Guide to Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms

Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms are one of the biggest trends in the cloud right now, with a rapidly growing number of vendors and technologies entering this space. Companies that use them can save money on IT personnel, make their systems more efficient, adaptable, reliable, secure, responsive, and scalable.

Below we will provide an introduction to what Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms are about and how it helps with business operations.

What are Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms?

Conducting the same actions in repeated sequences is what many organizations face nowadays, be it a set of actions in software or hardware development. Having this said, automation and orchestration is the solution everyone in the industry is talking about and many of them are already implementing it in their working system.

When it comes to automation, its definition is described as the configuration of a single task to run and perform on its own, in other words, automating only one task.

Whereas orchestration platforms are more about automating many individual tasks to work together.

According to Gartner,

"Service orchestration and automation platforms (SOAPs)enable I&O leaders to design and implement business services through a combination of workflow orchestration, workload automation, and resource provisioning across an organization's hybrid digital infrastructure.”

SOAPs platforms give organizations the advantage of automating their business processes by connecting systems, services, applications, devices, and people.

Thus, through Service orchestration and automation platforms, businesses become more resilient in adapting easier to the dynamic tech changes and gain maximum productivity and ROI from their investments.

How does this help with business operations?

Companies that implement a service orchestration and automation platform can simplify their business processes, reduce costs, increase the quality of services offered to customers and ensure compliance.

Automation helps companies reduce the number of people needed to run their business operations. It also helps them be more efficient by reducing errors and speeding up transaction times.

Compliance is ensured with an orchestration platform because organizations can formalize, centralize and automate all of their business processes. Hence, there are no lapses in compliance or failures to meet regulations.

How does this work?

There are six critical elements for how Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms work.

These six elements include:

Workflow orchestration

Workflow Orchestration is the process of integrating and managing cloud, mobile and on-premises applications that support core business processes.

SOAPs can connect these applications and automate complex, multi-step business processes previously managed by many employees.

This process is automated to ensure speed and accuracy so companies can reduce the time it takes for their operations while also ensuring there are no errors or omissions.

SOAPs provide visualization of processes to help employees understand what steps they need to take and in what order.

This is also a good way for companies whose workforce changes frequently or who have many temporary workers and can ensure everyone has the same training on how processes work, so there are no mistakes when tasks are completed.

Event-Driven automation

Event-driven automation is when events trigger business processes to start or stop, much like how rules-based systems work.

However, event-driven automation provides the added ability to respond in real-time and continuously monitor for changes in conditions so it can adapt as needed.

This gives businesses a huge advantage over other companies because they can anticipate what will happen next instead of just reacting after something has already happened.

SOAPs reduce the amount of manual, rules-based processing that companies have to do, which helps them reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Self-Service automation

Self-service automation is a component of workflow orchestration that enables users to automate their tasks and requests instead of relying on an IT specialist.

This makes it easier for them to do things themselves, so they don't have to wait around or constantly ask someone else for assistance.

IT personnel are still able to control high-level automated processes. However, employees will have access to certain levels of self-service automation to help them complete their tasks more quickly and easily.

Scheduling, Monitoring, Visibility, Alerting

Organizations can work more efficiently by integrating scheduling, monitoring, visibility, and alerting capabilities into the service orchestration platform.

Seeing what's coming next enables employees to be proactive instead of reactive, which is a massive advantage in any industry because it allows them to always be one step ahead of their competition.

This also helps companies monitor for potential problems or issues that may arise to address them before an incident occurs instead of trying to manage damage control after something has already gone wrong.

The added ability for SOAPs to provide real-time visibility and historical data gives businesses a clear idea of how processes are running and if anything needs improvement or changes need to be made.

Resource Provisioning

The ability to provision resources as they're needed is another considerable advantage that SOAPs can provide.

Provisioning computing and cloud storage resources allow companies to scale up or down depending on their need. This is especially important in today's world, where business needs are constantly changing and fluctuating, so having the ability to adapt quickly can be a substantial competitive advantage for any organization.

Managing Data Pipelines

Managing data pipelines is another essential feature that SOAPs can provide. Data pipelines allow companies to move large amounts of information from one place to another quickly and efficiently use it for things like analytics, knowledge generation, business insights, and so on.

This saves them time while also ensuring the data they receive is accurate, allowing businesses to make better decisions when planning new projects or even marketing campaigns.

Why should you use a SOAP?

SOAPs provide organizations with many advantages, including reduced costs, increased efficiencies, better business insights, and better data pipelines.

These factors will play a massive role in the success of any company today, which is why it's essential to look at them during your decision-making process if you're thinking about implementing automation into your organization or processes that are currently manual.

Conclusion

As technology continues to advance and business operations move to the cloud, making things more efficient and streamlined will be a critical competitive advantage for any company.

Therefore, benefits of service orchestration and automation platforms to businesses are inevitable, it's just a matter of who is willing to use them and utilizing them properly.

For more information on Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms, please feel free to contact us. We would love to show you how SOAPs can benefit your business.