1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,900 In this lesson, 2 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:02,460 we're going to explore the numerous benefits 3 00:00:02,460 --> 00:00:04,360 of automation and orchestration. 4 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,797 Automation and orchestration are powerful tools 5 00:00:06,797 --> 00:00:09,510 that can revolutionize the efficiency, security, 6 00:00:09,510 --> 00:00:12,595 and overall effectiveness of your organization's operations. 7 00:00:12,595 --> 00:00:15,150 There are seven main benefits of using automation 8 00:00:15,150 --> 00:00:17,610 and orchestration, including increased efficiency 9 00:00:17,610 --> 00:00:19,597 and time savings, enforcing baselines, 10 00:00:19,597 --> 00:00:21,960 implementing standard infrastructure configurations, 11 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,030 scaling in a more secure manner, 12 00:00:24,030 --> 00:00:27,060 increased employee retention, faster reaction times, 13 00:00:27,060 --> 00:00:29,100 and being a workforce multiplier. 14 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:30,680 Let's take a look at each of these benefits. 15 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,753 First, we have increased efficiency and time savings. 16 00:00:33,753 --> 00:00:35,610 Now, one of the most evident advantages 17 00:00:35,610 --> 00:00:36,941 of using automation and orchestration 18 00:00:36,941 --> 00:00:39,780 is a significant reduction in manual tasks. 19 00:00:39,780 --> 00:00:41,040 And this in turn translates 20 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,440 into more time being saved by your employees. 21 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,877 Repetitive and time consuming processes 22 00:00:44,877 --> 00:00:47,430 like system patching, software deployments, 23 00:00:47,430 --> 00:00:49,320 and data backups can all be automated 24 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,618 to run seamlessly without any human interaction. 25 00:00:51,618 --> 00:00:53,939 Now, by using automation and orchestration, 26 00:00:53,939 --> 00:00:56,019 you're going to be able to free up valuable human resources 27 00:00:56,019 --> 00:00:58,397 as well as reducing the risk of human errors. 28 00:00:58,397 --> 00:01:00,690 This helps to ensure that we have a more reliable 29 00:01:00,690 --> 00:01:02,259 and consistent outcome in our processes 30 00:01:02,259 --> 00:01:04,538 by relying on automation and orchestration 31 00:01:04,538 --> 00:01:07,299 instead of using our legacy manual processes. 32 00:01:07,299 --> 00:01:09,837 Second, we have the enforcement of baselines. 33 00:01:09,837 --> 00:01:12,656 Now, automation and orchestration can enable our organizations 34 00:01:12,656 --> 00:01:15,277 to enforce security and compliance baselines consistently 35 00:01:15,277 --> 00:01:17,790 across your entire enterprise network 36 00:01:17,790 --> 00:01:19,200 and its infrastructure. 37 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,277 By defining standardized configurations and policies, 38 00:01:21,277 --> 00:01:23,400 automation and orchestration tools can ensure 39 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:24,930 the systems are always aligned 40 00:01:24,930 --> 00:01:26,237 with our industry's best practices 41 00:01:26,237 --> 00:01:29,055 and any pertinent regulatory requirements we may have. 42 00:01:29,055 --> 00:01:31,779 This proactive approach also minimizes vulnerabilities 43 00:01:31,779 --> 00:01:34,781 and reduces the likelihood of a security breach occurring. 44 00:01:34,781 --> 00:01:36,553 Third, we have the implementation 45 00:01:36,553 --> 00:01:38,737 of standard infrastructure configurations. 46 00:01:38,737 --> 00:01:41,320 By maintaining a standardized infrastructure configuration, 47 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:43,219 we're going to be able to increase our security 48 00:01:43,219 --> 00:01:44,836 and operational stability. 49 00:01:44,836 --> 00:01:47,299 Automation and orchestration helps to facilitate 50 00:01:47,299 --> 00:01:48,900 the creation and enforcement 51 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:50,700 of standard configurations to ensure 52 00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:53,190 that all of your systems are set up consistently. 