your software will be hosted depends on whether your organization opts for an on-premises or cloud implementation.

An on-premises installation means that the software and hardware dedicated to running your workload automation solution is located at your site. However, it’s becoming increasingly common for organizations to opt for cloud implementation, a secure and more cost-effective option. A cloud deployment of your workload automation solution can lighten your resource burden even further because it can eliminate the expense of IT hardware and software licensing fees, as well as the staff needed to support the software.

Will I need staff to operate workload automation?

Yes and no. As mentioned above, the purpose of workload automation is to relieve staffing burdens as IT systems becoming increasingly complex, staff workloads continue to grow, and it becomes more difficult to recruit and retain skilled tech employees. That said, your organization may need to allocate some staffing hours to manage your workload automation solution.

At SMA Technologies, our customers have the option to fully outsource their automation management. We’ll cover this option in more depth below. But for organizations that want to manage their automation platform in house, the staffing demands required to do so usually fall into the following three categories:

Automation training

At SMA, we actually require our clients to participate in a basic training course prior to implementation. It’s free, and it introduces our clients to the software so that users can become proficient. In this course, our automation engineers help attendees plan and build out their automated processes. Customers also have the option to attend more advanced courses as well.

Automation management

If your organization will be managing your own automation, you’ll need staff to oversee the implementation of the solution and to create automated workflows for the processes you’ve decided to automate.

Once your workload automation solution has been installed and configured, however, you’ll only need staff to manage and monitor the solution.

Software updates

The best automation vendors provide regular updates to their software based on the evolving needs of their clients. Depending on the number and scale of the updates we make to OpCon, SMA’s workload automation solution, we usually offer some level of training for our clients to review the updates we’ve made. These sessions occur twice per year on average.

What are Managed Automation Services?

For companies that want to minimize the resources required to manage workload automation software, we offer Managed Automation Services (MAS) at SMA. MAS magnifies the efficiency and cost savings offered by workload automation because it allows you to fully outsource your automation deployment and management, freeing up your IT department to focus on strategic initiatives, such as new product development.

With Managed Automation Services, one of SMA’s automation engineers will implement, manage, and optimize your workload automation solution to create operational agility and maximize the organizational benefits of workload automation.

Another benefit of MAS is that we’re likely to uncover business processes that can be automated that your IT staff may not have even thought of yet, which will create even more efficiencies for your organization. We can spot these opportunities because of SMA’s deep expertise and extensive experience providing automation services to banks, credit unions, insurance carriers, and other financial services companies.

Light lift, extensive benefits

Workload automation solves for resource scarcity by automating workloads that would otherwise require significant time, costs, and staffing resources. Unless they opt for Managed Automation Services, organizations may need to dedicate some resources to the deployment and management of the software, though the requirements will be minimal.