IT Infrastructure is the foundation or framework that supports a system or organization. In computing, the IT infrastructure consists of physical and virtual resources that support the flow, storage, processing and analysis of data. Infrastructure may be centralized within the data center, or it may be decentralized and spread across multiple data centers that are controlled either by the enterprise or by a third party, such as a co-location facility or a cloud provider.
Why IT infrastructure is important?
In most companies today, technology empowers almost every aspect of every employee’s work, business operations, products and services. When technology is properly networked, it can be optimized to improve communication, increase efficiency, and increase productivity.
By establishing a flexible, reliable, and secure IT infrastructure, you can help your enterprise achieve its goals and become more competitive in the market. Conversely, connectivity, productivity, and security issues such as system disruptions and breaches can impact business performance if the IT infrastructure is not properly implemented. Having a well-implemented infrastructure is a key factor in ensuring a profitable business.
By building a reliable IT infrastructure, businesses can provide a positive customer user experience by providing uninterrupted access to their websites and online stores. The company will be able to quickly develop and bring to market potential solutions. The company can also collect data in real time to make implement decisions with ease and speed. Nevertheless, within the company itself, improve employee productivity.
How do the components of IT infrastructure work?
An efficient and reliable IT infrastructure consists mainly of two core groups of components: hardware and software. Both components are linked to each other. Hardware uses software that acts like an operating system for the hardware to work. Similarly, the operating system manages system resources and hardware. The operating system also uses network components to connect software applications and physical resources.
Hardware
Hardware components include desktop computers, servers, data centers, hubs, routers, switches, and equipment.
Software
Software components most often consist of content management systems (CMS), customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), operating systems, and web servers.
Network
The network consists of switches, routers, hubs and servers. Switches connect network devices on a local area network (LAN), such as routers, servers, and other switches. Routers allow devices on different LANs to communicate and move data packets between networks. The hub connects multiple network devices to act as a single component.
The server is an important core hardware component required by the IT infrastructure. A server is basically a computer that allows multiple users to access and share resources. Every larger company can have multiple servers in a room called a server room or data center. These data centers are the core of most networks.