Introduction

The lack of a “coherent and business context-centered” IT infrastructure service automation strategy currently inhibits enterprises from realizing desired benefits from IT infrastructure investments. Enterprises need a sound automation strategy that:

• Offers high agility and resilience to support dynamic business requirements (i.e. self-learning/ conscious IT infrastructure)
• Takes a pragmatic adoption approach, supported by a clear decision framework (where and where not to adopt)
• Gives due consideration to existing process maturity levels, rather than driving a “big-T” transformation without proper evaluation of the criticality of the underlying applications/businesses
• Has a robust tools strategy at its heart, ensuring there is minimal vendor lock-in involved

From an IT infrastructure service provider perspective, automation has a new-found implication in today’s competitive and dynamic market, offering the potential to generate revenue streams while driving significant disruption in traditional engagement constructs and account management dynamics.

Scope

• The current state of the IT infrastructure services automation market
• Enterprise adoption drivers, challenges, and best practices
• Imperatives, disruption in traditional delivery models, and implications for IT service providers
• Technology provider landscape and the shift in strategic stances adopted by IT service providers
• Outlook for 2016-2017

Content

This report assists key stakeholders (buyers, service providers, and technology vendors) understand the prevailing trends in the IT infrastructure services automation space, specifically, shortcomings in the IT infrastructure services automation strategy of enterprises, relative maturity levels of various automation concepts/techniques, and their extent of adoption across IT infrastructure functions.

The report also discusses best practices, models, and key considerations for enterprises to keep in mind while formulating their IT infrastructure services automation strategy and provides an in-depth analysis of how automation stands to disrupt the fundamental business model of IT infrastructure service providers. Finally, the report throws light on the distinct IT infrastructure automation provider categories that have emerged of late, cutting across independent tool vendors and IT service providers.