IT automation: 10 service desk processes worth tackling first

IT automation often starts with a long wish list. But not every process is a good first process. A useful starting point combines frequent demand with clear rules, reliable knowledge, reachable systems, and a defined path back to a person.

An anonymized nara analysis of 43,676 ServiceNow incidents for a European manufacturing group shows why prioritization matters: it identified 51 recurring use cases, and the top ten represented 48% of total ticket volume. This is not a universal benchmark, nor does it mean that 48% can automatically be resolved. It does show how real ticket data can concentrate around a relatively small number of recurring patterns.

What makes a good first process

Before automating a case, ask five questions:

• Does it occur often enough? Rare edge cases provide little relief and little learning material.
• Is the target unambiguous? A successful password reset is easier to verify than an open architecture decision.
• Are rules and knowledge dependable? The agent needs clear prerequisites, permitted steps, and stop conditions.
• Can the required systems be reached? A good answer is not enough if the actual action must happen in a directory service, ITSM, or on a device.
• Is the handoff defined? An unclear identity, missing approval, or unexpected result must reach the right person.

The nara AI automation platform connects triage, knowledge, approved tools, ticket documentation, and escalation. The steps that can actually be automated still need to be validated in each organization's stack.

1. Password resets

Password resets are frequent, well bounded, and easy to measure. A controlled flow verifies the user, triggers the reset through an approved tool, confirms the result, and documents the case in the ticket.

The process stops when identity cannot be established reliably, a protected account is involved, or the tool returns an unexpected result. A person then takes over with the context already collected.

2. Ticket and incident status

Many follow-up questions happen because users cannot see the current state. An agent can read the status of a ticket or a known incident and summarize its history in clear language.

This is a useful early candidate because it initially works mostly with read operations. It still needs unambiguous matching, current data, and wording that does not promise a resolution when only a status is available.

3. VPN and network diagnostics

Instead of running several rounds of generic questions, an agent can follow a fixed diagnostic sequence: check network state, inspect services and certificates, and summarize the findings for the user and the ticket.

The Edge Connector lets approved checks run on devices, servers, and inside private networks. Hardware defects, unknown configurations, or security-relevant findings remain cases for the team.

4. Printer and device diagnostics

Printer and device issues were among the recurring patterns in the analyzed ticket history. Standardized checks are good automation candidates: availability, service state, queues, known failure patterns, and clearly defined restarts.

Not every device should be treated the same way. The flow therefore needs to know device type, location, and permitted actions, and it must not improvise when context is missing.

5. Standard software

Requests for approved standard software can follow a catalog-based flow: check eligibility, run installation or configuration through a defined tool, verify the result, and update the ticket.

New, unapproved, or license-restricted software does not belong in the same automated path. The agent can collect the required details and route the decision to the responsible person.

6. SAP access and directory rights

Access requests contain two different jobs: collecting complete information and making an authorization decision. Intake, checking roles and rules, and preparing a decision-ready request can be automated. Approval stays with the accountable people.

After approval, an allowed tool can execute the change. Roles, tool permissions, and logs keep the process traceable.

7. Onboarding new employees

A new joiner triggers several connected steps: accounts, baseline rights, standard software, devices, and open questions. Instead of creating many separate tickets, an agent can turn these into a repeatable case with states, owners, and dependencies.

The agent coordinates approved steps and documents them. HR decisions, elevated access, and exceptions remain with people.

8. Role and location changes

In a mover process, responsibilities, access, devices, or ownership change. Automation is particularly useful for completeness: check old rights, collect new requirements, obtain required approvals, and record every step in the ticket.

A clear policy is essential. An agent should not decide which access a new role needs. It should apply approved role logic and escalate deviations.

9. Offboarding

Offboarding requires both speed and evidence. Locking accounts, removing access, tracking devices and returns, and exposing open items can run as a controlled checklist.

The start of the process and sensitive personnel decisions remain with the responsible people. The agent executes only the approved flow and records what is complete and what is still open.

10. Triage and documented handoff

Not every case will be resolved automatically. Automation can still complete valuable preparation: recognize the issue, user context, and urgency, ask for missing details, find relevant knowledge, and route the case to the right team.

A strong handoff includes the history, diagnosis, completed steps, and open questions. The person does not have to start from zero. The IT service desk automation page shows how nara models this chain from intake to handoff.

How to build a defensible priority order

Score each candidate on more than ticket count:

1. Volume: How often does the pattern occur?
2. Cycle time: How long does a simple case wait?
3. Reassignments: How often does it move between teams?
4. Knowledge coverage: Is there a current, approved guide?
5. System access: Can all required actions be reached through controlled tools?
6. Risk: Which steps require human approval?
7. Success criterion: How do you verify technically and operationally that the case is complete?

The analysis of 43,676 ServiceNow tickets used ticket history to expose recurring patterns and knowledge gaps. It produced a prioritized roadmap, not a blanket automation rate.

Start narrow and measure completion

Choose one tightly scoped process and define its allowed tools, required inputs, stop conditions, approvals, handoff, and ticket documentation. Then measure more than whether an agent produced an answer. What matters is whether the case was completed correctly or handed over with full context.

If you want to identify the best starting points in your own ticket history, you can request a demo and potential analysis. We assess the processes against your stack without promising a generic automation rate.