IT Infrastructure Management

IT infrastructure provides the connection between all processes and departments of a company, so proper management of this system is key to stable operations and business competitiveness. However, many organizations face problems in this area: from uncontrolled license expenses to equipment failures.

In this article, we will examine the main approaches to IT infrastructure management and explain how modern solutions help transform it from a source of problems into a powerful tool for business development.

What is IT Infrastructure

Key points about IT infrastructure:

1. Definition: The set of hardware, software, networks, and facilities used to develop, test, deliver, monitor, control, and support IT services.
2. Components: Typically includes servers, data centers, networking equipment, software applications, and end-user devices.
3. Purpose: To support business operations, improve efficiency, and enable digital transformation.
4. Importance: Critical for maintaining competitive advantage in today’s digital-first business environment.
5. Challenges: Keeping up with technological advancements, ensuring security, managing costs, and maintaining reliability.
6. Management: Requires strategic planning, regular maintenance, and continuous optimization to align with business goals.
7. Types: Can be on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid, depending on the organization’s needs and resources.
8. Scalability: Should be designed to grow and adapt as the business expands or changes.
9. Integration: Must work cohesively to support various business processes and applications.
10. Security: A crucial aspect of IT infrastructure, involving both physical and cybersecurity measures.

Effective IT infrastructure management is essential for organizations to stay competitive, secure, and efficient in the modern business landscape.

Components of IT Infrastructure Management

IT infrastructure management is a complex process that covers all these components. It’s necessary to ensure their coordinated operation so that the entire system functions efficiently: not leading to unnecessary expenses and work interruptions, allowing departments and units to interact.

When we talk about IT infrastructure management components, we usually can distinguish three main blocks:

1. Software: Systems and applications used in the organization, for example, operating systems, databases.
2. Hardware: Physical devices that support the operation of systems, for example, servers, computers, printers, and other equipment.
3. Network infrastructure: Communications, communication lines that ensure interaction between components.

«It’s important to understand that IT infrastructure is required to ensure the functioning of IT services. All elements of IT infrastructure collectively ensure the smooth operation of the organization’s systems. For example, a service portal, request processing systems, billing systems – all these are objects of IT services that function thanks to IT infrastructure»,

— Evgeniya Asoskova, SimpleOne ITAM Product Owner

Effective management of these components ensures that the IT infrastructure supports business goals, maintains operational efficiency, and provides a competitive edge in the market.

Approaches to IT Infrastructure Management

There are many methodologies in IT infrastructure management, but the three most common approaches each offer their own view on organizing a company’s technological processes. These approaches – functional, service-oriented, and process-oriented – form a comprehensive understanding of how IT management should be organized in a modern organization. The choice of approach affects not only the technical efficiency of the IT department but also the speed of response to changes in business processes, the level of employee and end-user satisfaction.

However, the choice of approach is a strictly individual matter for each company.

Functional Approach
In the functional approach, we manage each infrastructure element separately, and each area has responsible persons: someone from the IT department monitors networks, someone is responsible for hardware, and someone controls software licenses. This model resembles a classic organizational structure with a clear distribution of roles and areas of responsibility, where each specialist is an expert in their narrow field.

The main advantage of this approach is that it’s immediately clear whom to contact in case of a problem. If a server breaks down, you can contact the employee responsible for servers and monitoring their operability. The disadvantage is the potential disunity of specialists: narrow specialization can lead to process slowdowns and a decrease in the overall efficiency of the IT department.

Service Approach
In the service approach, infrastructure is perceived through the prism of services – business is interested not in individual equipment or programs, but in how they together provide the necessary service. The approach is focused on the end-user and result, not on technical details, which means each infrastructure element is evaluated in terms of its contribution to overall productivity and quality of services provided.

When a company uses this approach, an employee doesn’t need to think about what broke down when, for example, email doesn’t work – they simply create a request on the portal, and then the IT department figures out the reasons and solves the problem to resume service provision. Thus, the user can abstract from technical nuances and focus on quickly solving emerging problems without delving into technical details.

Process Approach
The process approach is a bit more complex – in it, infrastructure management is viewed through business processes, and we’re talking not only about technology but also about people involved in the processes. This approach involves a detailed description of the sequence of actions, relationships between participants, and regulation of each step. The process approach allows creating a maximally transparent management system where each employee understands their role and sequence of actions in various scenarios.

