The Lure of Automation: Avoid IT Problems Before They Happen

In today's fast-paced business environment, leaders are constantly juggling competing priorities. Whether it's maximizing revenues, improving customer satisfaction, or capitalizing on new market opportunities, the success of a company's IT operations is crucial.  

Gone are the days when IT could afford to be reactive, putting out fires as they emerged. The advent of automation has shifted this paradigm, empowering businesses to be proactive in addressing issues, preventing bottlenecks, and optimizing performance. By embracing automation in their IT strategies, companies can mitigate risks, streamline workflows, and unleash the true potential of their workforce. 

However, trying to achieve these goals while maintaining or reducing IT spending can limit opportunities for growth. It’s no surprise, then, that companies are investing more heavily in automation and artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps). In fact, a recent Kyndryl-IDC study found that even with overall IT budgets being maintained or reduced, companies plan to spend more on automation and AIOps over the next two years.  

Mexico ranks fifth among the 12 countries that make up the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (ILIA) with a score of 48.55, against the regional average of 42.61 and a good performance in research, although the need to strengthen its infrastructure is evident. 

The average adoption indicators of artificial intelligence stand out, with an indicator of 43.98 for the country, against 38.26 at the regional level, where Mexico ranks number four No. 4 in the general table. Even though the country’s ranking is high up in the region, there are still many opportunities to grow and to strengthen the technological ecosystem to allow AI to really make a substantial difference in its competitiveness. 

 The integration of AI into large-scale operational security and productivity is breaking down siloed processes and fostering agile operations. This AI-charged approach enhances the safety, reliability, and predictability of business operations, ultimately driving growth and improving service delivery for customers. 

What lessons can we draw from this? Let's explore the reasons why companies are prioritizing automation: 

1) Automation can proactively identify potential issues and opportunities for improvement within IT infrastructure with AIOps. 

Automation allows companies to anticipate and address potential issues before they even occur, eliminating the need to put out fires that never ignite. This proactive stance not only saves time and resources but also instills confidence among IT leaders that their infrastructure is protected against threats. For example, since its launch in September 2022, early customers of Kyndryl Bridge – Kyndryl’s industry-first open-integration technology services platform – are estimated to have already helped enable early adopters to avoid more than US$1 billion in annual costs. 

2) Companies can automatically resolve issues that are occurring in their environments without human intervention with AIOps.  

The greater the volume of automated-led interactions with the IT environment, the better the prospects for results. Whether it’s use cases like fulfilling a service request, implementing a change or responding to an incident, or automatically initiating resilience protocols when natural events happen, automation can deliver the best outcomes.  

Additionally, our experience shows us that end-of-life and end-of-service devices in an IT estate are risky and often big contributors to problems in IT environments. Kyndryl Bridge AIOps technology provides real-time reporting and forecasting for hardware and software approaching end-of-life. This proactive identification supports better capital allocation, prioritizes cloud migration projects and identifies investment targets for additional resilience expenses. 

3) Implementing policy-based automation and orchestration helps establish guardrails and standards across traditional and hybrid cloud environments. 

Finding the right automation partner is crucial for successful technology modernization. While digital tools play a significant role, true success lies in promoting organization-wide acceptance of new technology. Companies must look for partners who excel in automation and can proactively identify issues, automatically fix problems, and implement policy-based guardrails to ensure the integrity of their critical IT and application environment. 

Automation is a strategic imperative for business leaders aiming to thrive in dynamic and competitive markets. By embracing automation and AIOps, companies can unleash their workforce's potential, be proactive in addressing IT issues, and achieve sustainable growth. It's time to move away from the reactive approach and embrace the power of automation for a better and more secure future.