Freedom251 › Runbook Automation Software
Azure Automation
by Microsoft
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Process automation — job run time | 500 minutes per month included | On request |
| Process automation — watchers | 744 hours included per month · 744 hours per month included | Free |
| Configuration management — Azure node | Configuration pull service · Change tracking | On request |
| Configuration management — non-Azure node | 5 nodes per month included | On request |
| Update management | Free service; Log Analytics storage billed separately · Any node · visibility and update deployment | Free |
| Process automation job runtime | $-/minute after 500 free minutes · 500 free job-run minutes per subscription/month · runbook jobs and watchers | On request |
| Configuration management non-Azure node | $-/node after 5 free non-Azure nodes · 5 free non-Azure nodes/month · Azure nodes free | On request |
As azure.microsoft.com lists them, read 22 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Facts from Microsoft's own pages
- API extensibility
- Automation can connect to any online service exposing an API and can be extended with imported PowerShell modules or custom C# and Windows PowerShell code. · azure.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Microsoft Entra managed identities are the recommended default authentication method for runbooks and avoid provisioning or rotating secrets. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Company founding
- Microsoft's 2025 annual report says the company was founded in 1975. · microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters and size
- LinkedIn lists Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, a public-company status and more than 10,001 employees; it states approximately 228,000 employees worldwide. · linkedin.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- Crunchbase lists the legal name as Microsoft Corporation. · crunchbase.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Concurrency limit
- An Automation account permits up to 50 concurrent jobs for enterprise or CSP subscriptions, with lower defaults for other subscription types. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Configuration management
- Users can author PowerShell configurations, import scripts and generate node configurations for physical or virtual machines. · azure.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- Microsoft Learn provides overview, runbook authoring, runtime, authentication, hybrid-worker, limits, networking and REST API documentation. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Graphical runbook limitation
- Graphical runbooks can only be created or edited in the Azure portal and cannot run on Linux Hybrid Runbook Workers. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Hybrid execution
- Extension-based Hybrid Runbook Workers execute jobs on Windows or Linux Azure, on-premises or Arc-enabled machines. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Hybrid worker scale limit
- An Automation account supports up to 4,000 system Hybrid Runbook Workers and 4,000 user Hybrid Runbook Workers by default. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: connectivity and support
- Trustpilot reviewers of Azure report connectivity problems, expensive service and poor customer support; the reviews cover Azure broadly rather than Automation alone. · trustpilot.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: cost clarity and complexity
- TrustRadius reviewers request clearer cost estimates and describe the many settings and menu levels as daunting for newcomers. · trustradius.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: deployment and integrations
- PeerSpot reviewers report that deployment can be challenging, third-party integrations may lack a suitable API and the interface could be improved. · peerspot.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: documentation and imports
- A G2 reviewer reported trouble importing files and difficulty finding documentation for resolving the problem. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Notable retirement
- Microsoft retired agent-based User Hybrid Runbook Workers on 31 August 2024 and stopped their jobs from 1 April 2025, directing customers to extension-based workers. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- PowerShell SDK
- Azure PowerShell exposes Start-AzAutomationRunbook and related cmdlets for starting jobs and retrieving job output. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: ease and cost
- G2 reviewers repeatedly describe Azure Automation as easy to use, cost-efficient and well integrated with Microsoft tools. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: scheduling
- TrustRadius reviewers praise scheduled Microsoft 365 and Azure tasks, scheduled PowerShell scripting and periodic maintenance. · trustradius.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: security and integration
- Gartner reviewers highlight enterprise security, operational reliability, Azure-native integration and managed identities. · gartner.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Private Link limitation
- Cloud jobs cannot directly access Azure resources protected by private endpoints; Microsoft recommends using a Hybrid Runbook Worker for that case. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Private networking
- Automation accounts can deny public network access and allow connections only through private endpoints. · learn.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Process automation
- The service executes serverless runbooks and watchers to orchestrate repeatable operational work. · azure.microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Rating on G2
- 4.4 out of 5 from 66 reviews · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
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