IT Simplified: IT Operations Management

IT operations management (ITOM) refers to the administration of all technology components and application requirements within an organization. ITOM includes the provisioning of IT infrastructure, capacity management, cost-control activities, performance and security management and availability management for all IT infrastructure and assets.

As businesses of all sizes continue to adopt new technologies such as cloud-based computing services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.), virtualization and the Internet of Things (IoT), IT organizations are challenged to adapt their operations management processes and techniques to provide services in an ever-changing environment. As organizations expand their IT infrastructure, IT Operations must overcome key challenges to satisfy the performance, security and cost-control demands of the business.

IT operations management functions include three main aspects of infrastructure management:

• Network Infrastructure Management

Networking infrastructure includes all of the equipment necessary to provide internal and external communications for the business. Setting up remote access networks, regulating communication with external servers via firewalls and maintaining network security are examples of tasks that fall under this category.

• Computer Operations & Help Desk

IT operations management includes the management of help desk services, such as incident response, event response and request fulfilment. IT operations managers are also responsible for scheduling and managing data back-ups, communicating information about incidents and infrastructure outages to users, controlling the creation and provision of user profiles and system access, and implementing a disaster recovery plan for the IT organization.

• Server and Device Management

In addition to administering network infrastructure within the IT organization, IT Operations teams also administer network endpoints such as servers and devices. IT Ops plays a role in the day-to-day management of the servers that host key applications for the business, including maintaining, patching and upgrading servers. IT Ops managers may be responsible for provisioning IT assets to users and ensuring  they have access to the r sources they need to function .