What is VMware Aria Automation?

In today's fast-paced IT world, manually provisioning servers, networking, and systems for every request is a thing of the past. What if you could automate all of that with a magic wand? Meet VMware Aria Automation (formerly vRealize Automation).


What Is It?

VMware Aria Automation is a self-service IT automation platform for provisioning, managing, and updating infrastructure, applications, and services across multi-cloud environments. It enables both developers and Ops teams to automate with control, applying Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) principles for consistent, versioned, and manageable infrastructures.


What Can You Do With It?

  • Automated resource provisioning (compute, network, storage)

  • Infrastructure-as-Code—declarative infrastructure definitions

  • Self-service portals for multi-cloud environments

  • Integrated approval workflows and policy enforcement

  • Seamless CI/CD and DevOps pipeline integration

  • Reusable blueprints & application templates

  • Workflow automation via vRealize Orchestrator

  • On-demand and scheduled provisioning

  • REST API & webhook extensibility


Who Uses It?

  • IT admins & system engineers

  • DevOps and platform engineers

  • Application developers

  • Cloud architects

  • QA and test teams

  • Security and compliance specialists


Where It’s Used

  • Enterprise data centers for resource provisioning

  • Hybrid and multi-cloud environments

  • Rapid development & test environment setups

  • IT-as-a-Service platforms

  • Automated environment rollout in CI/CD pipelines

  • Regulated industries needing standardized provisioning (finance, healthcare, government)


Real-World Examples

  • E-commerce platform: Previously took 2 days to provision test environments. With Aria Automation, developers click a button and have a ready environment in 15 minutes.

  • Software vendor: Automatically provides isolated demo environments for new clients using pre-built blueprints—no manual effort required.


Competitors

  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

  • HashiCorp Terraform (IaC)

  • ServiceNow ITSM + Workflows

  • AWS CloudFormation / Azure ARM Templates

  • BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

  • Google Cloud Deployment Manager


✅ Pros & ❌ Cons

AdvantagesDisadvantages
✔️ Seamless VMware integration❌ Initial setup can be complex
✔️ End-to-end self‑service delivery❌ May require learning and training
✔️ Role- and policy-based access control❌ Full potential needs vRealize Suite licensing
✔️ Supports GUI and code-based definitions❌ GUI-only users face a learning curve
✔️ Reusable blueprints and approval workflows


FAQ

  • Can I learn it from scratch?
    Yes—start with the Install/Configure & Manage training.

  • Are advanced workflows possible?
    Absolutely—Advanced Topics training dives deep into complex use cases.

  • Can I integrate with Orchestrator workflows?
    Yes, via the Orchestration and Extensibility training.

  • Does it support other clouds?
    Yes—AWS, Azure, and GCP are fully supported.

  • Is it compatible with Terraform?
    Yes—Aria Automation integrates with Terraform for IaC support.

  • Can I build custom forms for end users?
    Indeed—you can design input forms tailored to clients.

  • How about cost control?
    Dashboards show resource usage and costs to keep you in check.


Recommended Trainings


Final Words

VMware Aria Automation doesn’t just speed up your workflows—it empowers you with intelligence. Tedious manual tasks become just a click away. Take control of your automation journey and free up your time for strategic work. Whether you prefer writing code or using a visual interface, Aria has a way to suit you.

 



Contact us for more detail about our trainings and for all other enquiries!

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