53 00:01:53,190 --> 00:01:55,110 If any deviations from the established standards 54 00:01:55,110 --> 00:01:56,861 are detected, orchestrations can be utilized 55 00:01:56,861 --> 00:01:59,117 to trigger automated corrective actions 56 00:01:59,117 --> 00:02:00,637 to further enhance the security 57 00:02:00,637 --> 00:02:02,875 and reliability of your infrastructure. 58 00:02:02,875 --> 00:02:06,541 Fourth, we can utilize scaling in a more secure manner. 59 00:02:06,541 --> 00:02:08,579 Now, as organizations grow and expand, 60 00:02:08,579 --> 00:02:10,038 they often will encounter challenges 61 00:02:10,038 --> 00:02:13,036 related to scaling their IT infrastructure securely. 62 00:02:13,036 --> 00:02:15,258 Automation and orchestration does provide us 63 00:02:15,258 --> 00:02:17,917 with the means to scale resources up or down dynamically 64 00:02:17,917 --> 00:02:20,237 while adhering to security protocols. 65 00:02:20,237 --> 00:02:22,259 Whether it's provisioning new virtual machines, 66 00:02:22,259 --> 00:02:23,821 adding additional network resources, 67 00:02:23,821 --> 00:02:25,639 or adjusting access controls, 68 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,380 these tools can ensure scalability is being achieved 69 00:02:28,380 --> 00:02:30,510 without compromising your security. 70 00:02:30,510 --> 00:02:31,837 For example, when using the cloud 71 00:02:31,837 --> 00:02:33,741 and its scalability and elasticity, 72 00:02:33,741 --> 00:02:35,797 we have to rely on automation and orchestration 73 00:02:35,797 --> 00:02:37,859 to perform most of our scaling operations 74 00:02:37,859 --> 00:02:39,480 in a more secure manner, 75 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,790 because a human simply cannot deploy new virtual servers 76 00:02:41,790 --> 00:02:43,910 as quickly or as securely as an automation 77 00:02:43,910 --> 00:02:45,436 or orchestration could. 78 00:02:45,436 --> 00:02:48,094 Fifth, we have increased employee retention. 79 00:02:48,094 --> 00:02:50,370 Now, this is a less obvious benefit 80 00:02:50,370 --> 00:02:52,050 of automation orchestration 81 00:02:52,050 --> 00:02:53,337 because most of us think of automation 82 00:02:53,337 --> 00:02:54,750 and orchestration as something 83 00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:56,610 that's going to replace our human employees, 84 00:02:56,610 --> 00:02:57,660 and this is actually one of the reasons 85 00:02:57,660 --> 00:03:00,810 some employees fight against automation and orchestration. 86 00:03:00,810 --> 00:03:02,716 But let me tell you, automation and orchestration 87 00:03:02,716 --> 00:03:04,680 actually have been proven to have a positive impact 88 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:06,621 on your employee's overall satisfaction 89 00:03:06,621 --> 00:03:08,301 and their retention levels. 90 00:03:08,301 --> 00:03:10,579 By automating repetitive and mundane tasks, 91 00:03:10,579 --> 00:03:12,477 organizations are going to empower their employees 92 00:03:12,477 --> 00:03:15,120 to focus more on strategic and creative aspects 93 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,640 of their roles, which then leads to more job fulfillment. 94 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:19,350 This makes the work more engaging 95 00:03:19,350 --> 00:03:21,060 and also reduces the risk of burnout, 96 00:03:21,060 --> 00:03:22,920 which is really a large factor that contributes 97 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:24,920 to higher employee retention rates over time. 98 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:27,820 Yes, automation and orchestration will replace 99 00:03:27,820 --> 00:03:29,699 some of our workforce, but those people 100 00:03:29,699 --> 00:03:32,136 who remain will be happier and healthier 101 00:03:32,136 --> 00:03:34,061 because they're now doing work that matters 102 00:03:34,061 --> 00:03:36,780 instead of just completing menial and boring tasks 103 00:03:36,780 --> 00:03:38,620 that should have been automated away anyhow. 104 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:41,430 Sixth, another benefit is that we have increased 105 00:03:41,430 --> 00:03:44,039 reaction times by using automation and orchestration. 