Often this approach relies on standards such as ITIL, which describe processes for managing incidents, problems, changes, and so on. Process standardization helps not only optimize the work of the IT department but also reduce the risks of failures, create unified algorithms for responding to non-standard situations, and ensure knowledge continuity within the team.

Issues in IT Infrastructure Management

The main question in IT infrastructure management is: how to choose the optimal way of working? It’s necessary to find a balance – not to spend extra money on support, but at the same time, properly organize resource management. Much depends on the chosen approach: the number of employees to maintain the infrastructure, the distribution of responsibilities between them, the logic of business processes. When IT infrastructure management is not automated, the company begins to face problems:

1. It’s difficult to track software licenses: how can a business avoid penalty sanctions if the company uses more licenses than purchased? How to check if programs with expired licenses are not being used?
2. It’s necessary to ensure uninterrupted operation of equipment – to notice wear or technical problems in equipment in time and prevent service interruptions.
3. Passing audits – inspectors from the vendor or third-party auditors may start checking the company’s assets, so every computer and license must be in order.

In general terms, IT infrastructure management comes down to three things: stability, effectiveness, and reasonable costs. How to make the infrastructure work reliably, cope with all tasks, but not ruin the company? Solving these issues depends on the specifics of the business – what suits one company may not work in another, so it’s important to analyze your processes and select management tools for specific needs.

Nevertheless, the main goal remains unchanged – to create a transparent, manageable, and economically justified IT infrastructure that reliably supports the organization’s business processes. ITSM (Information Technology Service Management) and ITAM (IT Asset Management) class solutions help streamline information technology management, such as SimpleOne products.

How ITSM and ITAM Solutions Automate IT Infrastructure Management?

ITSM and ITAM are two complementary approaches to automating IT infrastructure management. These approaches do not contradict each other but expand the organization’s capabilities in managing IT resources.

ITSM – IT Service Management

ITSM helps set up IT service delivery processes and create a single point of access to the IT department for employees in the company.

With SimpleOne ITSM, you can implement business processes in accordance with ITIL practices, which will allow you to manage:

• service requests – optimizing the processing of typical and complex requests through an intuitive interface and automation;
• incidents: quickly respond to them and analyze causes;
• changes, minimizing risks;
• problems and known errors;
• configurations (CMDB) through centralized storage and visualization of IT infrastructure data;
• monitoring systems for automatic incident creation and equipment control;
• service portfolio according to business goals;
• service level (SLM): define KPIs, track SLAs and report on service quality.

ITAM – IT Asset Management

ITAM traditionally focuses on accounting and control of funds, assets, and legal obligations.

With SimpleOne ITAM, you can:

• keep records of all equipment and software using asset management directories;
• conduct inventory;
• control infrastructure maintenance costs, plan needs and purchases to avoid unnecessary expenses;
• manage contracts and detailed asset documentation;
• manage the lifecycle of assets from registration to disposal.

How ITSM and ITAM Complement Each Other?

Despite their differences, both methodologies pursue similar goals: ensuring maximum efficiency of the company’s IT investments in terms of the organization’s needs and end users.

Data Exchange
Traditionally separated data sets in corporate ITSM and ITAM tools can be combined to obtain better information about the state of IT infrastructure. For example, technical support service data can help verify ownership and usage scenarios of configuration items. The SimpleOne ITSM system uses configuration items that can be linked to asset records in ITAM.

Process Integration
When managing incidents, service requests, or implementing changes in ITSM, the ITAM solution can track: changes in configuration items, asset movement, and situations related to employee dismissal and equipment return.

Improving Management Efficiency
ITSM requires effective financial management, which is impossible without information from ITAM. Two-way communication can be set up between SimpleOne business applications to obtain information about affected assets.

The combination of ITSM and ITAM helps to:

• bring processes to uniformity;
• optimize expenses;
• increase IT infrastructure transparency;
• reduce risks of contractual obligations violation;
• ensure more efficient use of IT resources.

Summary

IT infrastructure management is a complex task that requires a balance between stability, effectiveness, and reasonable costs. The choice of management approach depends on the specifics of the business.

ITSM and ITAM class solutions help automate the management of IT infrastructure and processes. ITSM focuses on setting up IT service delivery processes, while ITAM focuses on accounting and control of asset costs. Together, these tools allow creating a transparent, manageable, and economically justified IT infrastructure for the organization that reliably supports the organization’s business processes.