The initial switching of components will be manual, but advanced analytic technologies are now emerging to enable automated triggering of such switches. Firms will soon be able to define business policies that describe the conditions on which a trigger should occur. The analytic program will then process the policy information, continually watch for a specific condition, and trigger automatically when that condition is met.

Automation tools will accelerate process execution, enforce that execution, and allow for rapid adaptation as business and technological needs change. To prepare for success in an uncertain future, firms must actively engage, train and inspire their employees to be the automator -- not the automated.

Glenn O'Donnell is a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research Serving Infrastructure and Operations professionals. He is the coauthor of The CMDB Imperative.