Do you ever feel overworked in IT security? Do you find yourself dreaming of introducing IT automation?
When we speak with our customers, we continuously hear about their tremendous workloads. In the morning, they have IT project meetings to attend. After that, there is email. You face even more work. There are new SaaS applications that require IT security review. Before you leave for the day, an executive asks you to look into implementing a new marketing app.
The worst part? Expectations on IT to deliver innovation and support current operations are only going to increase over time. Hiring more staff and leveraging consultants is part of the solution to this burden. However, continually beating the drum of “we need more staff!” will only work for so long. Eventually, your senior management will ask: What about IT automation?
You don’t want to face the IT automation question without a good answer. Use these three techniques to save time and effort in your IT department.
Technique 1: Automate Your Password Reset Process
Have you ever asked your staff why they started a career in technology? When we ask that question, we hear about a passion for scale, about innovation, and making machines work. The one answer we have never heard: a burning desire to reset employee passwords day after day. Yes, password resets are needed, and IT needs to provide this option to employees.
However, IT employees do not have to manually perform this task. Instead, we suggest implementing IT security automation. This strategy is especially powerful in the case of global organizations. When you use our automation solution, you can provide password reset capability around the clock. Even better, our IT security chatbot is designed to match your IT security policy. That means you will face fewer findings from compliance and IT audits about failing to follow IT policies.
If password reset work takes an hour of IT employee time per workday, imagine the efficiency gain! IT staff morale will improve because your team will not be doing the same task over and over again. You will also have the opportunity to execute some of the IT projects you’ve wanted to work on for years!
Resource: Curious to find out more about the technology behind IT automation for password resets? This is all possible because of narrowband AI. Find out more about it here: 5 Ways To Use Narrowband AI Chatbot.
Technique 2: Automate The Daily Sign-In Process For End Users
Making password resets easy is helpful, and it helps to make life easier for your end-users. Your next IT automation step is to make day-to-day work simpler for all employees. While employees may ask for password resets a few times per year, they need to log in to corporate systems every day. The conventional approach to this requirement involves asking users to create a separate ID and password for each application.
When you add up all of those systems, it starts to get tough for employees to manage. Security Magazine recently found that business users have more than 180 passwords to manage! With that many passwords, it is no wonder we see people using the same password over and over again. Password reuse makes hacking attacks easier, so let’s discourage that behavior.
Put a single sign-on solution in place, and you will see the benefits. End users will have fewer passwords to memorize. Overall IT security will improve because you will be able to enforce a single complex password to cover the entire enterprise rather than dozens of separate passwords. That’s not even the best part. Your end-users will be able to focus on their work rather than having to continually enter credentials at work.
Technique 3: Automate Onboarding New Users
Think back to your first day at your current company. There was a lot to learn. You met your manager and the rest of your team. You were given your phone number, company email and access to systems. If that process was well organized, your first week on the job went smoothly. Alas, system access for new users often involves obstacles.
Fortunately, you can bring IT automation to the new employee experience. Start by recognizing that most system access needs are based on your job. For instance, sales representatives generally need access to the same systems: email, phone, customer relationship management, customer records and so on. Once you realize that, you can onboard new employees more efficiently.
Use Group Requester to implement this IT automation technique. When you use Group Requester, you do not need to start from scratch. Instead, the system begins by analyzing your HR system to identify groups. For instance, it will create user lists for “everyone who works in customer service” so you can give those users the same profile.
Which IT Automation Technique Should You Focus On?
You’ve learned about a few ways to bring IT automation to your organization. You may not have the resources to pursue all of these options right now. To help you prioritize, consider these questions:
1. What Is The Workload For the IT Security Department?
If you see evidence of unsustainable work habits – like working in the evenings and on weekends – focus on solutions that address that burden. Specifically, we recommend implementing an IT security chatbot. Using that solution is one of the easiest ways to reduce the burden on your IT staff.
2. What Is the User Experience With IT?
Ultimately, the IT department is a support function to help end-users succeed. If your end-users are frustrated with technology, your priority needs to focus on the user experience. Implementing single sign-on software is an excellent way to address their needs.
3. What Is the Most Significant Gap in IT Security?
Reviewing your IT security strategy is the last and perhaps most vital area to address. If your strategy has identified crucial areas like authentication as a focus, then your IT automation efforts should align with the strategy.
