Highlights:

  • The Worklets scripts, which operate on Windows clients using Microsoft Corp.’s PowerShell and on macOS and Linux using Bash, function alongside an endpoint-installed agent.
  • Automox provides a secure repository for Worklets, as well as a comprehensive collection of nearly 300 scripts created by IT professionals.

Automox Inc., a cloud-native platform provider for endpoint device management, is enhancing its offering with generative artificial intelligence capabilities. This empowers users to effortlessly create automation scripts using natural language for managing Windows, macOS, and Linux devices.

Automox’s service enables the storage and execution of scripts that handle various systems management tasks. These include application and patch installations/uninstallations, operating system upgrades; system reboots and resets, and enabling/disabling features. The company is tackling the skills shortage, which market researcher Gartner Inc. predicts to be the top challenge for information technology organizations in the coming year.

Worklets are scripts written by Microsoft Corporation. PowerShell for Windows clients and Bash for macOS and Linux clients function with an installed agent on the endpoint. With the improved capabilities of Otto AI, programmers and business end-users can convey their needs in plain English. This results in the automatic generation of corresponding scripts by ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI LLC.

CEO Tim Lucas said, “Customers who may not be comfortable writing their own scripts can simply provide a detailed request of what they want the script to do, then Otto AI will create it for you. It requires a little tailoring, but 80% to 90% of the work is done for you.”

Automox provides a secure repository for Worklets, as well as a comprehensive collection of nearly 300 scripts created by IT professionals. In addition, customers can create or share their scripts within the company’s community.

Product Marketing Manager Peter Pflaster said, “We have a robust team dedicated to building, maintaining and testing plug-and-play automation in PowerShell and Bash. Customers can see all the code that we’ve written. Everything’s commented very nicely.” Automox ensures the maintenance of audit trails and logs for scripts and their outcomes. Moreover, customers can customize scripts according to their policies and the specific configuration of devices within their environment.

The goal of Otto AI is to “eliminate the overhead of that first hour or two of research and writing and let users jump right to the near-finished draft,” Pflaster said.

Automox trained the out-of-the-box version of ChatGPT to align with its internal practices, such as incorporating script comments. However, there was no necessity to train the bot on writing PowerShell or Bash code.

Established in 2015, Automox has secured a total funding of USD 152 million, as stated by Lucas. With approximately 3000 customers, Automox serves many businesses, predominantly catering to small to medium-sized enterprises. However, the customer list also encompasses notable large enterprises. “We’ve got customers running everything from hundreds of thousands of endpoints all the way down to 200,” Lucas said.

According to Lucas, Otto AI is scheduled to be widely accessible later this summer, with an anticipated “small additional cost” associated with it.