Authors: Rajeshwari B S, Rizwan D, Shruti Johari, Prasanna S

We're excited to announce Action Orchestrator, a powerful new capability that automates your device management tasks. Instead of manually handling routine tasks across your device fleet, you can now schedule and automate actions to run exactly when and how you need them.

Quick Video Overview of feature: Introducing Action Orchestrator

What makes Action Orchestrator valuable?

Think about those repetitive tasks that eat up your time– system restarts, OS updates and other essential maintenance activities. These typically require manual execution across hundreds or even thousands of devices. Action Orchestrator eliminates this overhead by letting you set up both one-time actions and recurring schedules, tailored to your specific needs.

For instance, you might schedule nightly device restarts to maintain optimal performance or orchestrate OS updates across different device groups based on their compatibility requirements. The beauty lies in the flexibility – you can create multiple orchestration workflows for different device types, operating systems, or organizational groups, ensuring each gets the right treatment at the right time.

Complete visibility and control

Beyond just scheduling actions, Action Orchestrator provides real-time tracking of everything happening across your managed devices. You'll have detailed visibility into which events are running, which devices are affected, and the current status of each action. This comprehensive monitoring means you can spot issues quickly and maintain confidence that your automated processes are working as intended.

The result? Your team spends less time on routine maintenance and more time on strategic initiatives, while your devices stay optimally configured.

Steps to setup Action Orchestrator:

1. From the IBM MaaS360 Admin Portal Homepage, navigate to Actions > Action Orchestrator.
2. From the Action Orchestrator page, you can create new schedule and Edit or View an already created schedule.
3. To schedule an action, click on Create button which opens Create action page. Select the Action you want to schedule, provide an appropriate Name and Description to get started.

Here’s a full list of actions that Action Orchestrator currently supports for scheduling on Device and User groups.

Please go through Scheduling a Device action documentation page for detailed steps for each of the actions supported.

To track and monitor the status of all scheduled actions, go to Actions > Action Log. To check the status of a specific action, click the Action Logs button next to the scheduled action on the Action Orchestrator page.

The Actions dashboard offers a centralized overview of the status of all scheduled actions. You can drill down to see detailed status information for each action at the device level.

Configure Recurrence for Scheduled Actions:
Set the recurrence pattern in the Occurrence field. Actions can be scheduled to run once or on a recurring basis—daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

One-Time Actions
Select 'Once' in the Occurrence field for tasks that need to run just one time. Simply provide the exact date and time—ideal for one-off actions or special events.

Daily Recurrence
Need an action to repeat every day? Select Daily in the Occurrence field. Then, enter the end date until which the action should continue. This is perfect for routine tasks, such as daily reports or reminders that need to run consistently until a specific date.

Weekly Recurrence
For tasks that occur on specific days of the week, choose Weekly in the Occurrence field. Select the days (e.g., Monday and Thursday) when the action should take place. In the Repeats field, define how often the action should repeat (e.g., every week or every other week) and set an end date for the schedule. This option works great for scheduled weekly device restarts.

Monthly Recurrence
To schedule actions on a specific day each month, set the Occurrence field to Monthly. Choose the day of the month (e.g., the 15th) for the action to occur. In the Repeats field, specify the frequency (e.g., every month or every third month) and provide an end date.

Yearly Recurrence
For annual tasks, select Yearly in the Occurrence field. Pick the day of the month and the specific month for the action to take place. In the Repeats field, confirm the frequency (e.g., every year) and set the end date for the schedule.

• View Details: Review the schedule’s configuration, including its recurrence pattern, dates, and frequency, to ensure it aligns with your needs.
• Edit Configuration: Modify the existing schedule’s settings, such as changing the recurrence (e.g., from daily to weekly), updating dates, or adjusting the frequency.
• Pause Schedule: Temporarily halt a schedule without deleting it, allowing you to stop actions while preserving the configuration for later use.
• Resume Schedule: Reactivate a paused schedule to resume automated actions based on the original or updated settings.
• Delete Schedule: Permanently remove a schedule when it’s no longer needed, keeping your task list clean and organized.