106 00:03:44,039 --> 00:03:46,781 In the ever evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, 107 00:03:46,781 --> 00:03:49,481 it's important that we can react to incidents rapidly. 108 00:03:49,481 --> 00:03:52,139 Automation and orchestration do enable organizations 109 00:03:52,139 --> 00:03:55,200 to respond more quickly to security incidents and anomalies 110 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,240 because these systems are never distracted, 111 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,560 they're never tired, and they never go on vacation. 112 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,830 Intrusion detection, threat analysis, 113 00:04:01,830 --> 00:04:03,549 and incident response can all be automated 114 00:04:03,549 --> 00:04:05,220 to provide real-time alerts 115 00:04:05,220 --> 00:04:06,877 and to execute predefined response actions 116 00:04:06,877 --> 00:04:08,637 using either a simple automation 117 00:04:08,637 --> 00:04:11,355 or a more complex orchestration process. 118 00:04:11,355 --> 00:04:13,420 When it comes to these faster reaction times, 119 00:04:13,420 --> 00:04:15,180 they can really become the difference 120 00:04:15,180 --> 00:04:16,120 between mitigating a threat 121 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:17,997 and suffering a significant data breach 122 00:04:17,997 --> 00:04:19,353 because detection response times 123 00:04:19,353 --> 00:04:21,219 are always considered to be a major factor 124 00:04:21,219 --> 00:04:23,917 in how severe a security breach will become. 125 00:04:23,917 --> 00:04:25,500 Seventh, we have the benefit 126 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:27,480 of being a workforce multiplier. 127 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,920 Automation and orchestration act as a workforce multiplier 128 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,699 by augmenting the capabilities of your existing staff. 129 00:04:33,699 --> 00:04:35,259 With these tools in place, 130 00:04:35,259 --> 00:04:36,780 a smaller team is able to manage 131 00:04:36,780 --> 00:04:39,674 and secure a larger and more complex infrastructure. 132 00:04:39,674 --> 00:04:42,141 This not only reduces the need for extensive staffing, 133 00:04:42,141 --> 00:04:44,317 but it also optimizes resource allocation 134 00:04:44,317 --> 00:04:46,397 that can lead to more cost savings. 135 00:04:46,397 --> 00:04:49,239 In most organizations, the workforce and labor costs 136 00:04:49,239 --> 00:04:51,320 are going to be your single largest expense. 137 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,820 So anytime our organizations can replace a human 138 00:04:53,820 --> 00:04:55,500 with an automation or an orchestration 139 00:04:55,500 --> 00:04:57,640 that can produce the same or higher levels of quality, 140 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,517 that's going to save us money in the long run. 141 00:04:59,517 --> 00:05:01,821 Over time, the cost of using automation 142 00:05:01,821 --> 00:05:02,941 usually does go down, 143 00:05:02,941 --> 00:05:04,461 but over the same period of time, 144 00:05:04,461 --> 00:05:06,701 the cost to conduct a manual process will increase 145 00:05:06,701 --> 00:05:09,157 because labor rates tend to go up over time. 146 00:05:09,157 --> 00:05:11,437 Now, I know this is something that worries a lot of people 147 00:05:11,437 --> 00:05:13,341 because they're afraid that their job will be replaced 148 00:05:13,341 --> 00:05:16,461 by an automation, an orchestration, or robotic process, 149 00:05:16,461 --> 00:05:18,510 but these types of technological changes 150 00:05:18,510 --> 00:05:20,040 to our everyday work have happened 151 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:21,420 repeatedly throughout history, 152 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:22,957 and they're going to continue to occur. 153 00:05:22,957 --> 00:05:26,130 So instead of fighting automations and orchestrations, 154 00:05:26,130 --> 00:05:27,320 you are better off embracing them 155 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,210 and learning how to become an automation, orchestration, 156 00:05:30,210 --> 00:05:31,830 or robotic process engineer, 157 00:05:31,830 --> 00:05:33,581 so you could take advantage of the strategic shift 158 00:05:33,581 --> 00:05:36,040 in the ways that we work in our modern societies. 