Automation technologies reside in most IT management software applications, but for the most part they have been relegated to handling the mundane IT tasks.

Breakthroughs (see “Rise of the machines”) in run-book, IT process and data-center automation products show that the technology when coupled with orchestration engines, best-practice processes and business workflows can cut costs, reduce manual labor and improve operational efficiency. The idea is that by integrating new tools with existing management software, today’s automation tools take operational efficiencies to the next level.

“Automation has been promised forever, and this is the 15th time in as many years the industry has been promised all the benefits of automation,” says David Williams, a research vice president at Gartner. “Today, automation vendors are proposing new approaches that can cross IT domains. While there are real hurdles in front of this, it’s the wild West, with no standards and a lot of innovative players.”

Click to see: Automation pie chart

Here we look at 10 companies delivering various automation technologies designed to help IT managers get a step closer toward fully automated IT operations.