What Does Automated System Operations Mean?
Automated system operations (ASO) is the set of software and hardware that allows computer systems, network devices or machines to function without any manual intervention. ASOs allow computer systems to work without a human operator physically located at the site where the system is installed. Automated system operations are a part of the automatic system control where the processes are completely automated with the help of control loops and special logic.
Automated system operations are also known as lights-out operations.
Techopedia Explains Automated System Operations
Automated system operations are a combination of both software and hardware that is designed and programmed to work automatically without the need for a human operator to provide inputs and instructions for each operation.
Automated system operations are used in a wide range of applications like control and monitoring systems, data security applications, factory automation systems, automated message response systems and so on. These systems take several system and environmental events as input and perform operations based on conditional decision making and specific control logic.
Some of the benefits of automated system operations are:
- Eliminates the risk of human errors
- Improves user productivity
- Provides standardized operations
- Provides better operations management and logging
The use of automated system operations saves labor, time and cost while increasing the accuracy and precision of the job being carried out. It increases the availability, performance and reliability of the services delivered.
Automated system operations had their origins with the introduction of the OS/360 operating system by IBM. OS/360 allowed automated allocation of system resources and batch processing of jobs. The continuing need for complex operating systems, databases, communications and other operations have paved the way for the development of more advanced automated technologies. Advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence have also given rise to more powerful and efficient automation systems.
Automated operations reduce the complexity of labor-intensive tasks. Some of the most widely used applications that incorporate ASO include scheduling, management of console messages, backup and recovery, printing services, performance tuning, network monitoring and bug detection.
Though the automated system operations can result in higher productivity and reduced costs, the initial cost of setting up an ASO is high and requires research and development efforts.
