SOAPs: The Rise of Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms

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Automation technology is ever-evolving. One of the latest developments in the world of enterprise automation is the growing importance of Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms (SOAPs).

This isn’t simply another name for workload automation solutions (WLA solutions). Rather, Gartner® describes a SOAP as a workload automation platform designed for event-driven business models and cloud infrastructure. Infrastructure and operations leaders (I&O leaders) can use these advanced tools to drive customer-focused agility to support their cloud, big data and DevOps initiatives.

The 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SOAPs report states that “by 2027, 90% of organizations currently delivering workload automation will be using service orchestration and automation platforms (SOAPs) to orchestrate workloads and data pipelines in hybrid environments across IT and business domains.”

This type of automation platform provides a mix of workflow orchestration and resource provisioning across an organization’s hybrid digital infrastructure. SOAPs can adapt to cloud-native infrastructure and application architecture, unlike legacy job scheduling and workload automation tools.

These capabilities integrate with DevOps toolchains to provide better agility so businesses can quickly develop IT automation strategies that directly improve customer outcomes and experiences.

The evolution and impact of modern orchestration tools

The 2023 Gartner Market Guide for Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms stated that many of today’s automation tools fail to meet the needs of IT environments that include cloud-native infrastructure and big data workloads.

Since then, some WLA tools have evolved to offer SOAP capabilities to keep up with enterprise demands. Instead of focusing only on core workflows in siloed domains, SOAPs automate workflows that span diverse domains, including cloud-based and big data applications. These include complex IT processes, large volumes of file transfers, orchestration of data pipelines and extract, transform, load (ETL) processes.

Minimizing complexity and increasing speed and agility with a single platform to manage all business processes is far more efficient than relying on a mix of separate tools.

Benefits and use cases of SOAPs

SOAPs enable both IT teams and business users to take advantage of real-time, event-driven orchestration of business services. This capability is increasingly essential for businesses to respond quickly and decisively to customer needs. Event-driven automation runs processes the instant they are needed instead of waiting for a pre-scheduled time.

They also provide self-service automation tools and integrate with other platforms, systems, data centers and more via APIs and built-in connectors.

SOAPs offer:

Increased agility: Respond to shifting business and market demands and customer preferences is essential today. With the breadth of a SOAP, IT teams can rapidly adjust.
Cost savings: A SOAP streamlines operations and reduces the need for manual intervention in mundane tasks and processes such as billing, appointment scheduling and more.
Seamless coordination: Cross-departmental collaboration for critical operations like IT service management and data management are easier and more efficient with a SOAP.
Improved customer experience: SOAPs support both internal, SLA-focused tasks and customer-facing automation, such as real-time order tracking or automated customer service workflows.

The power of SOAPs is clear in a variety of industries and use cases. For example, retailers can use SOAPs to orchestrate inventory management, customer orders or supply chain operations. Those in the finance sector can streamline regulatory compliance, fraud detection and transaction processing. Utility companies can monitor and maintain power grids or water systems, detecting faults and resolving outages quickly.

Access advanced orchestration capabilities with a Gartner SOAP Leader

It’s important to choose the right SOAP solution. We believe this means choosing one that’s been recognized.

Redwood Software is a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for SOAP report. We believe Redwood’s position as a Leader underscores both its first-class execution for today’s customers and strong potential to help organizations mature their process automation and maintain business agility well into the future.

Redwood’s WLA solutions, including RunMyJobs by Redwood, deliver SOAP capabilities for hybrid-cloud, multi-application IT environments and supports event-driven business models. With RunMyJobs’ SaaS delivery, you’ll have the reliability and scalability you need without the maintenance effort and cost.

Find out how RunMyJobs meets the needs of digital businesses now and in the future: Book a demo.

Magic Quadrant is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

Darrell Maronde

Darrell Maronde is the Senior Product Marketing Manager for Redwood’s workload automation solutions. He has more than 15 years of product marketing experience with on-prem and SaaS software, including solutions for IT and operations.

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What are service orchestration and automation platforms?

Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms (SOAPs) are advanced software solutions that coordinate and automate complex workflows across an organization’s IT and business environments. SOAPs enable seamless integration of different systems, applications and processes by orchestrating tasks in a specific sequence and automating repetitive actions.

Using SOAPs, enterprises can manage and monitor processes that span multiple technologies and environments, such as on-premises, cloud and hybrid infrastructure, all from a centralized platform.

SOAPs are built to handle a wide range of automation needs, from simple task automation to more complex workflows that involve various services, dependencies and business rules. They provide visibility into the entire process lifecycle to optimize performance, reduce operational risk and improve scalability.

What is orchestration vs. automation?

While orchestration and automation are closely related and contribute to digital transformation, they are distinct concepts of IT operations.

Automation refers to the process of using software to perform individual tasks or steps without human intervention. For example, running a script to back up files daily or automatically provisioning a virtual machine when needed. Automation eliminates repetitive manual tasks, saving time and reducing human error.

Orchestration involves coordinating and managing multiple automated tasks into a cohesive workflow. It’s the process of arranging individual automated steps to ensure they happen in a specific order or sequence.

For example, in a business workflow, orchestration could involve automating the process of receiving an order, triggering inventory updates and initiating shipping.

What are the main pillars of SOAPs?

The six pillars, or key capabilities of SOAPs are:

Automation: The ability to automate repetitive manual tasks and processes. This includes everything from simple, script-based automation to complex, multi-step processes that span different departments and systems.
Orchestration: SOAPs allow organizations to orchestrate multiple automated tasks and processes so they happen in the correct order, even when dependencies between systems exist. They handle complex workflows that involve cloud services, on-premises infrastructure and third-party tools.
Integration: One of the critical functions of SOAPs is their ability to integrate with a wide range of applications, services and technologies. Whether it’s a legacy system or a cutting-edge cloud service, SOAPs ensure that data and processes flow seamlessly across various environments.
Scalability: SOAPs are built to scale with an organization’s needs. As businesses grow and IT environments become more complex, SOAPs allow for the expansion of automated processes without losing control or visibility. They are designed to handle increasing workloads, user requests and data volumes.
Governance and compliance: SOAPs provide the necessary controls for managing automation within regulatory or policy frameworks. They include features for role-based access control (RBAC), auditing and ensuring compliance with industry regulation such as GDPR and HIPAA.
Visibility and analytics: A strong SOAP offers tools for monitoring, managing and optimizing automation processes. Dashboards, real-time analytics and reporting capabilities give IT leaders visibility into the health and performance of automated workflows, making it easier to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies.

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