Agentic automation: The intelligence layer transforming enterprise orchestration
Agentic automation adds an intelligence layer to enterprise orchestration, enabling AI agents to interpret context, make real-time decisions and keep outcomes on track across hybrid environments. Agents complement Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms (SOAPs) to handle disruptions, optimize workflows and lay the groundwork for closed-loop, policy‑aware automation fabrics.
Contents
Contents
1. Why agentic automation now?
Enterprise automation has always aimed to reduce friction and improve reliability, but modern IT environments change frequently and introduce conditions that are difficult to anticipate during design. Workflows now span hybrid cloud architectures, integrate dozens of SaaS applications and depend on data streams that arrive irregularly or not at all. A single business process may begin in finance, pass through the supply chain and finish inside IT operations, with conditions shifting constantly along the way.
Traditional automation approaches can struggle in these conditions. Rule-based systems execute predefined steps efficiently but can’t adjust when reality diverges from the script. Robotic process automation (RPA) tools navigate user interfaces reliably until a layout changes. Legacy job schedulers trigger batch processes on time but may struggle when upstream dependencies lag or fail entirely.
Agentic automation represents a fundamental shift in how enterprises approach workflow orchestration. Rather than executing fixed sequences, agentic systems deploy autonomous agents that pursue goals, interpret context and adapt their approach based on real-time conditions. These AI agents do not replace existing workload automation and orchestration — they enhance it by adding intelligence that responds to complexity instead of breaking under its weight.
For IT operations leaders managing SAP environments, hybrid infrastructure or cross-platform orchestration, agentic automation offers a path toward resilient, self-correcting workflows that align execution with business intent even when circumstances change.
2. What is agentic automation?
Agentic automation uses goal-oriented AI to manage workflows. Agents interpret objectives, evaluate real-time conditions and determine appropriate next actions to reach defined outcomes.
Consider how a senior IT operator handles a disrupted workflow. They assess what went wrong, check system health, verify data availability and adjust the execution plan accordingly. They might reorder tasks, select available resources or temporarily bypass non-critical steps to maintain business continuity. Agentic automation embeds adaptive reasoning directly into orchestration platforms.
Traditional automation works effectively when processes follow expected inputs and timing. An SAP financial close process executes perfectly when every upstream system delivers data on schedule and every dependency resolves as predicted. But real enterprise environments introduce constant variability, like delayed data feeds, network latency and unexpected system behavior.
Agentic automation acknowledges this reality. Instead of halting when conditions deviate from expectations, agents evaluate alternatives and adjust their approach using machine learning. If a critical data source lags, an agent might proceed with available information, reschedule dependent tasks or trigger parallel processes that can complete independently.
Every agentic system implements a continuous decision cycle:
- Perception through APIs and event streams
- Reasoning using AI models
- Planning that accounts for dependencies
- Execution through orchestration interfaces
- Learning that refines future decision-making
This continuous loop operates within governance frameworks. Agents act autonomously but remain bound by security policies, compliance requirements and human-defined guardrails that ensure transparency and control.
3. How agentic automation works in IT workflows
The practical implementation of agentic automation differs from traditional, rule-based logic. Where conventional systems rely on predefined rules that anticipate specific scenarios, agentic systems employ goal-oriented reasoning that adapts to situations their designers never explicitly programmed.
Event-triggered intelligence vs. static scheduling
Workload automation reliably coordinates complex, cross-system processes using time-based, event-driven and dependency-aware triggers. A 2 AM batch, a file-driven data pipeline or an API event can each initiate robust, governed execution.
In dynamic environments, however, business priorities and conditions may change midstream. Agentic AI-driven automation complements workload automation by interpreting those shifts in real time and adjusting orchestration strategies to maintain outcomes without manual intervention. For example, when a file arrives late, an agent evaluates downstream dependencies, assesses time-to-SLA and determines whether to proceed immediately, wait for additional inputs or trigger compensating processes to streamline recovery.
In SAP environments, this distinction becomes particularly valuable. Production planning workflows depend on intricate chains of jobs spanning multiple modules. A delay in materials management data potentially impacts procurement, manufacturing schedules and customer deliveries. Legacy job schedulers may pause and alert. Agentic systems can reorder independent tasks, adjust resource allocation and coordinate alternative execution paths that maintain business continuity while operating within established orchestration policies.
