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Definition of IT operations
What is IT operations
IT Operations (ITOps) is a discipline responsible for managing and maintaining a business's tech infrastructure to ensure the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the systems. It involves overseeing daily operations, implementing new technologies (such as cloud computing and software automation), and creating a foundation for sustainable growth. The main goals are to streamline processes, reduce manual labor, and enhance overall IT performance.
Weak or non-compliant ITOps can result in below-average business service quality, negatively impacting customer experience.
ITOps consists of a team managed by an ITOps manager or a cross-functional team with various roles like network engineers and systems engineers.
What are IT operations roles?
ITOps involves a range of roles and responsibilities dedicated to maintaining the seamless operation of tech services. Let's explore the essential functions:
Resource management
- IT managers allocate budgets and manage personnel, choosing between generalists and specialists.
- Service desk data facilitate a clear understanding of resource usage.
Incident handling
- Transform chaotic incidents into managed actions with repeatable results.
- Optimization involves post-mortems and synthesizing workflows based on lessons learned.
Security oversight
- Focus on security with well-documented processes, efficient tools, and collaboration (DevOps).
- Create escalation paths and record workarounds to minimize security breach impacts.
Service desk operations
- IT teams offer services via a service desk, allowing customers to self-serve by creating tickets.
- Clear communication through SLAs and service catalog offerings impacts team structure and resources.
What do IT operations do?
There are 6 categories for ITOps tasks aligned with strategic objectives:
- Run solutions
Perform data backups, restore systems after outages, configure and optimize servers, and allocate IT resources for effective service delivery. - Manage infrastructure
Oversee computing, networking hardware, software applications, hybrid cloud environments, network security, facilities, and hardware components. - Manage configurations
Document hardware configurations, and solution dependencies and implement new configurations for optimal infrastructure performance. - Evolve infrastructure
Act as innovators, identifying change impacts, applying patches, and introducing new hardware/software to enhance service performance. - Mitigate disasters
Plan, simulate, and practice disaster recovery to minimize downtime and revenue loss in case of unexpected issues. - Govern ITOps
Monitor tech infrastructure performance, assess security, develop operational metrics, manage software license compliance, and conduct infrastructure audits to meet security and performance targets.
What are the differences between ITOps, application management, and technical management?
ITOps, application management, and technical management collectively contribute to tech service management, each with its specific role and focus in ensuring the effectiveness and reliability of IT services.
Application management focuses on the technical management of essential applications involving design, testing, deployment, operation, and optimization. Technical management offers strategic technical expertise, assigning leads or analysts to contribute technical knowledge to the tech infrastructure's design, management, and support decision-making.
While technical management provides high-level technical guidance, ITOps focuses on day-to-day operational tasks and maintenance. Unlike application management teams, which concentrate on the technical aspects of application management, ITOps specifically focuses on services and infrastructure, contributing to application monitoring.
Key Takeaways
- ITOps is responsible for managing and maintaining a business's entire IT infrastructure including servers, networks, applications, and cloud environments to ensure efficient and cost-effective operations.
- ITOps encompasses running solutions, managing infrastructure, handling configurations, evolving systems, mitigating disasters, and governing IT operations to align with strategic business objectives.
- ITOps teams handle incident management by transforming chaotic problems into managed actions with repeatable results, while also focusing on preventing future issues through optimization and post-mortems.
- A critical responsibility involves security oversight with well-documented processes, efficient tools, and creating escalation paths to minimize security breach impacts while ensuring regulatory compliance.
- ITOps serves as one of four ITIL framework components (alongside application management, technical management, and service desk) that collectively ensure IT services support business-critical objectives and customer experience.
