8 IT process automation platforms to explore in 2025
Selecting an IT process automation platform requires organizations to evaluate processes, skill level and integration issues. These popular products are good options.
The processes that occur in the context of IT work -- such as software installation, user account provisioning and incident response operations -- are numerous and, when performed manually, tedious. But with help from IT process automation platforms, IT teams can streamline and scale these processes.
IT automation platforms are software offerings that perform common IT-related tasks automatically, substantially reducing the time and effort that IT staff must devote to them. In addition, IT automation helps to make processes more consistent and predictable because it removes the risk of an IT admin manually performing a given task differently than another admin.
With so many IT automation platforms available, choosing the right one can be challenging. This article offers guidance by comparing and contrasting key IT automation product offerings.
Types of process automation tools
Process automation platforms can address a wide range of needs. Common examples include the following:
- Provisioning software. These tools can complete processes such as setting up user accounts and installing OS images on servers.
- Configuration management. Configuration management tools include any software capable of automatically defining, applying and managing configurations within software systems.
- Software installation tools. This category includes offerings that automate the process of installing and updating software applications on servers or PCs.
- Continuous integration/continuous delivery software. CI/CD tools automatically build and deploy software during the software delivery process.
- Monitoring and anomaly detection. This category offers software that can monitor applications and detect anomalies that might signal performance or security issues.
- Help desk automation. Help desk automation tools streamline processes involved in operating an IT help desk, such as accepting user requests, translating them into tickets and managing the tickets until each request is complete.
Any software product that can automate tasks such as these is an IT process automation tool or platform. Some offerings support multiple types of IT process automation or use cases, while others support a more limited range of needs. For example, some configuration management tools can also support automated software provisioning or manage CI/CD operations, while others focus on managing configurations only for applications or OSes.
IT process automation vs. business process automation
Software can automate a host of non-IT-related processes, such as entering customer data into a marketing database or processing invoices. In many cases, platforms that provide IT process automation capabilities are general-purpose offerings that also support other types of process automation. These are typically known as business process automation or robotic process automation tools. The terms BPA and RPA more or less mean the same thing, although RPA often refers to the automation of individual processes, while BPA focuses on automating multiple processes within an integrated workflow.
A key difference between IT process automation and other process automation use cases is that IT process automation often involves more complex processes. For instance, installing a software application will likely entail more variables than adding a customer's name to a database because the application installation process might need to be tailored to align with specific OS, networking, storage and other configuration details. For this reason, creating automations for IT processes often requires more expertise and effort than setting up automations for other business processes.
IT process automation can also differ from other BPA use cases because IT workers often have the technical expertise to work with specialized tools or to use code when defining processes or configurations. For instance, IT automation platforms like Chef and Puppet rely primarily on code to set up automated workflows. Other BPA products employ a low-code or no-code approach, which makes them easier to use for those without a technical background.
Top IT process automation platforms for 2025
Platforms that support IT process automation fall into two main categories: those designed for IT automation and general-purpose BPA platforms that can be used for IT automation and other needs.
Because these categories are distinct, let's examine them separately. The products listed in each category below were chosen based on their popularity and prominence, as reflected in market analyses by analyst firms, including Gartner and IDC.
Dedicated IT automation platforms
Platforms that cater to IT automation typically require some ability to code, since most lack the low-code, drag-and-drop functionality that general-purpose BPA products provide to configure automated workflows. For IT staff adept at working with code, using it to define IT processes is often faster and less tedious than relying on a point-and-click interface.
Most of the platforms in this category manage IT infrastructure configurations, so they're ideal for automating tasks such as setting up servers and installing applications. However, they're flexible enough to automate various common IT workflows, such as modifying network settings in response to a security alert or changing the CPU resources allocated to an application based on performance metrics. These platforms typically don't support soft IT processes, such as ticket management, but they can integrate with external tools to help tie these processes into automated configuration management workflows. Below is an alphabetical listing of some popular dedicated IT automation platforms:
Ansible
Ansible is one of the most flexible open source IT automation frameworks. Using code-based configurations, Ansible can automate various common IT workflows, such as configuring OSes, installing applications, orchestrating complex workflows and managing infrastructure across multiple servers.
On the downside, Ansible is a Linux-centric tool that offers limited Windows support. Also, it can be challenging to master the platform's complex coding syntax.
