2/27/2026 | 11 Minute Read
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Automation has long been the engine of IT efficiency, but orchestration is what transforms that efficiency into outcomes. As we shared at IT Nation Connect™ Global 2025, the future belongs to those who can turn connected data into coordinated action. Cloud and hybrid defined the last decade. AI now separates basic automation from true operational maturity.
Let’s explore the difference between automation and orchestration, how they work together, and how the ConnectWise Platform helps managed service providers (MSPs) and IT teams move beyond basic automation to intelligent, orchestrated IT operations.
Automation, or IT automation, refers to the process of using scripts, workflows, or software to complete repetitive or rule-based tasks without manual intervention. It is what achieves consistent service delivery.
For MSPs and IT teams, automation is critical for scale and operational efficiency. Policies define rules and intent. Automation executes the actions triggered by those policies, whether that action is endpoint remediation, user management, access changes, or service onboarding. Automation handles the execution, doing things faster and more consistently than manual processes. It’s the engine that drives efficiency and enables teams to scale.
Orchestration, or IT orchestration, is the coordinated arrangement, sequencing, and execution of multiple automated actions across systems, tools, or environments to achieve a complete workflow or business outcome. Orchestration allows you to string together automation with workflow logic to cut down the time to results.
In practice, orchestration connects isolated automations into unified processes. It manages dependencies, timing, workflow logic, and communication between systems, such as synchronizing a chain reaction where one automated task triggers one or more additional tasks.
As IT environments grow more complex with hybrid infrastructure, multiple vendors, and distributed workforces, orchestration has become essential for consistency and control. Instead of treating each automation as a standalone process, orchestration ensures that every step supports a shared objective, such as service delivery, compliance, or recovery. It provides several key advantages for MSPs and IT departments:
Although often discussed together, automation and orchestration serve distinct roles within IT operations. Automation focuses on executing specific tasks efficiently, while orchestration connects those automated tasks into coordinated workflows that achieve larger outcomes. Both are critical, but they operate at different layers of complexity and strategic impact.
Aspect |
Automation |
Orchestration |
| Definition | Uses scripts or software tools to execute repetitive or rule-based tasks automatically. | Coordinates and manages multiple automated tasks across systems, tools, or environments to achieve an end-to-end outcome. |
| Scope | Narrow: task-level execution (e.g., patching, rebooting, monitoring). | Broad: process-level coordination and workflows spanning multiple systems and tools. |
| Objective | Increase efficiency, consistency, and accuracy for individual processes. | Improve visibility, scalability, and control across interconnected workflows. |
| Level of Difficulty | Low to moderate: often implemented through scripting or simple workflow tools. | Moderate to high: requires integration between systems, policy mapping, and workflow logic across environments. |
| When to Use | When a task is repetitive, rule-based, and predictable (e.g., applying OS patches, scheduling backups, restarting services). | When multiple automated processes must interact in sequence or across domains (e.g., detect a threat → isolate endpoint → log ticket → notify user → verify resolution). |
| Primary Benefit | Saves time, reduces human error, and increases technician efficiency. | Enables scalability, standardization, and end-to-end control of IT and security operations. |
| Example in MSP Context | Automatically deploy security updates across all client devices. | Detect vulnerability → deploy patch → confirm remediation → close PSA ticket → update compliance report. |
| Outcome | Faster execution of routine tasks. | Streamlined, auditable, and scalable service delivery. |
For most MSPs and IT departments, automation already plays a foundational role, handling patch management, ticketing, monitoring, or data backup with minimal human input. The next step is not abandoning those automations, but combining them under orchestration to create connected, intelligent workflows that scale reliably across clients and systems. The goal is to move from isolated efficiency to coordinated, end-to-end service delivery.
That shift only works when it starts with a clearly defined process. Orchestration does not fix unclear or inconsistent workflows. If teams connect automations without first agreeing on the process, inputs, and desired outcomes, they create broken orchestration that amplifies existing problems. This becomes a garbage-in, garbage-out issue at scale. You define the process first, before defining the outcome. Only then do automation and orchestration deliver consistent, reliable results.
Here are five steps to make that transition effectively:
1. Audit and categorize existing automations
Start by mapping what’s already automated across your environment. Identify:
This audit helps uncover isolation to determine which automations can be orchestrated into multi-step workflows.
Pro tip: Focus first on automation that impact SLAs, compliance, or security. These are ideal candidates for orchestration because their outcomes are measurable and repeatable.
2. Unify tools and data for seamless integration
Automation becomes orchestration when your systems can communicate. That means eliminating tool sprawl and integrating data flows between monitoring, security, and service systems.
