For example, it can be useful to know that G3ZAY often appears in contests whereas G4ZAY has never done one. It is now easy to send in your entry directly after the contest finishes. By using e-mail, the whole process can be very quick. Curiously, the adjudication still seems to take a long while, a variety of log formats plus some paper logs is certainly a contributing factor. CW lends itself to contest automation in many ways but these packages also support SSB and often RTTY too.
Many packages support a variety of special voice keyers or PC soundcard keyers.
Feedback on how you are doing during the contest is useful. It can boost morale and help you to try harder. At its most basic, packages tell you how many QSOs you are making per hour. Usually they can tell you far more than this. Add to this host of features, control of the radio, packet cluster support, rotator control and the ability to network logging computers and you have a rough idea of what this sort of software can do for you.