What are the best strategies to align your automation and orchestration goals with business priorities?

Before automation of IT process, team should perform analysis of all use case, benefits, complexity, easy to implement, feasibility. use case with max business benefits should be prioritized. some use case may not pass the business benefits threshold and can be avoided or kept on hold.

As with any security system archetecture, upper management and executive buy-in to the methods and processes of automation must be understood and accepted. Automations have the abilites to be a double edged sword, you reap from the efficiencies, but you can also hurt yourself with misconfigurations.

In my experience your staff capacity is essential to be assess to avoid resistance. The assessment should inform how ready they are with the new goal. Do they have the skill to embrace the change ? Are they invoke in the case building? What is their fear etc

When assessing your current state, examine your current practices carefully. If there are 20 tickets a week hitting your helpdesk, categorize them (complexity, impact, priority, etc.) and look at how they are handled. If it takes a human to evaluate the impact, priority, and assignment (who knows the system, who can resolve the issue), and this is via tribal knowledge or contact lists, then first assess if the ticket assignment can be automated. Also consider escalation if the primary can't be contacted. Another function that a human-operated support center is capable of is load distribution; "Joe was up all last night on the xyz application, call Sally about the pdq application because Joe needs to sleep."

Prior to diving into the world of automating and orchestrating your IT processes, it's crucial to unravel the intricacies of your existing scenario. Uncover the pain points, bridge the gaps, navigate the risks, and seize the opportunities within your IT operations. Gauge your baseline performance, measuring the pulse of service level agreements, availability, costs, and customer satisfaction. This scrutiny sets the stage for defining automation and orchestration goals with precision and a touch of realism.

Before embarking on any venture, articulate your envisioned outcomes with clarity. Outline the specific results you aspire to achieve, detailing the success criteria and expected benefits. This proactive approach allows you to set a definitive course, align resources effectively, and navigate towards your desired goals with purpose and foresight.

Define your desired outcomes with a clear focus on measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). For example, if the company wants to make customers happier, set a goal like making customer replies 20% faster within six months. This way, you can see if your automation efforts are helping the company meet its goal, and it's easy to tell if things are going in the right direction.

A roadmap will help you plan and execute your automation and orchestration initiatives in a way that is aligned with your business priorities. Your roadmap should include timelines, resource requirements, and expected outcomes.

The desired outcomes and objectives can be detailed, planned, and divided into Short-term (such as reducing errors, increasing speed, and optimizing resources) and Long-term goals (such as revenue growth, customer retention, innovation, or compliance). This would help to have a better understanding of the whole process and better planning and allocation of resources at each stage based on the set goals.

IT Automation & Orchestration inputs provided are focusing on the outcome plus tools required alone The basic point is to understand if your team is willing to make the change Change Management plays an important role here Prior to strategising the implementation methods it is pertinent to create awareness about the change envisaged & its benefits on an individual plus company basis Also it would require training & would include certain time period for transition which is crucial factor in its success

I like to use some no-code or low code software, so we can incentive all teams to identify and try to solve the problems that they have daily. At the first moment, maybe it will not solve all the problem but for sure it will offer insights to the IT team understand the problem and work on that. IT team must also work as a compliance revisor of this tools

Automation is defined as the use of technology to perform tasks where human input is minimized and orchestration is the management and coordination of such process; so the more any specific tools and platforms succeed in minimizing human input in a coordinated and managed way in consideration of the contexts and environment to which it is applied, the more successful it will be in achieving the set goals.

When selecting tools and platforms, pinpoint those that seamlessly align with your objectives and operational landscape. Opt for solutions that not only meet your current needs but also scale gracefully as your requirements evolve. The right choices empower efficiency and growth, ensuring your IT arsenal remains adaptable and robust in the face of technological shifts.

Choose tools and platforms that are not only technically capable but also align with the company's existing IT infrastructure and long-term technology strategy. Let's say your business priority is to improve data security. Choose automation and orchestration tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing security infrastructure and are in line with the company's long-term IT security strategy. This ensures that your automation efforts are both effective and aligned with the broader business priorities, minimizing potential conflicts or disruptions.

Prioritize Use Cases: - Identify and prioritize use cases for automation and orchestration based on their potential to impact the business. Focus on areas where automation can improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance customer experience, or enable new revenue streams. Create a Roadmap - Develop a clear automation and orchestration roadmap. This roadmap should include timelines, resource requirements, and expected outcomes. Set Measurable Goals: - Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your automation initiatives. This ensures that you can track progress and demonstrate the value of automation to the business.

Integrate established best practices and standards into your framework to fortify the foundation of your operations. By adhering to recognized benchmarks, you not only enhance reliability but also streamline processes, fostering a culture of excellence. This disciplined approach ensures that your endeavors consistently meet industry norms and elevate the overall quality of your IT endeavors.

If your business priority is to improve compliance and security, following established frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework can help you implement automation practices that not only enhance security but also ensure that your automation initiatives align with recognized industry standards. This alignment can provide a clear path to meeting business priorities related to compliance and security.

Once you have your company's vision and goals in mind, you need to engage all your team on the change that you planned. A good away to do this is using OKR (Objective Key Results) that is a agile method that helps to plan the company objectives and how to reach these objectives working with some operational key results that will be measured. As OKR involve the guesses of all the company team, it helps to engage all of them in these objectives and its makes all the difference to achieve the best results

Forge open channels of communication and collaboration with stakeholders to cultivate a synergistic environment. Share insights, listen to perspectives, and align objectives collectively. This collaborative ethos not only fosters transparency but also nurtures a shared vision, propelling your IT initiatives forward with the collective strength of unified efforts.

Be culturally aware and consider how different teams or regions within your organization may have unique work cultures and expectations. Let's imagine your organization spans different regions or countries. Take cultural differences into account when communicating and collaborating with stakeholders. Some cultures may place a high value on hierarchy and formal communication, while others may favor more informal and direct communication. Understand and respect these cultural nuances, so you can build better relationships with stakeholders, ensure effective collaboration, and gain their support for automation and orchestration initiatives, leading to a more successful alignment with business priorities.

Leverage AI and machine learning to analyze data and processes. AI can help identify opportunities for automation and orchestration, as well as provide insights into which processes will yield the most significant benefits. It can help you prioritize automation efforts based on factors like cost reduction, efficiency gains, or risk mitigation, ensuring that your automation initiatives are aligned with the most critical business priorities.

Baseline project scope and project plan. Avoid the noise and concentrate on project priorities. Manage inside/outside teams (ex Solution Integrators, Cloud Solutions, ERP, internal Cloud Services, Security, Network). Focus on upcoming project deliverables and ensure project milestones are met.