5 IT automation tools your team must check out

Automation is native to IT teams. After all, it's rooted in software development. However, many IT processes are carried out manually, jeopardizing due dates and making everyday work more complicated for everyone involved.

Typically, IT processes get scattered across various segments and stages, which increases the chances of security risks and human errors. IT automation helps in reducing human intervention to build workflows and processes, giving teams the time to focus on vital jobs instead of wasting time on mundane tasks.

The benefits of automation software go beyond just saving time, as it can also ensure SLAs, reduce operational costs, and reduce process complexity. Fortunately, you don't need to be a developer to access these benefits. There are many no-code, easy-to-use platforms that you can instantly implement. 

So now that we know that automation software is crucial for your team's needs and that you can easily implement it, let us share our top 5 automation tools for IT.

Our top picks for IT automation tools

Atera

Today, with hybrid work being the norm, IT teams must manage systems remotely. This process goes beyond just finding a platform to host tickets, so a system monitoring solution like Atera—that includes IT automation features—can be a great choice.

Atera defines itself as an "all-in-one IT platform" with hyperfast onboarding and leading recognition. It specializes in remote management, giving teams an overview of company devices and networks, no matter where they are. 

Besides a ticketing system to manage user requests, it also offers patching features, ready-to-use scripts, and automated alerts. Moreover, as a bonus, its interface looks clean and modern for a friendlier user experience.

Integrations include AnyDesk, Emisoft, Acronis, and many more. Atera offers a 30-day free trial; after that, you can use it for unlimited devices at a fixed cost. 

Workato

"Less work. More flow" sounds like a great slogan for a workflow automation solution. This one, in particular, belongs to Workato, a platform that does just that for every area in a company, from Finance to HR.

Workato can automate issue detection, triage, and solution when applied to IT teams. It also allows you to build a helpdesk chatbot that can be integrated into Slack and Teams.

However, the use case that stood out the most to us was secure employee onboarding and offboarding. By automating workflows on Workato, you can automatically provide new employees with access to company tools and devices right on time for their start date. It can also be programmed to update payroll and finance information. The solution also collects the necessary access approvals and reports updates during the process.

The same works backward: when a person becomes no longer a part of a company, their accesses can be de-provisioned in no time using Workato. So, for example, Workato can check for termination events on an employee management platform like Workday and automatically isolate their device and remove their access to internal information. 

Workato features a complete IT automation guide so you can see examples of use cases and decide if they suit your team's needs. They also offer the chance to schedule a demo to see all their features by yourself.

Chef

Are you looking for an automation solution that's built on open-source tools? Then, check out Chef. Powered by Progres, Chef is a complete automation platform covering an array of development areas, including app delivery and infrastructure management.

Its security and compliance features make it different from the others on this list. Chef runs audits of cloud programs and accounts, looking for misconfigurations that may put your work at risk to fix and deliver a consistent experience. In addition, it supports scans across all clouds, systems, and environments.

Chef also aims to "close the loop between audit and remediation," working to ensure systems are always in compliance and meeting specific benchmarks. These processes give the company visibility over its assets' compliance status, including endpoints, to save time in audits. In addition, remediation features allow you to solve any issues during audits without needing to code.

If this is the feature that tailors to your needs, there's a pre-recorded webinar on Chef Compliance you can look at. You can also book a demo with them for a more personalized approach.

Stillio

Not everything is coding and complex workflows when it comes to IT. Professionals can also rely on more superficial aspects of software, like screenshots.

Yes, you read correctly. Something as mundane as a screenshot can save IT teams time. An automated screenshot service like Stillio is the go-to choice for companies looking to save time in recordkeeping for IT compliance, cybersecurity audits, and KPI measurement.

By providing Stillio with the URL you want to capture, the platform allows you to set its frequency, which can be as short as 5 minutes or as wide as a year. With this information, Stillio will capture those websites and automatically save the images into your account for you to reference later.

What can IT teams capture? First and foremost, we recommend keeping captures of your company's website. This copy can be used to compare with future versions of your site and for security purposes if you ever need to recover what your site used to look like. Screenshots also provide proof of compliance with local regulations requiring certain elements or information to be public on the company's website, such as opt-in checkboxes.

Teams can also keep track of online dashboards, from IT KPIs analysis to an incident or ticket overview, and easily share them with company stakeholders. The best part is that you can set these captures once and forget about it, but always have the repertoire of information safe in your account to use whenever you need it.

Stillio offers various integrations with apps like Google Drive and Zapier. If your site features blockers like a cookie banner, you can adjust capture settings to avoid them and get the full picture. You can check out all you can do with screenshots by looking at our features page.

ActiveBatch

This leading solution takes workflow automation to the next level. ActiveBatch has helped many companies reduce slack time and bottlenecks by allowing them to automate tasks without needing to code. 

ActiveBatch works as a drag-and-drop system: you can take different blocks and drag them to build a chain of tasks, which will execute one after the other, activated by a set trigger. Some examples of use cases include report automation, data management, file operations, and even networking tasks such as sending out email notifications.

You can set events to trigger specific jobs or get the platform to do so. In addition, ActiveBatch can monitor end-to-end processes, executing tasks and workflows when detecting failures or something unusual.

ActiveBatch offers a free demo, or you can directly fill out a request for pricing.

With a vast array of integrations, extensions, and add-ins, ActiveBatch might be the ally your IT team is looking for.

Conclusion

Being part of an IT team in this century and not trusting automation is a huge no. And now that you have this list, you must start exploring!

We'll be waiting for your demo request here at Stillio. We look forward to helping you dive into this fantastic world of automation.