IT Infrastructure Management

Infrastructure management is the management of both technical and operational components—including hardware, software, policies, processes, data, facilities and equipment—for business effectiveness. It may be divided into systems management, network management and storage management. Enterprises use IT infrastructure management to: reduce duplication of effort; ensure compliance to IT standards and regulations; improve information flow; support flexibility in changing business markets; promote IT interoperability; maintain effective change management; and reduce overall IT costs.

In the context of an IT organization, infrastructure refers to the hardware, software and other systems that are necessary for delivering IT services in accordance with service-level agreements (SLAs). IT infrastructure management includes the management of IT policies and processes, along with the equipment, data, human resources and external contacts, such as vendors or security organizations, needed to ensure that IT operations run smoothly and efficiently.