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What is automation?

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What is automation?
Automation is the application of technology, programs, robotics or
processes to achieve outcomes with minimal human input.

Automation is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in the modern world and has countless
applications, including: enterprise applications such as business process
automation (BPA), AIOps, and enterprise automation, industrial automation applications
such as robotics used in automotive manufacturing, and consumer applications such as
home automation.

Automation software and technologies are used in a wide array of industries, from
What is automation?
finance to healthcare, utilities to defense, and practically everywhere in between.
Automation can be used in all aspects of business functions, and organizations that wield
it most effectively stand to gain a significant competitive advantage.
Types of automation
Organizations use automation to increase productivity and profitability, improve
customer service
Automation useand satisfaction, reduce costs and operational errors, adhere to
cases
compliance standards, optimize operational efficiency and more. Automation is a key
component of digital
Automation transformation, and is invaluable in helping businesses scale.
case studies

Automation tools, trends, and terms

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Debunking the myths of observability

This ebook aims to debunk myths surrounding observability and showcase its role in
digital world.

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Types of automation

Basic automation

Basic or task automation takes simple, routine tasks and automates them. Basic automation is used to digitize,
streamline, and centralize manual tasks such as distributing onboarding materials to new hires, forwarding
documents for approvals, or automatically sending invoices to clients.

Using automation instead of human workers to complete these tasks helps eliminate errors, accelerate the pace of
transactional work, and free employees from time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on higher value, more
meaningful work.
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Process automation
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Process automation takes more complex and repeatable multi-step processes (sometimes involving multiple
systems) and automates them. Process automation helps bring greater uniformity and transparency to business and
IT processes.

Process automation can increase business productivity and efficiency, help deliver new insights into business and IT
challenges, and surface solutions by using rules-based decisioning. Process mining, workflow automation, business
process management (BPM), and robotic process automation (RPA) are examples of process automation.

Intelligent automation

Intelligent automation is a more advanced form of automation that combines artificial intelligence (AI), business
process management, and robotic process automation capabilities to streamline and scale decision-making across
organizations.

For example, virtual agents that are powered by technologies like natural language processing, intelligent search, and
RPA can reduce costs and empower both employees and external customers. Such automation contributes to
increased productivity and an optimal customer experience. AIOps and AI assistants are other examples of
intelligent automation in practice.

Automation use cases

The use of a repeated set of processes can increase productivity and efficiency and reduce
human errors. Automation can drive business value in numerous areas, including:

Business automation

Business automation refers to technologies used to automate repetitive tasks and processes to streamline business
workflows and information technology (IT) systems. These solutions can be tailored specifically to the needs of an
organization.

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Content management
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
Document processing
Document processing solutions use artificial intelligence technologies like
machine learning and natural language processing to streamline the processing of
business documents.

Explore document processing solutions


Document management
Document management solutions capture, track, and store information from
digital documents.

Learn about document management


Workflow automation
Workflow automation solutions use rules-based logic and algorithms to perform
tasks with limited to no human interaction.

Explore workflow automation solutions


Decision management
Decision management solutions model, manage, and automate business
decisions through machine learning.

Explore decision management solutions


Process mapping
Process mapping solutions can improve operations by identifying bottlenecks and
enabling cross-organizational collaboration and orchestration.

Explore process mapping solutions

IT automation

IT automation is the creation and implementation of automated systems and software in place of time-consuming
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usage, improve the user Observability
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experience and for Observability solutions enhance application performance monitoring capabilities,
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providing a greater understanding of system performance and the context that is

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needed to resolve incidents faster.

Explore observability tools


Cloud automation
Cloud automation solutions reduce or eliminate the manual work that is
associated with provisioning, configuring and managing cloud environments.
Cloud automation helps drive efficiency in the cloud and allows organizations take
full advantage of the benefits that cloud computing offers, like the ability to access
cloud resources on demand.

Explore cloud automation solutions


Hybrid cloud cost optimization
Hybrid cloud cost optimization solutions help eliminate the guesswork in cloud
resourcing with continuous automation that saves time and optimizes cost.

