There are many challenges in running your own small business, one of which is having a ‘to do’ list as long as your arm each and every day. Of course, if you have the time, you should look into automating or outsourcing as many tasks as you possibly can, and one of the best places to start is with some of the more technical areas that support the everyday running of your business.
This has become even more important now that more and more people are working remotely, either because of the pandemic, lifestyle change, or the fact they are located on the other side of the world. Much of the extra work involved with this can make things impossible to manage, but network automation can help take some of the strain.
1. It releases your IT staff to work on more important tasks
This was touched on above, but to go into slightly more detail, automating many of the tasks not only keeps things running without any intervention (see the next point), it releases your dedicated IT team from doing daily tasks like ensuring all of the things that might keep your network secure, like a Surfshark VPN are working correctly. This then means that they can concentrate on bigger issues and preventative work so that your business can sidestep potential upcoming issues, or at least prepare for them effectively if they are completely unavoidable.
2. It removes the potential for error
It is often said that the weak link in any technical process is the human one, and network automation removes that problem completely by eliminating the chance of human error. In addition, an automated process is easier to audit, as well as easier to scale if there is a sudden change, like, for instance, a pandemic leading to an entire workforce working remotely at short notice.
3. It makes everything easier to update and keep secure
If a process is completed automatically, it will be done exactly the same way each time, which is not always true of any manual process. Even if a manual process is completed correctly, it might be done in a different order depending on who is doing it, and this inconsistency can provide the kind of situations where security problems can occur, and also because it is not automated, any errors may be harder to detect.
To wrap things up
While the steps above are specifically targeted toward network automation and its numerous benefits, the same principles that would be put in place here could also apply to any other process within a small business. The simple fact is that automation is set up correctly, ensures the same job is done the same way each time, you make a process with fewer errors, and those that do occur can be spotted easily.
Also, as the process is standardized, it is easy to repeat and increase or decrease in order to meet demand, which makes it an essential part of taking your business forward.