Automating IT operations: abstract illustration of server infrastructure and cloud automation

Automating IT Operations: What It Is, How It Works, and Where to Start

ByAlex Morgan

Key takeaway: Automating IT operations means using software to complete repeatable IT tasks — provisioning servers, applying patches, responding to alerts — with little or no human intervention. Combined with AIOps, which applies AI to monitoring and incident response, it cuts human error, reduces costs, and frees engineers for strategic work. This guide explains what teams automate first, which tools they use, and what the data actually shows.

What automating IT operations means

At its core, automating IT operations is the practice of using software to complete repeatable IT tasks and processes with minimal or no human intervention, and it has become an integral part of modern IT strategy and digital transformation, according to IBM. An automated workflow is typically triggered by an event, a schedule, or a condition, and then carries out actions such as system updates or patch management with little manual input, as TechTarget explains.

The goal is not to replace IT staff. It is to remove the routine, error-prone work — logging into dozens of servers, clicking through the same setup screens, babysitting batch jobs — so engineers can spend their time on projects that actually move the business forward.

What IT teams actually automate

The most common categories are remarkably consistent across organizations. IBM points to network configuration, user provisioning, and patch management, often managed from a single platform that covers jobs and batch processes. TechTarget’s breakdown lists provisioning, configuration, monitoring, and incident response as the core four.

In practice, developers and operations teams use automation scripts to auto-provision resources, configure and manage networks and cloud services, enforce security policies, and accelerate DevOps and service delivery. As teams that already automate repetitive business processes with tools like RPA know, the same principle applies to infrastructure: once a task is repeatable and well-defined, it is a candidate for automation (for the process side of this picture, see our guide to robotic process automation).

Where AIOps fits in

AIOps is a more recent layer on top of classic IT automation. Dynatrace defines it as an IT approach that uses AI to automate IT operations — for example, correlating events across systems, detecting anomalies, and helping with root-cause analysis. A modern AIOps approach covers the full software delivery lifecycle in complex multicloud environments.

Think of it this way: traditional IT automation executes the runbook you wrote; AIOps helps decide which runbook to run. When a monitoring alert fires at 3 a.m., an AIOps platform can correlate it with related events, identify the likely root cause, and trigger the appropriate automated remediation — or at least hand the on-call engineer a shortlist instead of a wall of alerts. IBM notes that AIOps platforms integrate with existing monitoring tools such as ServiceNow, so teams do not have to rip out their current stack.

What the data shows

The momentum behind IT automation is measurable. Gartner figures cited by TechTarget project that roughly 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities by 2026, up from 10% in mid-2023, and that more than half of enterprises will use AI-powered automation for Day 2 operations — network monitoring, optimization, and maintenance. Gartner also expects about one-third of enterprise applications, including infrastructure and operations software, to incorporate agentic AI by 2028, up from 1% in 2024.

The Redwood Software Enterprise Automation Index 2025, based on a survey of 285 automation practitioners by the independent research firm Leger Opinion, adds detail: 73.2% of businesses increased their automation investment in the past year; 36.6% say automation reduced costs by at least 25%, and 12.7% report costs falling by more than 50%. Nearly half (48.6%) say automation improved efficiency by 25% or more. At the same time, the report is honest about the gap: fewer than 6% have achieved end-to-end autonomous automation in any core process, and 61.3% admit their automation tools are underutilized, pointing to fragmented strategies and siloed implementations.

Common tools teams use

There is no single tool that covers everything, so most teams assemble a stack:

  • Red Hat Ansible — an open-source automation platform (acquired by Red Hat in 2015) for agentless configuration management, application deployment, cloud provisioning, and orchestration, using YAML-based playbooks over SSH and WinRM, per Red Hat’s documentation.
  • Infrastructure as code — provisioning servers, networks, and cloud resources from declarative configuration files rather than manual console clicks.
  • AIOps platforms — observability and monitoring tools with AI-driven event correlation and root-cause analysis, layered over existing monitoring stacks.
  • ITSM and orchestration suites — platforms that tie tickets, approvals, and automated workflows together (for how managed service providers package this, see our overview of commercial automation services).

How to start: a practical path

Analysis: The following is practical guidance synthesized from the sources above, not a vendor recommendation.

Start with the task your team performs most often and complains about most — usually patching, user onboarding/offboarding, or environment provisioning. Automate one workflow end to end, measure the time saved, and then expand. Standardize the process before automating it: automating a messy process just produces errors faster. Finally, keep a human in the loop for anything destructive (deletions, failovers) until the automation has proven itself over many runs.

Frequently asked questions

What does automating IT operations involve?

Automating IT operations involves using software to complete repeatable IT tasks — such as provisioning servers, applying patches, configuring networks, and responding to monitoring alerts — with little or no human intervention. Workflows are triggered by events, schedules, or conditions, and AIOps adds an AI layer for anomaly detection and root-cause analysis.

What is the difference between IT automation and AIOps?

IT automation executes predefined workflows: it does what the runbook says. AIOps uses AI to support IT operations — correlating events, detecting anomalies, and helping identify root causes — so the right automation can be triggered or the right person paged. Most mature teams use both together.

How much can IT automation save?

According to Redwood Software’s Enterprise Automation Index 2025 (a survey of 285 automation practitioners by Leger Opinion), 36.6% of organizations reduced costs by at least 25% through automation, and 12.7% cut costs by more than 50%. Nearly half reported efficiency gains of 25% or more. Results vary widely depending on what is automated and how consistently.

Which tasks should be automated first?

Start with high-frequency, well-defined, low-risk tasks: patching and updates, user account provisioning and deprovisioning, environment provisioning for developers, and routine monitoring and alerting. Keep destructive actions — deletions, failovers — under human approval until the automation is proven.

Does IT automation eliminate IT jobs?

According to IBM and Dynatrace, the stated goal is consistency and efficiency: automation eliminates human error from routine tasks and frees senior IT staff for strategic projects. In practice, it changes roles — engineers spend less time on repetitive tickets and more on architecture, security, and automation design — rather than removing the roles entirely.

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