Machine Brain

The Times, They Are A-Changing

Most approaches to AIOps are still in their infancy and are not yet ready for production. On the one hand, this situation seems unlikely to change overnight. On the other hand, the widespread use of AI in the corporate landscape does not automatically translate to job losses – especially not in an industry that is currently struggling with the exact opposite – a massive shortage of skilled workers.

Simple everyday operations tasks will undoubtedly be taken over gradually by cleverly developed AI models. In many places, however, this development will probably only mean that the specialist departments will then be able to re-deploy the staff previously involved in everyday tasks to areas where new features are created, which in turn will help drive companies forward in an innovative way.

Of course, the use of AIOps also requires a certain willingness to change on the part of the staff. In IT, more than in almost any other industry, the principle has always applied that you have to move with the times if you don't want to be removed at some time. AIOps will therefore only be problematic in the long term for admins who do not want to hand over their basic day-to-day operational tasks. Everyone else is likely to find more rewarding activities in the long term, even if these "only" consist of keeping the infrastructure required for AI running.

Conclusions

Even if you find the current hype surrounding artificial intelligence disconcerting, you will ultimately find it difficult to ignore AI completely. At the moment, AIOps might primarily be a fixed idea in the marketing departments of major manufacturers, but it does seem inevitable that machine learning models will change day-to-day operations – in IT companies in particular.

Ready-made proof-of-concept implementations have been around for a long while, and manufacturers such as IBM are already aggressively offering their extensive range of AI tools. Solutions such as Coroot show in a very practical way what is already operationally possible with AI and big data in today's data center. If you put aside your angst for a while and try not to view AI as primarily a threat to your job, you can see opportunities for innovation and cool technology with a massive amount of potential.

The Author

Freelance journalist Martin Gerhard Loschwitz focuses primarily on topics such as OpenStack, Kubernetes, and Chef.