Continuous learning and integration
Agentic systems learn from resolution patterns. When an agent successfully navigates a disruption, it captures that experience in its decision models using reinforcement learning algorithms. The next time similar conditions arise, the agent recognizes the pattern and applies proven strategies more quickly. For enterprises managing complex automation initiatives across multiple business units, this learning capability scales organizational knowledge.
4. Agentic automation in action
The following scenarios illustrate how agentic automation supports resilient operations across common enterprise contexts. Each example highlights the interplay between goal-based agents and governed orchestration.
SAP job scheduling that adapts to workflow disruptions
Take a financial close process that orchestrates dozens of SAP jobs across finance, controlling and reporting modules. In a conventional approach, a delay in accounts payable (AP) processing might halt the entire chain while teams triage the impact.
With agentic automation, AI agents monitor the workflow continuously. When the AP delay occurs, the agent immediately assesses downstream dependencies, identifies independent jobs that can proceed without AP data, reschedules dependent jobs based on revised completion estimates and adjusts parallel processes. Throughout this adaptation, the agent proactively surfaces updates, providing visibility into the revised execution plan.
Managing hybrid infrastructure jobs
Modern enterprises run workloads across data centers, public clouds and edge locations. Agentic systems excel in hybrid scenarios because they evaluate conditions in real time. When cloud resources experience latency, agents can shift compute-intensive tasks to on-premises systems with available capacity. When compliance requirements restrict certain data to specific geographic locations, agents route workflows accordingly while optimizing overall performance and cost.
Intelligent workload handoffs and file transfers
Enterprise automation increasingly requires coordination between different automation technologies. Agentic automation manages these transitions intelligently. When an RPA bot encounters an interface change, the agent can attempt alternative extraction methods, request human intervention for ambiguous cases or defer the workflow while proceeding with independent tasks.
In managed file transfer (MFT) scenarios, agentic systems respond to business events rather than just technical triggers. When a large customer order arrives, an agent can prioritize related data transfers to ensure rapid order fulfillment. When supply chain disruptions affect specific suppliers, agents can adjust procurement data flows accordingly, maintaining visibility into business impact and SLA adherence.
5. Key benefits at the enterprise level
Investing in agentic automation comes with the potential for measurable improvements across several dimensions that directly affect operational efficiency and business agility.
- Smarter execution paths across unpredictable workflows: Agentic systems handle exceptions as part of normal operation, automatically finding viable paths toward goal completion. This proves particularly valuable in end-to-end processes that span multiple business systems with interdependencies that shift based on data content, business rules and external factors.
- Accelerated responsiveness to business change: Agentic automation adapts through machine learning models that adjust behavior based on outcomes rather than explicit programming. If business priorities change, updating agent goals and constraints often suffices rather than rewriting orchestration logic.
- Expanded coverage across legacy and modern systems: Agentic systems handle ambiguity effectively, extending automation reach into areas that previously required human operators.
- Greater automation across exception-prone processes: Traditional automation handles straightforward cases and escalates exceptions to humans. Agentic automation resolves many exceptions automatically by applying reasoning to incomplete information and making probabilistic decisions within defined confidence thresholds.
- AI strategy execution without developer bottlenecks: The low-code nature of modern agentic automation solutions accelerates deployment, enabling business analysts to configure agent behaviors in visual interfaces rather than writing code, while IT teams retain governance and oversight.
6. The foundation for agentic automation fabrics
Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms (SOAPs) remain the operational foundation for agentic orchestration. They provide governed job scheduling, dependency management, role-based access control (RBAC), audit trails and observability, so every agent action is policy-aligned, traceable and secure. Agents connect to SOAPs through standard APIs, reuse existing integrations and execute within defined guardrails.
Forrester anticipates convergence across previously distinct automation tools into unified automation fabrics, driven by the need to coordinate agents, RPA, MFT and robotics across end-to-end value streams. As organizations standardize with SOAPs for cross-system orchestration, they will unlock new agentic capabilities:
- Closed-loop optimization: Agents will learn from telemetry and business metrics (SLA attainment, cost-to-serve, exception rates), continuously tuning schedules, dependencies and execution paths to meet targets.
- Intent-driven orchestration: Business leaders will specify outcomes (SLA, cost, risk tolerance), and agents may translate intent into executable plans across hybrid ecosystems.