Explore hybrid cloud cost optimization tools


Network performance management
Network performance management solutions optimize IT operations with
intelligent insights and contribute to increased network resilience and availability.

Explore network performance management tools

Integration

Integration is the connection of data, applications, APIs, and devices across your IT organization to be more efficient,
productive, and agile.


API management
API management solutions help create, manage, secure, socialize, and monetize
web application programming interfaces or APIs.

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Automation case studies

Carhartt Exavault IBM Max Mara Selta

human Square
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Discover Discover (HR)
Read how Discover Learn how a
how this how this IBM HR how the leading
clothing mission- empowers Italian South
retailer is critical file human fashion Korean
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automaticall uptime with automate experience.
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Automationy. tools, trends, and terms

observabilit gathering.

AI assistants
Formerly known as digital workers, AI assistants are software robots (or bots) that are
trained to work with humans, or independently, to perform specific tasks or processes. AI
assistants use a range of skills and AI capabilities, like machine learning, computer
vision, and natural language processing.

AIOps
Artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) uses AI to improve and automate IT
service
Aboutand operations
cookies management. By integrating separate, manual IT operations tools
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Artificial intelligence
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Artificial and for or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to
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11/24/24, 6:54 AM What Is Automation? | IBM

language processing, and computer vision are fields of artificial intelligence.

Chief automation officer (CAO)

The chief automation officer (CAO) (link resides outside ibm.com) is a rapidly emerging
role that is growing in importance due to the positive impact automation is having on
businesses across industries. The CAO is responsible for implementing business process
and IT operations decisions across the enterprise to determine what type of automation
platform and strategy is best suited for each business initiative. The CAO works with a
wide range of leaders across all business pillars such as IT, operations, and
cybersecurity.

Computer vision
Computer vision is a field of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning and neural
networks to teach computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital
images, videos, and other visual inputs—and to make recommendations or take actions
when defects or issues are identified.

FinOps
FinOps (or cloud FinOps), a portmanteau of finance and DevOps, is an evolving cloud
financial management discipline and cultural practice that aims to maximize business
value in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Green or sustainable IT
Green or sustainable IT puts a focus on creating and operating more efficient,
environmentally friendly data centers. Enterprises can use automation in resourcing
actions to proactively ensure systems performance with the most efficient use of
compute, storage, and network resources. This helps organizations avoid wasted spend
and wasted energy, which typically occurs in overprovisioned environments.

Hyperautomation
Hyperautomation is an approach that merges multiple technologies and tools to
efficiently automate across the broadest set of business and IT processes, environments,
and workflows.

Low-code and no-code

Low-code and no-code refer to workflow software requiring minimal (low code) or no
coding that allows nontechnical line-of-business experts to automate processes by using
visual designers or natural language processing.

Machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence and computer science that
focuses on using data and algorithms to enable AI to imitate the way that humans learn,
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Natural language processing
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Natural language
experience processing, or NLP, combines computational linguistics—rule-based
and for
modeling of human language—with statistical and machine learning models to enable
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computers and digital devices to recognize, understand, and generate text and speech.
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Natural language processing is often used in modern chatbots to help chatbots interpret
user questions and automate responses to them.

Related solutions

IBM® intelligent automation solutions

Discover how high-impact automations can help make your IT systems more proactive,
processes more efficient, and people more productive.

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IBM AIOps solutions

Discover how AI for IT operations delivers the insights you need to help drive exceptional
business performance.

Explore IBM AIOps solutions

IBM business automation solutions

Automate business workflows, seamlessly integrate business systems, gain insights into
operations, and create a stronger, more productive workforce.

Explore IBM business automation solutions

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Explore IBM integration solutions

IBM iPaaS solutions

Connect applications, data, business processes, and services, whether they are hosted
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IBM infrastructure automation solutions

Deploy, control, and manage your IBM Cloud infrastructure with feature-rich tools and a
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IBM automation consulting services

IBM Consulting’s extreme automation consulting services enable enterprises to move

beyond simple task automations to handling high-profile, customer-facing, and revenue-
producing processes with built-in adoption and scale.

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