Introduction
In today’s digital world there is an increased presence of automation and orchestration. With the increased pressure on productivity and cost saving is automation the new way for organisations to achieve targets? In this blog we explore the difference between automation and orchestration, benefits of each and the cross over uses, while examining the cost saving elements for enterprise organisations.
What is Automation?
Automation refers to the process of performing tasks without human intervention with the use of technology, software or machinery. The aim is to streamline and optimise workflows to make them more efficient, reliable and cost-effective.
By reducing the need for human involvement on repetitive / time-consuming tasks allows for faster, more accurate completion of tasks. Depending on the requirements automation can be used for simple tasks such as automated email responses to more complex tasks within industrial production lines.
For many organisations, automation can increase overall operations whilst reducing costs. By freeing up employees and increasing productivity employees are able to focus on more important tasks.
The easiest view of automation is simply: “If this, then that”. Following this logic automation can enable a single process to run without human involvement.
What is Orchestration?
Orchestration refers to the process of achieving goals and objectives by coordinating and managing various tasks, workflows and systems. Generally, this involves the use of technology, software or systems to automate complex processes. Orchestration is becoming common practice within cloud computing, DevOps and software-defined networks.
Within orchestration, different tasks and workflows across multiple systems and applications are managed by a central system or platform. The central system can automate tasks, monitor progress and coordinate the execution of tasks as per a particular sequence.
The aim of orchestration is to streamline and optimise workflows to increase levels of efficiency, reliability and cost savings.
Generally speaking, orchestration systems can: Make decisions based on various factors, react to events and keep track across varying environments.
What are the goals of Automation and Orchestration?
The joined objective of automation and orchestration is to sped up IT processes to ensure reliability and predicability. Both practices allow to achieve this goal on varying levels.
- Automation speeds up the completion of one task
- orchestration streamlines a group of automated tasks with higher levels of complexity
Many organisations aim to complete work faster, hence automation and orchestration are a go-to choice. With automating time consuming tasks your organisation becomes more competitive and shorten your time-to-market. Below are the main benefits for the join approach.
- Lower overall IT costs
- Through reduced resource requirements organisations can expect to see a decrease in associated IT costs. Through increasing levels of automation and orchestration organisations can reduce the requirements for human intervention.
- Increased time availability
- Reduced risk of error
- Improved moral and retention
- Through decreased low-value, repetitive tasks organisations can increase levels of moral within teams. This increase in moral can lead to increased retention rates further reducing costs associated with hiring processes.
- Quicker integrations
How to start Automating and Orchestrating
To begin exploring areas for automating and orchestrating we advise a tactical approach. Typically, these tasks would be identified at the start of a digital transformation journey. With orchestration being more complex, most organisations opt to use a tool from the start. Read our blog on Kubernetes to learn more about orchestration for containers.
Talk to an expert today on 0330 1332 202 or click here.
Overview
Automation involves the use of technology to perform tasks and processes without human intervention. This can range from simple tasks, such as automating email responses, to complex tasks, such as the automation of industrial production lines. Automation can help businesses improve their operations by freeing up employees to focus on more critical tasks.
Orchestration involves the coordination and management of various tasks, workflows, and systems to achieve a specific goal or objective. It requires a central system or platform to manage the execution of different tasks and workflows across multiple systems and applications. The orchestration system can automate tasks, monitor progress, and coordinate the execution of tasks in a particular sequence.
Together, automation and orchestration can help businesses streamline and optimise their operations, leading to greater efficiency, reliability, and cost savings. These concepts are used in many areas, including cloud computing, data centre management, software development, and network automation. By adopting these approaches, businesses can improve their competitiveness and meet the ever-changing demands of their customers.
