Automation: The Key to Unlocking IT Innovation and Creativity

Dustin Snell is CEO, Network Automation.

Dustin-Network-Automation

Many theories of human development, notably Maslow’s hierarchy, use a pyramid to describe the stages of growth, theorizing that basic requirements must be met before people can move on to higher developmental stages. People who are struggling to meet basic needs (food, shelter, security, etc.) generally can’t operate at full capacity, but once their basic requirements are met, they can focus on solving problems and expressing themselves creatively.

Something similar is at work within organizations: Before working professionals can fully explore opportunities for innovation, they have to expend resources to take care of the day-to-day operations that are essential to the organization’s basic functioning. In real-world terms, this can mean that talented IT professionals are spending their days writing code and memorizing syntax instead of innovating to solve problems and support critical business strategies.

The issue of how to best allocate IT resources is becoming more pressing in part because of the rate of growth in data storage and transfer activities across multiple streams. As the sheer volume of data generated grows at an astonishing pace, IT budgets have generally remained flat. IT strategists who are seeking new ways to capitalize on data and leverage expanded computing capacities often turn to virtualization to improve organizational performance.

The Pros and Cons of Virtualization

Virtualization can be an excellent solution to extend computing capacity, allowing companies to fully utilize their existing hardware assets, improve redundancy and scale up to accommodate demand spikes in real time. That’s why products like VMware are so widely used by savvy CIOs, including 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies' IT departments. But while the benefits of virtualization are considerable, it can be a challenge for businesses to integrate virtual machine functions with their business process automation tools.

This means IT professionals have to find new ways to manage business process conditions and events when using virtual assets. Too often, it requires IT departments to devote extensive time and effort to creating and maintaining complex codes to ensure that virtual machine performance parameters interact successfully with the company’s business process conditions and events. And that means IT professionals who are engaged in writing code and memorizing syntax don’t have time to develop innovative new business solutions.

No-Code Automation Means More Time for Creativity

A better approach is to find a solution that gives IT professionals a way to integrate virtual assets with business process applications without having to develop and maintain code. An ideal strategy would enable integration across multiple applications and systems, including popular assets like VMware’s Server, VMware Workstation, ESX/ESXi, VCenter and VMware Player systems. By empowering IT professionals to manage physical and virtual assets and multiple applications within a unified workflow, a no-code automation solution can free up time for IT professionals.

And more time means that automation can remove the obstacle to innovation within IT organizations. By eliminating the need to write code and memorize syntax to perform basic functions, automation can liberate IT talent to explore higher-level problems and think creatively about new business solutions. An automation solution that provides no-code development capabilities can streamline the development and maintenance processes that consume IT resources, leaving time and space for innovation.

Instead of spending hours each week meticulously creating and maintaining code to automate standard business processes and facilitate the integration of virtual asset protocols, IT professionals could engage in more creative work. A talented IT team would be free to consult with cross-functional groups to identify new and emerging business requirements and market demands, develop creative solutions and deliver competitive advantages.

By unlocking IT creativity and innovation through automation, companies can move beyond the basics to achieve higher levels of organizational development – and yield  greater marketplace success.

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