Q: What is Azure Automation?
A: Azure Automation is essentially System Center Orchestrator Service Management Automation (SMA) hosted in Azure. It allows the execution of PowerShell workflows directly in the Azure fabric, which is very powerful. PowerShell cmdlets are contained in modules; by default, the Azure module is available within Azure Automation—however, you can also upload additional modules, called runbooks, to make additional cmdlets available to your PowerShell workflows. Runbooks in Azure can be executed manually, or schedules can be defined to automatically run them at your desired times.