Chef
Like Ansible, Chef is a flexible, code-based IT automation framework. However, Chef is often considered more user-friendly than Ansible due to its simplified syntax.
Chef uses an imperative approach to process automation, which some users might see as a downside because it often requires more extensive coding. In an imperative approach, users must define each step in the process they want to automate rather than relying on the tool to determine how to complete the processes necessary to achieve a desired state.
Pulumi
Pulumi is another open source IT automation offering. Its main distinction in this category: Pulumi allows users to define processes and configurations using a variety of programming languages, while most tools require the use of a specific language or syntax.
This makes Pulumi especially attractive for IT staff who are very experienced coders and want to manage processes using a programming language they know rather than learning a new one.
Puppet
Like Ansible and Chef, Puppet can automate a variety of IT processes. It's also open source. However, Puppet is distinguished by its heavy focus on a declarative approach to configuration management. This means Puppet users describe how they want a system to behave, and Puppet then attempts to enforce the desired configuration manually.
For this reason, Puppet is often viewed as being more scalable than IT process automation tools that adopt a more imperative strategy.
BPA platforms for IT process automation
IT teams that don't want to manage processes using code can use general-purpose BPA software instead. This category might also be attractive to teams seeking process automation products that can address use cases extending beyond those supported by the dedicated IT automation tools described above, which mainly target configuration and infrastructure management needs.
The numerous BPA offerings on the market vary widely in their ability to automate IT processes. The alphabetically listed offerings below provide substantial IT process automation capabilities and support other types of use cases.
ClickUp
While primarily a project management platform, ClickUp also offers workflow automation capabilities that can support some soft IT processes, such as assigning ownership for tasks and reporting on the status of software delivery processes. It's particularly notable for its extensive use of templates to help build automations quickly.
A downside is that ClickUp can't automate highly complex IT processes like software installations -- although that's true of most general-purpose BPA products.
Kissflow
Kissflow is essentially a no-code development platform designed to help business users create software applications. These applications can automate some types of IT processes, including tracking IT assets such as PCs and networking equipment and assigning tickets for help desk teams.
Kissflow is notable for its ease of use and broad range of integrations to help move data between other types of business systems, such as HR and finance platforms. However, Kissflow might not be flexible enough to implement highly customized workflows for advanced users.
ProcessMaker
ProcessMaker is designed for BPA and business process management. It offers a no-code approach where users structure and automate tasks through a drag-and-drop interface. Like most other BPA offerings, ProcessMaker can support the automation of common IT tasks such as reporting and ticket management. An open source version is also available.
Some users complain that ProcessMaker's interface is more complex than similar BPA platforms and that automating processes involving numerous discrete steps can be challenging.
Zapier
Introduced in 2011, Zapier is one of the longest-established BPA offerings in use today. It can automate IT workflows in areas such as ticketing, incident management and user provisioning. Its popularity and long history translate into a large selection of integrations.
A common complaint about Zapier is that it lacks mobile support, but that's unlikely to be a drawback for IT teams accustomed to working from traditional workstations. Some users also cite Zapier's costs, although exact costs and pricing vary depending on how the platform is used.
Choosing the right process automation platform
Selecting the best process automation tool boils down to the following factors:
- IT processes to be automated. As noted earlier, many general-purpose BPA products can only automate basic IT workflows, such as ticketing and reporting. But dedicated IT process automation platforms can go further.
- IT process complexity. Automating highly complex processes that involve many steps, variables and conditionals requires a more feature-rich platform.
- User skill level. IT staff with limited technical skills will benefit from platforms that offer a code-free approach to automation. Those who are comfortable working with code might find more value in code-based workflow management, which is easier to scale.
- Integrations. In many cases, building IT automations requires integrating with external systems, such as an HR database that stores employee information or a sales database with customer identities. It's important to check which integrations a process automation offering supports to ensure it can connect to your business systems.
- Cost. Pricing models for automation platforms vary. Open source platforms typically cost nothing to use, although there might be costs associated with hosting. Charges for paid offerings can vary depending on factors such as how many people use them, how many tasks they automate and how often they are accessed.
Chris Tozzi is a freelance writer, research adviser and professor of IT and society. He has previously worked as a journalist and Linux systems administrator.