- Pattern-informed refactoring: Agents will surface recurring anti-patterns (e.g., repeated retries, frequent handoff failures), propose workflow redesigns and safely test alternatives in staging.
- Policy-aware multi-agent collaboration: Agents will coordinate across workflows with shared goals, negotiating priorities under enterprise policies (security, data privacy, compliance).
- Self-healing runbooks: Playbooks will evolve into agentic runbooks that diagnose, act and verify — still auditable but increasingly autonomous, within predefined confidence thresholds.
Why preparation matters now
Without a consistent orchestration layer, agentic initiatives may fragment across tools, lose visibility and create risk. Establishing SOAP as the automation fabric enables:
- Standardized event models and dependency graphs that agents can reason over
- Centralized policy engines (access control, data usage, segregation-of-duties) that bound agent autonomy
- Unified telemetry and metrics that feed learning loops and make closed-loop optimization measurable
- Reusable connectors to SAP, MFT, data platforms and cloud services that minimize integration overhead for agents
This future-proof posture lets enterprises scale agentic automation safely, with human-in-the-loop oversight where it matters — and consistent auditability everywhere.
7. Challenges and considerations
Before adopting agentic approaches at scale, consider the operating model, governance and change management you’ll need to support autonomous decision-making. The following areas commonly shape successful implementations.
Managing auditability and visibility
When automation follows explicit rules, auditing is straightforward. Agentic systems make decisions through machine learning models that weigh multiple factors and optimize toward goals. Deploying agentic automation properly means implementing explainability frameworks that document agent reasoning, including the signals agents observed, the alternatives they considered and the confidence levels associated with decisions.
Aligning outcomes with policy and compliance
Effective governance for agentic automation requires clearly defining success criteria, operational boundaries and escalation triggers. Specify not just what agents should achieve but what they must avoid: security violations, compliance breaches, customer impact thresholds and resource consumption limits. Clear policies ensure agent actions align with enterprise standards.
Balancing autonomy with human-in-the-loop oversight
The promise of agentic automation is reduced manual effort, but complete autonomy is not appropriate for all decisions. Agents should escalate when their confidence falls below defined thresholds, when actions would violate unusual constraints or when outcomes could materially affect business operations. That way, automation supports human workers and preserves critical oversight.
Risk areas: Ethical alignment, data access and AI drift
Data governance becomes more critical with agentic automation because agents may access information across multiple systems to inform decisions. Clear policies must define what data agents can use, for what purposes and with what protections. Continuous monitoring helps detect AI drift early, allowing corrective action to prevent significant impact and ensuring ethical alignment.
8. What's next: Agentic AI capabilities in future IT automation
Industry outlooks suggest a shift from flow-first to reasoning-first architectures and a convergence toward unified automation fabrics. As agentic automation advances, platforms are expected to incorporate more sophisticated reasoning capabilities, deeper integration across automation tools and stronger alignment with operational and business metrics.
Potential for closed-loop optimization
Future systems may use aggregated operational data to identify patterns, recommend adjustments and refine execution strategies across workflows. The next evolution will enable continuous improvement across entire IT operations. Agents can analyze patterns across thousands of processes, identify systemic inefficiencies and recommend architectural changes that improve performance, resilience and cost.
How generative AI complements goal-based automation agents
Large language models (LLMs) excel at interpreting unstructured content, generating human-readable communications and synthesizing information from diverse sources. Agentic systems are well-suited for goal-directed execution, multi-step orchestration and adaptive decision-making. Future automation platforms will integrate these AI technologies. The combination of GenAI and agentic workflows will create powerful automation solutions that address complex business needs across diverse use cases.
Agentic systems driving continuous improvement
Orchestration benefits from adaptive infrastructure that evolves continuously. Agents identify optimization opportunities through pattern analysis, propose process improvements based on operational experience and test alternative approaches through controlled experiments. Embracing this partnership will help your organization develop automation fabrics that improve faster than competitors can replicate with manual effort.
9. Build a foundation for AI scalability
Agentic automation fundamentally changes what enterprises can achieve through IT orchestration. The path forward requires balancing autonomy with governance, embracing continuous learning and viewing automation as an evolving capability rather than a fixed implementation.
Find out more about agentic AI and the role of orchestration in future-proofing your enterprise: Visit the AI hub.
