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Automations beta

Automations allow you to define event-driven rules and take automated actions, such as email alerts. This feature is particularly useful for organizations managing large fleets of devices, offering a more responsive and observable IoT experience.

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Automations are currently in early beta access and available to selected customers. If you'd like to join the beta testing program, contact your emnify Customer Success Manager.

Events log

You can view event logs and customize the table display under the Events log tab of the new Automations section. This helps you to investigate device and SIM activity. You can also customize the table view, giving you full control over how your event data is displayed.

The following information is available:

PropertyDescription
Date and TimeWhen the event occurred, displayed in the MMM D, YYYY h:mm A format (for example, 2 Jul 2025, 4:55 PM).
Event typeName of the event that occurred. This corresponds to the description field in the Event Type object.
IDUnique identifier for the event. Displayed in the expanded view.
DescriptionA brief summary of the event, including any relevant metadata. Content varies by event type.
DeviceName of the affected device, if applicable. Includes a link to the device's detail page.
TagsTags assigned to the device at the time of the event, if applicable.
ICCIDIntegrated circuit card identifier including the final Luhn checksum digit.
Networkname of the mobile network operator (MNO) the device was roaming on, such as Claro or Vodafone. Shown only for network-related events.
CountryThe country where the MNO (listed under Network) was providing service. Shown only for network-related events.
RATRadio access technology (RAT) the device was using, such as 4G or LTE-M. Shown only for network-related events.
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For each event, click anywhere on the table row to open the event details.

Rules

You can add automation Rules based on pre-selected connectivity events. Currently, three events are supported as rule triggers. Rules are built in the emnify Portal, accessible under the Rules tab of the new Automations section.

Device targeting

Targeting allows you to define specific groups of devices to which the rules should apply. Rules can apply to:

  • All devices
  • Devices filtered by Service Policy, Coverage Policy, or Tags

Email alerts

You can configure email notifications to be sent when a rule is triggered.

Rule management

Rules can be:

  • Paused, which immediately stops alert notifications without deleting the rule.
  • Edited, but only the target and notification subscribers can be changed.
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    You cannot change the triggering event once the rule is added.

  • Duplicated, allowing quick setup of similar automations.
  • Deleted, when it's no longer needed.

How automations work

User flow for configuring an automation:

  1. Select Event
    Choose a supported system event to act as the rule's trigger.

  2. Define Target
    Specify targeting conditions (for example, device policies or tags).

  3. Add Actions
    Choose from available actions (currently limited to email notifications). Then, provide the required parameters, such as the email address.

Backend flow:

  • Events are filtered and enriched with parameters.
  • Matching automations are triggered.
  • Actions are executed via a dedicated event bus.
  • The status of each action is updated in the backend.

Email verification workflow

To maintain deliverability and ensure user consent, emnify enforces a verification step for non-registered email recipients:

  • When a new email is added to a rule, emnify checks whether it is verified.
    • Recipients already associated with verified emnify accounts don't require confirmation.
  • If unverified, the recipient is sent a confirmation email with a link to approve notifications.
    • This confirmation is required only once per email address, regardless of how many rules it's added to.
    • Until verified, no notifications are sent to that recipient.

All alert emails come from a dedicated sender: automations-do-not-reply@emnify.com
This separation improves deliverability and keeps transactional emails (such as MFA) unaffected.

Email delivery limits

To ensure reliable delivery and avoid spam filtering by email providers, emnify enforces a global email throttling mechanism:

  • A maximum of 20 emails per day can be sent for each automation rule.
  • If the limit is exceeded, no additional emails are sent for that rule until the next day.
  • The email count resets every day at midnight UTC.
  • Emails with multiple aggregated notifications still count as one email.
  • The system continues to log rule executions, but failed emails are marked in the actions log with:
    • Status: FAILED
    • Reason: Mailing limit reached for automation: ${automationId}
  • This limit applies only to email actions, not to other types of automation actions.

This helps protect your and emnify's sender reputation with email providers.

Key concepts

  • Action: An operation performed when an event matches a rule (for example, send email, reset connectivity)
  • Target: A filter defining which devices a rule applies to
  • Workflow: A structured, multi-step execution path for complex actions. Pre-defined by emnify or custom-defined per customer
  • Workflow attributes: Input parameters required for a workflow to run (for example, ICCID, device tag)
  • Actions log: A record of executed actions for troubleshooting and transparency. Failed email actions that exceed the daily send limit are included here.
  • Automation resource: The stored configuration linking an event trigger, a target, and one or more actions
feature requests

Automations are new to emnify, so feedback and suggestions are very welcome. Please open a ticket on Canny.