As businesses increasingly rely on software systems for their day-to-day operations, IT organizations find themselves grappling with a multitude of challenges stemming from the substantial workload. The primary objective of IT organizations is to contribute to overall business growth, emphasizing system quality, rapid response times, and minimal system downtime. However, achieving these goals necessitates the continuous upgrading of processes.
Traditional server management systems are inherently intricate, comprising numerous infrastructure components. Managing these systems proves to be a complex task, demanding a high skill set. Additionally, these systems’ operational efficiency often requires different teams’ involvement to ensure seamless service delivery. This is where the significance of server automation becomes evident. In this blog, we will delve into the concept of the challenges faced by IT service desk agents in server management, and the benefits of using server automation.
Manual Server Management & Challenges
Server management is the process of overseeing and maintaining computer servers to ensure they run smoothly and efficiently. This includes a wide range of tasks, such as provisioning, patching, configuration management, monitoring, and performing backup and recovery.
With large and complex IT organizations, server management becomes more challenging for the IT operational team. According to a report, the server is the largest part of the cost of the data center, accounting for about 60%-70% of the hardware cost. Some of the other challenges include compatibility issues with network devices, security threats, performance optimization, server maintenance costs, and lack of skilled resources.
Combating these challenges gives rise to the need to adopt in server management. Let’s explore how server management automation can help in the IT service desk.
Benefits of Server Automation
Server automation offers a unified solution for a variety of tasks and processes, encompassing activities like application deployment, code building, and the management of both virtual and physical systems.
By orchestrating workflows with precision through orchestration automation, various tasks and processes in server management are automated, enhancing efficiency while minimizing the risk of human error. This is achieved by streamlining complex steps that are typically part of these processes. Some of the ways server automation benefits IT organizations are-
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Task Automation for Configuration & Patch Management
As per a report, around 53% of software developers face operating system compatibility issues during their projects. Automation tools facilitate the standardization of server configurations across the entire IT infrastructure. This involves defining and enforcing desired configurations, and ensuring that all servers align with organizational standards. Also using automation and AI in server automation, the IT operational team can deploy updates, patches, and security fixes across servers in a systematic and controlled manner. This way automation ensures that patches are applied promptly, reducing the window of vulnerability to potential exploits. It also allows for scheduling updates during non-critical hours to minimize disruption to services.
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Create a Reliable & Secure Environment
The creation of a reliable and secure server environment by enforcing standardized configurations is another challenge that IT organizations struggle with. Here automation enables the creation and enforcement of standardized server configurations. This consistency reduces the likelihood of misconfigurations that could introduce vulnerabilities or impact system stability. Also, these automation tools can be configured to check and enforce security policies automatically. This includes settings such as firewall rules, access controls, and encryption standards. By ensuring continuous compliance with security best practices, organizations can proactively mitigate risks and maintain a robust security posture.
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Instant Feedback for Server Maintenance
Receiving a request for server maintenance requests is a common instance for IT service desk agents. Automation here can improve responsiveness and customer satisfaction. Using automation, IT service desk agents can handle common server maintenance requests, such as system updates, software installations, configuration changes, user access, and others. Also, automated notifications and communication channels to keep users informed about the status of their maintenance requests. This transparency enhances the user experience and builds trust in IT service delivery.
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Perform Server Health Check
Monitoring and health checks are crucial for identifying and addressing potential issues before they impact server performance. Automation tools continuously monitor server performance metrics, including memory utilization, disk space, and network activity. Any deviation from predefined thresholds triggers alerts, allowing IT teams to proactively address issues before they escalate.
Additionally, if there are instances of server downtime, then the automated monitoring system can autonomously generate alerts in advance so that the IT team can perform their tasks without any hassle.
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Conduct Compliance Checks
Streamlining compliance checks to ensure servers adhere to regulatory requirements and internal policies is another process where automation can be a great help. The integration of the automation in this process can check server configurations against predefined compliance policies. This includes verifying settings related to security, access controls, and software versions. Any deviations trigger alerts, allowing IT teams to remediate non-compliance promptly. This way automated compliance checks enable compliance reporting and internal auditing purposes, providing a transparent record of server configurations and their compliance status over time.
Conclusion
Server automation is a key enabler for IT service desk agents, addressing the challenges associated with manual server management. Using server automation IT organizations can automate routine tasks, can enhance efficiency, improve security, and create a reliable IT infrastructure. By leveraging its power, you can unlock a world of efficiency, security, and proactive service, ultimately transforming your service desk into a true champion of IT excellence. So, step into the future, embrace automation, and let your service desk rise above the chaos!
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://automationedge.com/blogs/server-automation/
