ABB has implemented the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform to manage automation across its global operations, aiming to simplify system configuration, application deployment, and workflow orchestration in hybrid IT environments. The adoption of this platform has allowed ABB’s 32 teams to save an average of 57 hours per month since January 2025.
ABB operates in over 100 countries with a decentralized structure, where each business division chooses its own solutions. This led to a complex IT environment involving various automation tools and frameworks. According to ABB, this fragmented approach resulted in duplicated efforts, higher operational costs, and inconsistent security standards.
The centralized automation platform was designed and deployed in less than a year for all business divisions. Managed by ABB’s Group Information Systems team, the platform uses multitenancy features so that different teams can operate independently while sharing automated processes through a central repository.
Currently, more than 75 use cases are live on the platform, with over 150 additional use cases under development. The infrastructure supporting these automations has doubled in size since launch.
Efficiency gains have been reported across several areas. For example, one team recorded cost avoidance savings of CHF 80,000 over three years from a single use case. In China, ABB’s SAP team reduced monthly patching time for more than 100 servers from 6.5 hours to just 20 minutes per server. Disaster recovery workflows such as failover and testing have also been automated.
Integration with ServiceNow has enabled the automation of service desk workflows at ABB. Around 4,000 tickets have been processed automatically so far, reducing handling time by nearly 40,000 hours. Automated password restores now allow employees faster access without manual intervention.
Richard Zobrist, country manager Switzerland at Red Hat said: “The implementation of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform as the central automation platform at ABB demonstrates that even highly complex organizations with globally distributed and fragmented IT infrastructures can consolidate their existing automation processes across all teams and platforms. ABB has already achieved impressive efficiency gains and cost savings with enterprise-wide automation and is well positioned to unlock further potential in the future.”
Grzegorz Tomczak, Global IS Service Owner for Fundamental Infrastructure & Automation at ABB added: “With Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform as the foundation, ABB can scale automation more efficiently. Our 32 teams that use automation report an average of 57 hours saved per month, allowing them to focus on higher-value work. With Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform in place, we can embed resilience by design, reduce the risk of human error, and allow reuse to simplify the provisioning of services across the enterprise.”
ABB is now considering adopting Red Hat OpenShift for further modernization of its application management approach.
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