Many SMEs have built an automation at some point. A form that writes data to the CRM, or a workflow that files invoices in a folder. A few months later, a tool changes its interface, the workflow breaks, and the person who built it has left the company. Automation as a Service solves exactly this problem: a provider builds the automations and continues to look after them afterwards. This article explains what's behind it, when the model pays off and what to look for when choosing a provider.

What is Automation as a Service?

Automation as a Service (AaaS) is a service model in which an external provider builds automations for a company and then runs, maintains and extends them on an ongoing basis. The company doesn't need to build up its own expertise or infrastructure. Technically, the workflows usually run on an automation platform such as Make or n8n.

The difference from a classic project is the timeframe. With a project, the collaboration ends at handover. With Automation as a Service, the provider remains responsible for keeping the automations working, even when tools, interfaces or processes change.

The abbreviation AaaS is also used for other models, such as Analytics as a Service. This article is only about process automation.

What an AaaS provider actually takes on

It starts with an analysis. The provider looks at where the company is losing time, for example with manual data entry between systems or coordination by email. The result is a list of processes, sorted by effort and benefit.

The provider then builds the workflows and tests them with real data. Once they're running, these tasks are added:

• Monitoring: failed runs are detected before anyone on the team notices.
• Troubleshooting: if a workflow breaks because an interface has changed, the provider fixes it.
• Adjustments: new fields in the CRM, an additional tool or a changed approval process are built in.
• Extension: new processes are added step by step once the first ones run reliably.
• Documentation: every workflow is described so that third parties can understand what it does.

AaaS, doing it yourself or a one-off project?

There are three common ways to implement automations. Which one fits depends mainly on whether you have someone in-house who can look after the workflows in the long term.

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Doing it yourself works for simple connections, such as a form that sends a message to Slack. As soon as automations become business-critical, for example for invoices, orders or HR data, someone needs to monitor them. If the company has no one for this, Automation as a Service is usually the safer choice.

We show which tool suits which use case in our comparison Workflow automation: the best tools for 2026.

Automation as a Service vs. RPA

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology in which software robots imitate how a person uses an interface: clicking, typing, copying. RPA is mainly used when a system has no interface for integration, such as older desktop applications. Well-known providers include UiPath and Microsoft with the desktop flows in Power Automate.

Automation as a Service, on the other hand, is an operating model, not a technology. An AaaS provider usually works with interfaces (APIs) between cloud tools, because these run more reliably than clicks on a user interface. RPA can be part of an AaaS solution if a legacy system can't be reached any other way.

Examples from practice

For a client in the industrial sector, Blinno built a workflow in Make that automatically syncs orders between MOCO, monday.com and SharePoint. Documents are filed automatically, and the team gets a notification if an error occurs. The client saves 20 hours a month, and the error rate is close to zero.

For a global car manufacturer with more than 150,000 employees, Blinno rolled out n8n across the group. Before the first workflows were built, the foundations were laid: governance, separation of development and production environments, naming conventions and an approval process. Only then were the HR automations created, which internal teams can now continue to develop themselves. Find out more in the car manufacturer case study.

What to look for when choosing a provider

Ask which tools the provider works with and whether they have official partner status. This shows whether they have access to the vendor's training and direct support.

Clarify who owns the workflows. Ideally, they run in an account registered to your company. That way, you can switch provider or take over maintenance in-house at any time without having to rebuild everything.

Check data protection. For Swiss companies, what matters is where the automation platform processes the data and whether a data processing agreement is in place. Make offers an EU region, and n8n can also run on a server in Switzerland.

Ask about the support process: how do you report a problem, and how quickly is it dealt with? And ask to see how the workflows are documented.

Automation services from Blinno

Blinno is a Make Gold Partner, works with n8n and has delivered more than 638 automation and no-code projects since 2017. We offer Automation as a Service in two variants. With Make as a Service, we build and run your scenarios in the cloud and extend them when new systems or processes come along. With n8n as a Service, we handle setup, operation and further development, self-hosted if you wish. Find out more on our process automation page.

For larger projects involving several departments or locations, a Blinno Solution Consultant works directly in your team, on site or remotely. This model is called Forward Deployed Engineering. If you first want to clarify which processes are worth automating and which tools fit your system landscape, start with our no-code consulting & strategy.