Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution” is likely familiar to most readers, and “survival of the fittest” has evolved from a simple biological evolution term into a common idiom we use frequently. In the realm of enterprise IT, survival of the fittest remains an eternal truth. Any enterprise IT product or solution that cannot adapt to changing user needs will inevitably be eliminated.
If you have experience in enterprise IT operations, you’ve surely encountered or heard the term “IT Operations Automation.” Indeed, IT operations automation is not a new concept. It emerged over a decade ago and has been evolving ever since. However, as enterprise IT demands continue to advance and IT technology itself develops, the concept of IT operations automation is undergoing its own evolutionary process. To explore this topic, we interviewed Mr. Li Guohua, IT Manager at Yuntong Group, and Mr. Luo Qi, Chief Architect at LANdesk. Today, 51CTO takes you through the evolutionary journey of IT operations automation.
The Grand Blueprint of IT Operations Automation Evolution
For enterprise users, IT equipment is a relatively decentralized resource. This is especially true for elements like endpoint devices and server equipment, which are widely dispersed. During the interview, Mr. Li Guohua of Yuntong Group mentioned that his company currently has over fifty branches, characterized by strong cross-regional distribution. Such geographic dispersion inevitably poses greater challenges for managing already scattered IT equipment. Therefore, how to centralize the management of decentralized devices in a unified manner is the core challenge of IT operations automation and the overarching theme of its evolution.
The Early Demand Forms of IT Operations Automation
During the interview, Mr. Luo Qi, Chief Architect at LANdesk, noted that IT operations automation first began attracting attention around 2002. The “Blaster” worm virus from that period is likely still vivid in the memory of many IT administrators. Due to its highly destructive nature, this virus elevated desktop operations management to an unprecedented level of importance. With subsequent outbreaks of viruses like the Panda Burning Incense, more and more IT managers recognized the importance of endpoint and server management.
In the early days, IT operations automation primarily targeted PC devices. In the eyes of many IT managers, although PCs might not be the highest-value or most critical equipment within an organization, their maintenance was certainly among the most tedious tasks. This is because PCs are highly dispersed, and the barrier for end-users to modify their PC settings is very low. As the number of PCs in an organization grows, these two factors continuously increase the difficulty of PC maintenance. Initially, the main demands driving IT operations automation were twofold: first, patch management for numerous PCs, servers, and related devices; second, software distribution for those same devices. Combining these two requirements, the goal was to effectively achieve desktop standardization across numerous computing devices.
We often say that IT operations require “30% technology and 70% management.” Yet, we frequently observe that while every organization has a standardized policy for PC desktops, enforcing this policy effectively is challenging. Employees’ modifications to their terminal devices and the automated upgrades and adjustments performed by third-party free security tools on PCs create a series of headaches for IT staff. So, while the principle is 30% technology and 70% management, that 70% of management often needs to be built upon the 30% of technology. This characterized the early demand form of IT operations automation: centralized management of dispersed IT devices, establishing standard desktop norms, and strictly enforcing them.
The Mid-Stage Form of IT Operations Automation
The mid-stage evolution of IT operations automation was driven by developments in IT technology itself. As technology advanced, enterprises began adopting more operating systems, diverse device types, and new technologies. Early IT operations automation might have only supported Pentium-series PCs and possibly only Windows systems. But with technological progress, Linux systems started being used by more enterprises, some began using devices like Air and Pad, and an increasing number adopted virtualization technologies. These advancements changed the ecosystem for IT operations automation, prompting its own evolution. To sum it up in one sentence: IT operations automation needed to support the diversification of systems, devices, and technologies.
Starting from 2008, this diversification in IT technology eliminated a large number of IT operations automation systems whose evolutionary pace was too slow. This demonstrates that the theory of survival of the fittest is not only applicable in enterprise IT but also exhibits a significantly accelerated tempo.
The Current Form of IT Operations Automation
Today, IT operations automation has evolved from being device-centric to being user-centric and business-centric. The emergence and development of theories like ITIL and ITSM are the best proof of this shift. However, ITIL and ITSM are just methodologies. How to implement these methodologies effectively has become a key concern for enterprise IT managers.
During the interview, Mr. Li Guohua of Yuntong Group stated: “IT operations automation is essentially a top-down initiative. The value brought by informatizing business systems is directly visible, whereas the IT department itself is a cost center. Investing further in this cost center to achieve automated operations requires a direct decision from the top executive.” Many might think getting a boss to approve an IT operations automation project is impossible because the boss doesn’t understand IT. However, Mr. Li Guohua paved the way for his company’s IT automation efforts by engaging third-party experts to communicate with the boss and conducting internal training, helping leadership recognize the importance of this work. Ultimately, a boss becomes a boss because of unique vision, keen insight, strong management skills, and some degree of opportunity. Generally speaking, if an enterprise’s IT manager does the necessary educational groundwork properly, the boss will typically accept reasonable suggestions from employees.
Let’s steer back to the topic of implementing ITSM within IT operations automation systems. Many enterprise IT managers fall into a pitfall when implementing ITSM: the idea of doing everything in one big bang. In reality, the eight major processes of ITSM are very difficult to implement all at once. Because the enterprise’s own needs are constantly changing, attempting to implement all eight processes simultaneously will lead the IT manager through an extremely tedious and painful process, and the final constructed system often yields unsatisfactory results.
The strategy adopted by Mr. Li Guohua is phased implementation, gradually refining ITSM’s related processes as enterprise needs develop. In the initial phase, only three ITIL processes鈥攊ncident, problem, and knowledge base management鈥攁re implemented, with the remaining processes added later. Mr. Luo Qi of LANdesk commented on this: “This is a typical demand process for landing ITSM at the current stage. Indeed, phased implementation is a very important part when users deploy IT operations automation. However, one must be cautious during this process. Many IT operations automation service providers may offer a very low price during the first phase to attract enterprise users, but then significantly increase the price in subsequent phases. This is what we commonly call the ‘bait-and-switch’ pricing issue. Therefore, when implementing IT operations automation in phases, it’s crucial to pay attention to the difficulty of subsequent phases and to clearly coordinate the future service process with the relevant service provider in advance.”
Future Evolution Direction of IT Operations Automation
During the interview, Mr. Luo Qi of LANdesk believes that the direction of IT operations automation follows the overall development of IT. In the future, as enterprise IT work gradually moves towards cloud computing, related IT operations automation will also progressively shift towards cloud-layer operations. In the future of IT operations automation, the maintenance of IT equipment will become increasingly simple for users and no longer complex for IT managers.
<