NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In the quest to become a more service-defined, agile IT department, automating repeatable tasks has become a must on CIOs' to-do lists.  Experts, however, warn IT pros not to fall into the trap of implementing separate tools to automate each individual task, a practice which can result in an increase in IT management costs as well as the costs to acquire and deploy automation assets.  Because no single automation tool will meet every need, CIOs are left wondering which tools to deploy for which tasks. To help, Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), is offering complimentary access to a recent infrastructure and operations (I&O) automation research report from information technology research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.

Download a complimentary copy of Gartner's recent research, "Map I&O Automation Capabilities and Needs for a Successful Tool Strategy," (March 2016) here: http://ow.ly/HJlp305bM8U.

"The secret to simultaneously delivering critical services to business users and reducing the effort IT spends on the processes required to do so is automation," says Mike Alley, Director, Service Defined Solutions, Logicalis US. "Therefore, it's important to create a well thought out automation strategy rather than simply trying to automate processes on the fly. By mapping out a multi-year automation strategy, you will be better prepared to leverage the tools and skillsets at your disposal, your entire data center will operate more smoothly, and your return on investment will be significantly higher in the long run."

A Three-Tiered Approach to Automation
To start, Gartner's research suggests breaking automation functions into three key categories – IT tasks, IT services, and business services – then evaluating, prioritizing and consolidating automation technologies accordingly.

1. IT Task Automation: The kind of automation tools CIOs need for this level of automation are foundational, task-centric tools that automate IT processes and provide the building blocks for the next two tiers.
2. IT Service Automation: The focus in this tier is on coordinating and automating IT services to make IT more efficient. This includes operations such as application release, cloud management or container management automation.
3. Business Service Automation: Tools in this tier are all about business process execution – they exist to coordinate workflows that automate the provision of the kinds of services the business values most – onboarding new employees, for example, requires the automation of critical tasks that include system, networking, data, security, connectivity and mobile services, each of which can be automated to some extent.

Want to Learn More?

• Download a complimentary copy of the full Gartner automation research report here: http://ow.ly/HJlp305bM8U.
• Automation and orchestration tools can optimize CIOs' journey to the cloud and, ultimately, their organizations' digital transformations; find out more here: http://ow.ly/zVfg3052vBV.
• Read a Logicalis US white paper on IT Operations Management (ITOM), then listen to a recorded ITOM webinar featuring Logicalis US expert Mike Alley: http://ow.ly/udWL305c7yw.

About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international multi-skilled solution provider providing digital enablement services to help customers harness digital technology and innovative services to deliver powerful business outcomes.

Our customers cross industries and geographical regions; our focus is to engage in the dynamics of our customers' vertical markets including financial services, TMT (telecommunications, media and technology), education, healthcare, retail, government, manufacturing and professional services, and to apply the skills of our 4,000 employees in modernizing key digital pillars, data center and cloud services, security and network infrastructure, workspace communications and collaboration, data and information strategies, and IT operation modernization.

We are the advocates for our customers for some of the world's leading technology companies including Cisco, HPE, IBM, NetApp, Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow.

The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.5 billion from operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. It is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the AIM market of the LSE, with revenues of over $6.5 billion.

For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.

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Media contacts:
Nickie Peters, Director of Marketing,
Logicalis US
nickie.peters@us.logicalis.com
920-338-7622
www.us.logicalis.com

Karen Franse, Communication Strategy Group for Logicalis US
kfranse@gocsg.com
866-997-2424
www.gocsg.com

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SOURCE Logicalis US

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