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There are certain terms that just scream buzzword, and unfortunately automation is one of them.
Which is a shame, because it’s the best way to build efficient and strategic IT programs.
The truth is, every chance you have to take routine, manual tasks off your plate is crucial. It’s what gives you the freedom to focus on bigger priorities that truly make an impact.
In the latest JumpCloud SME IT Trends Q1 2025 Report, we surveyed 900+ IT leaders across the U.S., U.K., and Australia. We aimed to learn about the challenges and changing priorities their teams encounter. Automation was highlighted as a game-changer—freeing up IT teams from repetitive tasks so they can focus on high-value projects.
When done right, automation can drive big wins in efficiency, security, and ROI for your IT team.
Increase Efficiency: Do More with Less
The main goal of automation is to boost efficiency. It helps you get more done with the same—or even fewer—resources, whether that’s time, staff, or effort. By automating those repetitive, manual tasks that tend to slow you and your team down, you cut down on the need for constant human involvement.
This gives your IT teams more time to focus on bigger, strategic projects.
Plus, let’s face it—manual processes are prone to human error. With thoughtful automation, tasks get done more consistently and accurately, reducing costly mistakes and saving time on rework.
Seems obvious, right? So what gets in our way?
Often the time and effort it takes to automate a task feels inefficient. You feel like you could just get the task done twice over instead of tinkering with a new workflow. It’s this misconception that keeps us from investing our time today for big gains tomorrow.
By streamlining your IT workflows, automation helps you cut out unnecessary steps, fix bottlenecks, and make your operations faster, smoother, and way more effective.
Increase Security: Proactive Defense in Action
Staying ahead on security is a must. Automation is one important element for strengthening your organization’s defenses and reducing risk exposure.
Take security policies, for example—automation ensures they’re applied consistently across your systems, closing gaps and addressing vulnerabilities before they become an issue.
Automation also plays an important role in maintaining a solid security posture. Think about the constant stream of software and OS vulnerabilities. Automating updates and security patches is a key defense, sealing up those loopholes to prevent breaches.
With automation, security shifts from being reactive to proactive, creating a reliable layer of protection that’s always on.
Increase ROI: Getting More Value from Your IT Investments
The value of any IT investment comes down to its return.
Automation plays a big role in boosting ROI by cutting costs and even creating opportunities for generating revenue. By making processes more efficient and reducing errors, businesses save time on manual work and avoid wasting resources fixing mistakes.
On top of that, automation speeds up deployments and streamlines workflows, helping you bring new capabilities to market faster—which can drive revenue growth.
A Word of Caution: Automation Requires Cultivation
Automation has undeniable benefits, but it’s important to approach it with a plan. Simply hitting the “automate” button and walking away isn’t going to cut it. Regularly reviewing your automated workflows and how your tools are being used is essential.
You and your team should always be looking at how the work gets done—even in automated processes.
A common challenge for many organizations is fragmented automation. This happens when you have automation in different areas, but it doesn’t all work together smoothly. In some cases, adding a new automated workflow can actually hurt the progress you’ve already made. That’s why it’s important to regularly ask yourself and your team: Is there a faster, better, and more cost-effective way to improve automation in our work?
Constantly evaluating and fine-tuning your automation setup is the key to getting the most out of it. This ensures your efforts deliver real results and create a more efficient, secure, and valuable IT environment.Want to learn more? Check out our webinar on 6 IT Automations to Help You Boost Your Bandwidth. Learn to swap dull IT tasks for smarter automations that boost productivity. JumpCloud’s unified platform simplifies identity, access, and device management. This helps your IT team work smarter, not harder.