Centralizing automation from a unified data layer enables workflows to share triggers, context, and results. This alignment ensures that an action in one tool automatically initiates a related process in another. For example, a patch failure creating a ticket and alerting a technician.
The stronger the integration, the more effectively automation and orchestration can work together to reduce friction and response times.
Pro tip: The ConnectWise Platform provides that unified foundation by integrating solutions into a single data layer. This shared architecture enables orchestrated workflows.
3. Define workflows and dependencies
Once your environment is integrated, map out workflows that blend both concepts. For example, patch deployment, ticket creation, and remediation scripts. Automation executes the tasks. Orchestration ensures those task automations run in the right order, with the right logic and visibility.
This means setting clear rules for:
By linking automations under orchestrated logic, IT teams turn fragmented activities into continuous, measurable workflows that can scale and self-correct.
Example: A security orchestration workflow might detect a suspicious process → isolate the endpoint via MDR → push a cleanup script via RMM → close the incident ticket in PSA → and update the client’s report dashboard.
4. Incorporate AI and conditional logic
Modern orchestration relies heavily on AI and conditional automation to bridge the gap between automation and decision-making.
This approach creates adaptive orchestration that responds dynamically to real-world conditions instead of following static, predefined rules.
5. Monitor, measure, and optimize outcomes
The value of orchestration lies in continuous improvement. Continuously monitor workflows to track key performance metrics such as:
Use this data to refine triggers, improve logic, and expand automation coverage. Over time, your workflows will evolve from basic orchestration to intelligent automation, capable of learning and optimizing based on historical patterns.
The ConnectWise Platform is the unified foundation for automation and orchestration across the IT ecosystem. Built specifically for MSPs and IT departments, it connects core functions such as monitoring, security, ticketing, billing, and reporting into a single, intelligent system that eliminates silos and accelerates service delivery.
Unified workflows, smarter outcomes
The ConnectWise Platform brings ConnectWise solutions into one shared data model. This architecture allows automations to run independently while orchestration connects them end to end. For example, an alert detected in RMM can automatically trigger a remediation script, update the PSA ticket, verify resolution, and log compliance data, no manual handoffs required.
Intelligence built for scale
AI-assisted scripting, workflow automation, and predictive insights within the platform help IT teams:
This intelligent orchestration reduces errors, improves efficiency, and allows teams to scale operations without adding overhead.
Proven in the field
Mangano IT, a leading Australian MSP, used ConnectWise to unify its toolset and streamline service delivery. By consolidating systems on the ConnectWise Platform, the team achieved faster response times and greater visibility across clients, empowering technicians to focus on customer outcomes instead of managing disconnected tools.
Share:
Automation executes specific tasks or processes, such as patching endpoints or restarting a service, without manual intervention. Orchestration, on the other hand, coordinates multiple automated tasks across tools or environments to deliver a complete, end-to-end workflow. Automation focuses on execution, while orchestration focuses on coordination and control.
No. Hyperautomation is a broader strategy that combines automation, orchestration, AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate as many business and IT processes as possible. Orchestration is a core component of hyperautomation, as it connects automated tasks into unified workflows, but hyperautomation adds intelligence, adaptability, and scale.
Orchestration ensures consistency, scalability, and visibility across increasingly complex environments. It allows IT teams to manage thousands of endpoints and workflows without adding headcount, enforces compliance through policy-based automation, and improves response times by sequencing automated tasks intelligently. For MSPs, orchestration is the key to delivering standardized, high-quality service across multiple clients.
AI adds decision-making and predictive capabilities, analyzing alerts, prioritizing actions, and triggering workflows based on risk or context. RPA complements this by executing repetitive actions across systems, such as ticket creation, data synchronization, or user provisioning. Together, AI and RPA transform orchestration from static rule-based automation into intelligent orchestration, a dynamic system that learns and adapts over time.
Use automation when a task is repetitive, rule-based, and isolated, such as applying patches or generating daily reports.
Use orchestration when multiple automated processes must interact, such as detecting a vulnerability, deploying a fix, verifying compliance, and updating service tickets. Most mature IT environments blend both, using automation for execution and orchestration for coordination
AI-driven orchestration and hyperautomation are redefining IT service delivery. Instead of reactive, human-triggered automation, AI systems can predict issues, trigger orchestrated responses, and continuously optimize workflows. For MSPs and IT teams, this means faster resolutions, fewer manual escalations, and a shift from managing tools to managing outcomes.
Absolutely. Orchestration plays a major role in security operations (SecOps) by linking detection, containment, and remediation processes into a single automated workflow. It also helps IT teams enforce consistent security policies and generate compliance documentation automatically, reducing both risk and administrative overhead.
