IT Automation Is the Key to Profitability

The key to profitability for any solution provider in the channel is maximizing the number of clients that can be supported by one technician. Labor is still the largest cost of IT, so the more systems that a technician can support the more profitable the business will be. The key to maximizing the number of systems that a technician can support is IT automation.

Case in point is the new release of version 8.0 of the N-central platform from N-Able Technologies. Designed to be a platform for delivering managed IT services, the new release makes it possible for each technician to now support up to 750 devices, according to N-Able Technologies CEO Gavin Garbutt.

This latest update also includes tools for scripting workflow, an enhanced ability to manage physical and virtual assets, support for mobile and application-based technologies, a new user interface, dashboards that can be configured across multiple customers, and better tools for automating the discovery of hardware.

Garbutt notes that the pace of innovation surrounding IT automation is starting to accelerate. This is because a lot of companies are investing in IT automation tools that are intended to help IT organizations scale in this age of cloud computing without having to make a corresponding investment in additional headcount. If the addition of a hundred virtual servers, for example, means that two more technicians need to hired, it wipes out much of the savings that was created by not having to invest in additional physical servers.

What all these advances in IT automation amount to for solution providers is that it’s time to rethink the number of devices that an average technician can support. There may be some required investment in new tools, processes and training, but the end result should be a more profitable company that can effectively support more customers with a minimal amount of investment in additional headcount.

The IT management times are changing. The fact is we have used IT to automate almost every business function save one: the management of IT itself. The good news is that long overdue change is upon us.