When to Automate and Orchestrate

(OBJ 4.7)

Automation and Orchestration

• Effective automation and orchestration are for repeatable and stable tasks and workflows
• Identify consistent processes in your organization for automation and orchestration
• Uses of Automation and Orchestration
  • Streamline complex processes
  • Enhance security measures
  • Improve operational efficiency
• Effective deploytment requires considering several factors

Decision factors for implementing automation and orchestration

• Complexity
  • Automation and orchestration are suitable for complex, repetitive tasks
    • Work best in repetitive tasks, ensuring a better return on investment
  • Determine process complexity to decide whether to automate or orchestrate
  • Routine backups are suitable for automation, while complex incident response requires orchestration
  • Example
    • If you want to create a runbook that can conduct an incident response on a given workstation when it is identified as being infected with malware, you will want to use orchestration, since this involves numerous complex tasks like
      • Isolate infected machine
      • Image storage drive
      • Analyze drive with forensics
      • Format workstation
      • Install clean OS image
      • Validate workstation
      • Reconnect to network
• Cost
  • Initial investment is a key factor
    • Requires a large upfront initial investment to hire a service provider or a team of developers for implementation
  • Conduct a cost-benefit analysis considering development, implementation, and maintenance costs of automation and orchestration solutions
  • Include hardware, software, personnel, and support costs in the analysis
  • Cost savings often outweigh the initial investment in the long run
• Single Points of Failure
  • Identify during automation or orchestration implementation in the network
    • Inadequately designed automation can disrupt critical business processes if issues arise
  • Implement backup systems or manual processes to mitigate single points of failure
  • Redundancy and failover mechanisms, both technical and manual, can ensure uninterrupted operations
• Technical Debt
  • Technical debt is the cost and complexity of suboptimal software solutions that need to be addressed/refactored in the future
    • Can accumulate if not regularly maintained or updated
  • Regular reviews and updates are necessary to avoid technical debt
  • Technical debt can impede efficiency and security
• Ongoing supportability
  • Automation and orchestration systems need ongoing maintenance and adaptation
    • Long-term supportability is crucial for adapting automation to evolving technology
  • Teams must possess the necessary skills to maintain and adapt these systems
  • Training and skill development are essential
  • Most automation depends on the connection of systems via APIs and webhooks
    • Most automations rely on the interconnection of various systems through the use of APIs and webhooks, but if any of these various systems are updated, upgraded, or replaced, it can break all of your automations.