Automation is vital for modern IT, as it enables IT teams to accomplish common workflows and repetitive tasks accurately, consistently and quickly. But automation is far from automatic.

The path to implement automation is fraught with mistakes and waste. Most IT admins know automation horror stories: a huge project to address a minor task, detrimental process changes for the sake of automation and the headaches from a poor tool choice. Careful planning and concerted effort are critical to implement automation in a meaningful and maintainable fashion.

There are eight steps to take an IT task from manual to automated:

1. Pick the right automation target.
2. Sequence the steps to the task.
3. Identify problem areas.
4. Build an automation tool set.
5. Set an initial scope.
6. Monitor and measure.
7. Grow the project over time.
8. Maintain the automation implementation.

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