Most enterprises either maintain a combination of automated and manual IT processes or are still mostly manual. But respondents to recent polling by 451 Alliance express a clear desire to automate more IT processes and expect to be increasing their IT automation budgets. Currently, just more than 5 percent of respondents say all their IT processes are currently automated, and a quarter report to having most IT processes automated. The largest group of respondents (30 percent) has a fairly equal amount of automated and manual processes, show 451’s data, while 27 percent say they use mostly manual processes and 13 percent say all IT processes are manual. In 12 months, however, 16 percent of respondents expect all their IT processes will be automated, representing a threefold increase in that category. The biggest expected decrease is among those with mostly manual processes, projected to decrease to 19 percent of respondents from the current 27 percent. Turning specifically to budgets, more than four in five respondents (86 percent) report their IT automation budgets will increase, with just more than one-third of respondents projecting an increase between 26 and 50 percent. About one-fifth (18 percent) say their budget will increase between 51 and 75 percent. Microsoft is rolling out new enhancements for its AI-driven products and introducing new offers, including Copilot Pro and the expansion of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to a broader range of customers. The company also announced that it is extending its Copilot for Microsoft 365 offering, previously available primarily for large enterprises, to businesses of all sizes. This expansion includes Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard, with options for small businesses to purchase between one and 299 seats. The update removes the 300-seat purchase minimum for commercial plans and makes Copilot accessible for Office 365 E3 and E5 customers. Copilot for Microsoft 365 integrates AI capabilities across a user’s data environment, including emails, meetings, documents and web content. It offers features such as generating status updates from daily interactions and streamlining tasks in Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft applications. Yes, it’s been a few years since the “blockchain” buzz came and seemingly went. However, with cybersecurity cementing its place as a necessity in all verticals, there are new use cases for blockchain that should boost its presence, argue executives from TD SYNNEX in the distributor’s 2024 tech predictions. Originally developed as a technology behind cryptocurrencies, blockchain offers a promising solution to the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of centralized systems by decentralizing data storage and implementing advanced encryption techniques. In particular, the “(re)rise” of blockchain centers on DAO (decentralized autonomous organizations), which operate blockchain technology, said Clay Davis, TD SYNNEX vice president or global analytics and IoT. “DAOs utilize smart contracts for decision making and are managed without centralized control,” said Davis. “This could completely change how organizations are structured and how decisions are made.” Enterprises Look to Increase IT Automation Microsoft Expands Copilot Access to SMBs Blockchain Gets Cybersecurity Boost EMERGENT Which of the following IT process would benefit the most from automation technology? Security management 27% Database management 25% Application management 20% Backup and recovery management 19% Network management 19% Server management 18% Storage management 17% Disaster recovery 15% Testing 15% Virtualization management 14% Provisioning infrastructure, software, services 14% Configuration management 13% Incident management 12% Continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD) 12% Patch management 11% Problem management 11% Change management 11% Source: S&P Global; 451 Research 8 CHANNELVISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2024
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