Introducing AI-based script generation: Create powerful IT administrative scripts in seconds

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is booming and reshaping industries, its integration into IT management and security has become indispensable. This transformation is particularly crucial for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT administrators, as AI offers them a set of tools to drive operation efficiency, enhance security posture, improve service quality, optimize resource allocation, reduce costs and achieve business agility in today’s dynamic and competitive IT landscape. In this article, we'll delve into the evolving role of AI in IT management and introduce a new feature developed to enhance IT operations: AI-based script generation.

AI is not just transforming; it's revolutionizing industries, including IT management and security. For MSPs and IT administrators, AI's capability to automate administrative routine tasks and processes, reduce manual effort, foresee potential issues, and provide preemptive alerts, remediations and solutions, is invaluable for freeing up MSP technicians to focus on higher-value activities. It plays a critical role in reducing operational costs and streamlining processes which, in turn, can yield significantly increased profitability.

Moreover, as cybercriminals increasingly leverage AI to orchestrate attacks, it's imperative for IT professionals to employ AI-based tools to maintain a competitive edge. Utilizing AI for proactive system management and security threat detection, analysis and mitigation ensures IT environments are efficient and resilient against sophisticated threats. Thus, embracing AI is not a luxury but a necessity in the ongoing battle against cyberthreats.

Acronis remains at the forefront of technological innovation, continuously integrating advanced AI/ML capabilities into its offerings. Recent enhancements include ML-based system monitoring with smart alerting, ML-based drive health monitoring and AI-generated EDR incident summaries — all designed to elevate the operational efficiency and security posture of MSPs and their clients.

With the release of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud version 24.03, Acronis is set to introduce AI-based script generation, available across all Acronis data centers starting in April 2024. This addition represents a big step forward in the automation of IT operations.

AI-based script generation is a new feature within Cyber Scripting, designed to automate routine IT tasks for Windows and macOS workloads. From managing users, systems and automate software installation to perform remediation steps, standardize configuration across thousands of clients’ workloads, automate security configuration, it reduces the need for manual input and expertise of skilled engineers, minimizes the chances of human error and accelerates the script development process.

This new functionality is powered by OpenAI (GPT4.0 model), facilitating the rapid creation of PowerShell and Bash scripts. This integration enables MSPs and their clients to generate tailored scripts effortlessly using simple prompts. With its user-friendly interface, compatibility with both Windows and macOS, and ability to simplify complex operations, AI-based scripting boosts productivity and security accelerating the script development process by generating initial drafts or routines quickly, enabling engineers to focus on refining, testing and deploying scripts more efficiently.

Leveraging AI-based scripting from Acronis can prove more cost effective than depending exclusively on skilled engineers — especially for routine or repetitive tasks. Automating parts of the scripting process empowers MSPs to optimize resource utilization and lower the labor costs associated with script development.

Furthermore, it can augment the expertise of skilled engineers by offering additional ideas, suggestions or perspectives for script development. It draws on knowledge from a broad range of sources and domains, enabling the generation of scripts for various tasks, technologies and scenarios. This diversity grants MSPs access to a wider array of scripting expertise than might be available from individual engineers.

AI-based scripting shines across three main scenarios:

1. AI-powered script generation: An intuitive interface for users of all technical skill levels to input requirements and receive ready-to-use scripts.
2. Enhancement of preexisting scripts: Augments existing scripts with additional instructions and adding in-line comments for script readability.
3. Seamless integration with Advanced Security + EDR: Facilitates the instant creation of incident remediation scripts via the Advanced Security + EDR interface in response to security threats.

By adopting AI-based scripting, MSPs and their clients gain numerous benefits, including enhanced efficiency, accuracy and a swift response capability to security incidents. This tool significantly reduces the likelihood of error, thereby minimizing system vulnerabilities and downtime.

Try AI-based scripting yourself by following these instructions. If you’re new to Acronis, you can try Cyber Scripting in Advanced Management by starting a free trial.

Happy automation!