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Special Issue--IT Automation: Best Practices: Page 10 of 14

10. Change management: Another task that can be readily automated. Although it is typically thought of in relation to documenting changes to satisfy various regulatory requirements, effective change management goes beyond this. Within the IT infrastructure, change management is even more important in order to ensure that all the implications of a change are handled properly.

Areas Of Automation

To help determine which areas of your infrastructure to automate first, ask yourself these questions: Does the product fit the complexity in my data center? Does the product provide a decent ROI? Will it help us meet user expectations and create a less stressful work environment for the staff?

It is tempting to try to get the maximum return by automating as much as possible, as soon as possible. Yet, even the vendors with the most ambitious and comprehensive products, such as BladeLogic, IBM, Opsware, note that the most successful early adopters of IT automation start by tackling smaller projects. So where should you start?

Clearly, there is no standard answer for everyone. In addition to recognizing the limits imposed by the expertise of your staff, your answer will depend upon the mix of equipment you have and the quality of coverage for that mix ideally provided by each IT automation product. The answer will reflect your current areas of concern, along with expenses. It will also be based on which products have strengths in the areas where you can re-engineer your processes to garner the best possible return.