How AI Empowered a Non-Tech IT Team to Automate Mundane Operations
When you think of AI innovation, you often imagine data scientists, coders, and engineers creating complex algorithms. But what happens when a non-technical team decides to take on automation, using AI as their guide, their teacher, and their co-developer?
That’s exactly what happened during the recent Hack-a-Prompt event at Rakuten India, where our IT team took a leap of faith, and ended up creating something that not only simplified our work but also redefined what it means to be “AI-nized.”
The Beginning: A Coding Event with a Twist
When Hack-a-Prompt was announced, a vibe coding event where you create a functional application within just 4 hours, it sounded like a challenge meant for developers and engineers. The theme was simple but powerful, use AI to solve real problems.
For an IT operations team like ours, that was intimidating. We manage infrastructure, support users, handle system updates, patching, and asset management, but coding? That’s not part of our daily routine.
Still, we saw an opportunity. What if AI could help us build something without needing to code from scratch? We could use AI tools to turn our ideas into working applications.
That step towards innovation became the spark behind what would later become PatchManager.
The Problem: A Manual, Multi-Day Task
Every month, our team handles patch compliance reports. This monthly operation is crucial. We ensure that every device in the organization is updated with the latest security patches. Without them, systems can become vulnerable to cyber threats and are known causes for security break-ins.
However, the process we followed was completely manual and time-consuming:
- Downloading patch reports from the server
- Filtering non-compliant systems
- Sorting data by region
- Manually drafting emails for each type of enforcement error-which counts to 14 individual templates!
The process took 2–3 full working days each month. It was repetitive, exhausting, and left plenty of room for human error. Comparing results between months to see improvement or recurring issues was another challenge that required merging multiple sheets with 1000s of data and applying formulas manually.
We knew this was the perfect use case for automation.
The Idea: Build a Centralized Patch Management Platform.Without Coding!
Our idea was simple:
Create a single tool that could automate the entire process, from data upload to reporting, analysis, and sending automated mail, all without writing a single line of code.
Using Replit, an AI-Powered automation tool, we started building what would become PatchManager, a web application that simplifies and automates our monthly patch compliance tracking.
AI became our coding partner. We used a layered prompting strategy:
First, broad prompts to define structure: what specific windows should show.
Then, specific prompts to fix issues: syncing errors, empty spacing, saving device updates.
Finally, iterative refinements: reorganizing monthly comparisons and repeated offenders under regional compliance.
These prompts were used to:
- Generate backend logic for data processing
- Build an intuitive front-end interface
- Design automation for repetitive mail preparation
- Create data visualizations to compare month-to-month compliance
Finally! we didn’t need to be developers to create an application,AI took care of the complex parts. What mattered most was our understanding of the business problem and workflow.
The Solution: PatchManager
The result was PatchManager, an interactive web-based tool that completely transformed how we work.
So, here’s what it does:
- Automates Data Consolidation: Upload monthly patch reports and the system auto-merges them, filters non-compliant devices, and identifies repeated defaulters.
- Provides Dashboard Insights: Displays detailed visual reports on compliance percentage, regional distribution, and month-over-month progress.
- Automates Communication: Prepares mail drafts automatically for each type of enforcement error, reducing manual preparation and follow-up time.
- Historical Comparison: Allows quick tracking of recurring issues or improvements across different reporting periods.
What used to be manual, repetitive, and took days is now streamlined, accurate, and instant.
AI-nization in Action: Turning Non-Coders into Creators
The true impact of this project goes beyond automation.
We didn’t just use AI; we collaborated with it. AI became our developer, our tester, and our trainer. Every part of PatchManager was built by iteratively prompting, testing, and refining through an AI-assisted coding environment.
For a non-technical team, this was a revelation. We realized that AI isn’t just a tool for developers, it’s an enabler for everyone!
This embodies Rakuten’s AI-nization vision: Integrating AI into every role, department, and process, empowering teams to innovate beyond their traditional boundaries.
Experience: Learning, Unlearning, and Redefining
Participating in Hack-a-Prompt wasn’t just about building a tool,it was about changing our mindset.
We learned that innovation doesn’t always require technical expertise; sometimes, it just requires curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to explore.
AI gave us the confidence to think beyond routine work. It showed us that even in non-technical departments, innovation is possible when you embrace new tools and ideas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, AI is not replacing us,it’s elevating us. It helps teams like ours think differently, act faster, and innovate beyond limitations.
From spending days sorting through Excel sheets to building an automated, intelligent solution,our journey has been about redefining what’s possible when AI becomes part of everyday work.
And that’s exactly what “AI-nization for U” stands for,making the power of AI accessible to everyone. It’s not about AI working for a few, but AI working for you. Whether it’s automating, optimizing, or creating, AI gives every individual the chance to innovate and contribute to Rakuten’s larger vision of a smarter, more connected future.