159 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,919 So now that we've covered some of the benefits, 160 00:05:37,919 --> 00:05:40,920 let's go ahead and put this into work in an example. 161 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:42,330 Let's take a quick look at the benefits 162 00:05:42,330 --> 00:05:43,539 of automation and orchestration 163 00:05:43,539 --> 00:05:45,098 if we had an instant response 164 00:05:45,098 --> 00:05:48,233 inside of a fictitious financial organization. 165 00:05:48,233 --> 00:05:50,221 Let's pretend that this institution just detected 166 00:05:50,221 --> 00:05:52,379 that a cybersecurity incident may have occurred 167 00:05:52,379 --> 00:05:55,379 in which multiple accounts were compromised simultaneously. 168 00:05:55,379 --> 00:05:56,979 Without automation and orchestration, 169 00:05:56,979 --> 00:05:58,800 the incident response team would need 170 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,701 to manually investigate each compromised account, 171 00:06:00,701 --> 00:06:03,930 identify the root cause, and then apply corrective measures. 172 00:06:03,930 --> 00:06:06,061 However, by using automation and orchestration, 173 00:06:06,061 --> 00:06:07,830 the incident response process 174 00:06:07,830 --> 00:06:09,080 becomes much more streamlined. 175 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,059 Automated tools can continuously monitor 176 00:06:11,059 --> 00:06:13,350 our network traffic and user activity, 177 00:06:13,350 --> 00:06:15,379 and then flag any suspicious behavior it sees. 178 00:06:15,379 --> 00:06:16,938 When an incident is detected, 179 00:06:16,938 --> 00:06:18,360 orchestration will take over 180 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,381 in order to isolate the affected accounts, 181 00:06:20,381 --> 00:06:22,760 collect forensic data from the victimized systems, 182 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,501 and initiate a predefined incident response playbook. 183 00:06:25,501 --> 00:06:28,237 As a result, the organization's overall reaction time 184 00:06:28,237 --> 00:06:30,301 is drastically going to be reduced. 185 00:06:30,301 --> 00:06:31,597 Instead of hours or days 186 00:06:31,597 --> 00:06:33,480 of manual investigation and response, 187 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,238 the organization can contain the incident 188 00:06:35,238 --> 00:06:36,757 within just a few minutes. 189 00:06:36,757 --> 00:06:38,397 This not only prevents further damage, 190 00:06:38,397 --> 00:06:41,417 but it also minimizes the impact on affected customers 191 00:06:41,417 --> 00:06:43,437 and the organization's reputation. 192 00:06:43,437 --> 00:06:45,341 So remember, when it comes to the benefits 193 00:06:45,341 --> 00:06:47,197 of automation and orchestration, 194 00:06:47,197 --> 00:06:48,621 these are things that can bring about 195 00:06:48,621 --> 00:06:51,197 both transformative advantages that go well beyond 196 00:06:51,197 --> 00:06:53,640 just giving you increased levels of efficiency, 197 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:55,101 but also giving you more empowerment 198 00:06:55,101 --> 00:06:57,720 in your organization so you can enforce standards, 199 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,156 scale securely, retain talent, react swiftly to threats, 200 00:07:01,156 --> 00:07:03,699 and multiply the capabilities of your workforce. 201 00:07:03,699 --> 00:07:05,480 As our threats continue to evolve, 202 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,618 automation and orchestration are going to continue 203 00:07:07,618 --> 00:07:09,240 to play an increasingly vital role, 204 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,375 ensuring the resilience and success of our organizations 205 00:07:11,375 --> 00:07:14,040 in the digital age by empowering those organizations 206 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,395 to thrive in this rapidly changing landscape 207 00:07:16,395 --> 00:07:20,283 where speed, efficiency, and security have become paramount.