• Whether you have a dedicated IT support department in your business or just a single person, it makes sense to optimise their workload as much as possible.
  
• By automating some of your IT support tasks, you can ensure your team doesn’t get bogged down in the little things and start to miss the big things.
  
• While automation is a great way to save time and optimise IT resources, relying on it too much can lead to problems and teams spreading themselves too thin. So how much IT support automation is too much?
• Introduction
• Did you know that, according to McKinsey, 66% of businesses have already automated at least one of their company processes?
• From clocking in to logging on, there are plenty of ways businesses can automate their operations – especially when it comes to IT support.
• The role of IT in a modern business is undeniable, but it can also involve a lot of repetitive, time-consuming tasks which take up a lot of time (and money). For a business with a small IT resource – often a single person – this can introduce friction and lost time. It’s here that automation becomes an appealing prospect, so let’s find out what it really means – and why it’s best in moderation.
• What is automation in small business IT?
• When you hear the term ‘automation’, you might initially think of more industrial settings: automated robots constructing cars, for example.
• But with the rise of the digital era, automation is now possible on a much smaller scale. We’ve already explored what’s possible via macro-style workflows with tools like Microsoft Power Automate, so let’s zoom out a bit more.
• In the context of your company’s IT support, we’re talking about automating areas such as:
• Updating computers and servers
• Resetting passwords
• Restarting remote computers or servers
• Monitoring for cybersecurity threats
• …and many more.
• You’ll notice these aren’t strictly tasks which you’d expect an IT department to manage, but they do all have computer infrastructure in common. Whether on-premises or cloud-based, any repetitive operation which takes place in the digital realm is a candidate for automation.