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Workflows

Workflows turns a cloud optimization recommendation into a controlled action. You can review the opportunity, check that it is safe to run, apply a policy, collect approval, follow the automation run, and verify the final result from one place.

When to use it

  • You want to act on optimization recommendations with clear safety checks.
  • You need policies and approvals before a cloud resource can be changed.
  • You want a complete record of what was requested, approved, run, and verified.

Before you begin

Make sure:

  • The cloud account is connected under Settings > Integrations.
  • Inventory and recommendations are available for the organization.
  • Your role can create policies, review approvals, or run automation as needed.
  • The cloud integration has permission to perform the selected action.

Note

A simulation only checks readiness. It does not change the cloud resource.

Open Workflows

Go to Automation > Workflows.

Tab Purpose
Command Center View workflow health and items needing attention
Opportunities Review recommendations that can enter automation
Policies Define which recommendations and resources can be acted on
Approvals Approve or reject actions that require review
Automation Runs Track queued actions, execution, and verification
Controls Manage organization-wide automation safeguards

Complete an automation workflow

1. Review an opportunity

Open Opportunities and select a recommendation. Confirm the resource, cloud account, region, recommended action, estimated impact, and confidence.

Opportunities are grouped by what you can do next:

Status Meaning
Eligible The recommendation has enough information to continue. Check or run its simulation before automation.
Needs setup A connection, permission, resource check, or fresh simulation is required.
Blocked The item cannot continue. Open it to see the exact reason.

The detail panel shows the readiness checks and the next available action. A high confidence score alone does not mean the item is ready to automate.

2. Run a simulation

Select Run simulation. The simulation checks that:

  • The recommendation and requested action are still valid.
  • The target resource exists in the correct organization and cloud account.
  • The cloud integration is connected and its credentials work.
  • The integration has the required cloud permission.
  • The resource is in a state where the action can run.
  • Required action details and organization controls are available.
Result What to do
Simulation passed Continue to policy matching or approval.
Needs attention Review the warning, correct the setup, and run the simulation again.
Not ready or Blocked The action cannot continue until the displayed reason is resolved.
Simulation required No current result is available. Run a simulation.

Simulation evidence expires because cloud resources and permissions can change. Run it again when the page asks for a fresh result.

3. Create or select a policy

From an opportunity, select Create policy. The recommendation's provider, account, region, service, action, and resource are filled automatically. You can also create a policy from the Policies tab.

Complete the four policy steps:

  1. Basics — name the policy and choose when it should evaluate recommendations.
  2. Scope — select the provider, account, region, service, resource, tags, or perspective.
  3. Guardrails — choose delivery, approval, and notification settings.
  4. Review — inspect the final settings, matched targets, warnings, and rule sources.

Use Save Draft when configuration is incomplete. Use Save & Activate only after validation and the match preview are correct.

An opportunity-based policy targets the selected recommendation and resource. A broader policy can match current and future recommendations within its selected scope.

4. Check the match preview

Before saving, review Match Preview. It shows how many recommendations match, sample targets, exclusions, and why an item did or did not match.

Check that the preview contains only the intended organization, accounts, resource types, and actions. If the scope is too broad, go back and narrow it before activation.

5. Review the policy decision

An active policy evaluates eligible recommendations. A matching result creates a governed decision; it does not immediately change the cloud resource.

  • If the policy is Auto-approved, the decision can move to the execution queue after all safeguards pass.
  • If the policy Needs review, an approval request appears under Approvals.
  • If the recommendation does not match, the result shows the expected and actual values that caused the exclusion.

6. Approve or reject the action

Open Approvals and select the request. Review the resource, requested action, policy, latest simulation, expected impact, and approval history.

  • Select Approve to allow the action to be queued.
  • Select Reject to stop it and record a reason.

Only eligible approvers can decide a request. Repeating the same approval does not create another run.

7. Follow the automation run

Open Automation Runs after approval. Select a run to see its target, action, stage timeline, approval, messages, and final verification.

Run status Meaning
Queued The action is waiting for an execution slot.
Running CloudVerse is performing the approved action.
Completed The action ran and the result was verified.
Skipped No action was needed, for example when the resource was already in the target state.
Blocked A safety or readiness check prevented execution.
Failed Execution started but did not complete successfully. Open the run for the reason.

8. Verify the result

After execution, CloudVerse checks the resource again and records the observed state. A run is shown as completed only when the outcome can be confirmed. The history keeps the recommendation, policy, approval, execution, and verification together for audit and troubleshooting.

Example: stop an idle virtual machine

  1. Open the idle virtual machine under Opportunities.
  2. Confirm the VM, account, region, action, and confidence.
  3. Run the simulation and resolve any displayed issue.
  4. Create and activate a policy for that VM, or use an existing matching policy.
  5. Approve the request if review is required.
  6. Open Automation Runs and follow the action from Queued to Completed.
  7. Open the run and confirm that the VM's final state was verified.

Safety and controls

  • Simulation never changes a cloud resource.
  • Execution requires a current successful simulation, a valid policy decision, required approval, and organization controls.
  • Unsupported actions are not offered for execution.
  • Repeating the same request does not run the cloud action twice.
  • Pausing automation or using the organization control stops new actions without removing history.
  • A blocked or failed result includes the reason; it is never presented as a successful run.

Troubleshooting

Problem What to check
No opportunities appear Clear filters, confirm recommendations exist, and check the selected organization.
An item shows Needs setup Open it and follow the displayed fix for integration, permission, resource evidence, or simulation.
Simulation has expired Run the simulation again to collect current evidence.
Resource cannot be confirmed Refresh inventory and confirm the provider, account, region, and resource ID.
Policy cannot be activated Review validation messages, match preview, scope, action, and required guardrails.
No approval appears Confirm the policy requires review and that you are an eligible approver.
A run is blocked or failed Open the run, correct the exact reported issue, then retry from the appropriate step.

Best practices

  • Start with one non-production resource and an approval-required policy.
  • Keep policy scope narrow until matching and execution results are proven.
  • Read the simulation result instead of relying only on confidence.
  • Review skipped, blocked, and failed runs as well as completed runs.
  • Use Controls to pause new execution during maintenance or investigation.