Best Practices for IT Infrastructure Management for Enterprises

Introduction

Information Technology (IT) infrastructure supports everything from daily operations to long-term strategic goals. How you manage that infrastructure can determine your enterprise’s success or failure.

This article will explore industry best practices every enterprise needs to stay ahead of the curve.

But before we do, let’s first understand what IT infrastructure is and what it entails.

What is Enterprise IT Infrastructure?

When we talk about IT infrastructure, images of hardware come to mind. But yes, while it does include physical components like servers, data centers, routers, switches, and personal computers, it goes further than that.

On the software side, we’re looking at operating systems, enterprise applications, and middleware that help different software pieces talk to each other.

Network resources include the Internet, intranet, extranet, and telephones—everything that ensures communication.

Then, there are the services, which can be anything from system administration and data storage to security measures, disaster recovery solutions, and cloud services.

Put together, all these elements ensure smooth communication, efficient data management, and reliable application operation.

Without them, businesses would have difficulty maintaining productivity, securing data, and adapting to market changes.

In simple terms, IT infrastructure is more than having the right tools and technologies. It’s about ensuring they all work together seamlessly to support the enterprise’s goals and needs. Done right, it ensures all IT resources are in sync, providing reliable and efficient services crucial for a business’s success and growth.

What is Enterprise IT Infrastructure Management?

All the resources mentioned above need to operate effectively and efficiently. That’s what enterprise IT infrastructure management is all about.

This could include maintaining servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and other components that support the organization’s IT services on a day-to-day basis.

A well-managed IT infrastructure is secure, performs optimally, and has little to no instances of downtime, thereby allowing the enterprise to meet its operational objectives.

How Enterprise IT Infrastructure Differs from Others

IT infrastructure used by individuals and small businesses differs significantly from that used by enterprises.

For one, enterprise IT infrastructure is enormous. It serves a massive user base and supports extensive operations, and therefore requires more robust, scalable, and redundant systems.

Enterprise operations require more complex applications to handle the massive amount of data streaming by the second! With a scale this vast, managing enterprise IT infrastructure needs to be more sophisticated, employ stricter security measures, and more comprehensive policies, and use only specialized personnel.

That is not to say that small businesses’ IT infrastructure should get less attention. No, not at all. There are ways to manage IT infrastructure deployed on a smaller scale without all the hassle, finances, and manpower involved. However, when it comes to enterprise IT infrastructure, the stakes are enormous and must involve more robust approaches, which we’ll discuss in the next section.

6 Best Practices for Enterprise IT Infrastructure Management

Running an efficient and cost-effective IT infrastructure requires doing the following:

1. Adopt A Proactive Monitoring Approach

Being proactive with monitoring will allow you to detect and solve problems before they escalate into even more significant issues. Companies that proactively monitor their IT infrastructure report fewer outages.

But how do you stay ahead of potential IT issues?

Overall, Gartner advises building an IT infrastructure ready for the unknown. However, specific to proactive monitoring, consider adopting tools like Nagios and SolarWinds.

Nagios is one of the most comprehensive IT monitoring tools out there. This open-source tool alerts users of any issues affecting systems, networks, and infrastructure, letting you proactively stay on top of issues.

SolarWinds is excellent for monitoring network performance. Its suite of products allows users to monitor network traffic in real-time and diagnose and troubleshoot network issues quickly. With SolarWinds, you can prevent downtime, ensure your IT teams operate efficiently, and guarantee business continuity.

2. Implement Robust Security Measures

Years ago, cybersecurity was mainly an IT concern. But this is no longer the case. Cyber threats have become more widespread and increasingly sophisticated, so implementing tight security is now a business concern. Statista estimates the cost of cybercrime by 2029 at $15.63 trillion.

So, what can enterprises do?

Invest in firewalls and intrusion detection systems, and audit security regularly.

• Firewalls prevent unauthorized access to your network by blocking out untrusted networks.
• Intrusion detection systems, such as Suricata and Snort, look for suspicious activity in network traffic and alert IT administrators of potential dangers.
• Regular audits ensure that your organization uses only the latest IT security measures. Regularly auditing your IT security also means you can promptly identify and address any vulnerabilities.

It is also essential to educate employees regularly. Employees need to know IT security best practices, such as recognizing a phishing attempt and why strong passwords are essential. In a nutshell, your training should ensure that your whole organization embraces a culture of security awareness.

3. Leverage Cloud Solutions

The cloud has revolutionized how enterprises manage their IT infrastructure. 94% of enterprises use cloud services.

And why not?

Cloud solutions are scalable, flexible, and cost-efficient and are, therefore, perfect for enterprises.

We’re talking:

• Cloud storage services, such as Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage. These solutions are scalable and can grow with the enterprise’s needs.
• Cloud computing platforms, like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, offer a wide range of services, including computing power, databases, and machine learning tools, all accessible over the internet.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, such as Salesforce or Office 365, allow enterprises to use software on a subscription basis without needing local installation and maintenance.

By leveraging these cloud solutions, enterprises can significantly enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve disaster recovery capabilities.

4. Adopt Automation and AI

Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were once futuristic concepts, but they are no longer. They are now an essential component of any modern organization.

Automating can streamline repetitive IT tasks, reduce workload and fatigue, minimize human errors, and free up your IT staff to perform more strategic tasks.

AI can help you crunch through more security data faster and more accurately, predict potential security issues, and provide data-driven insights. With AI, productivity can improve by up to 66%.

Automation tools like Puppet and Ansible are worth considering. These tools automate the deployment and management of IT infrastructure, ensure consistency, and reduce time spent on routine tasks.

AI tools and startups are receiving billions of dollars in investor funding. Still, the best bet for enterprises is probably IBM Watson and Google AI Platform, especially from a scalability point of view. These technologies enable enterprises to operate more efficiently, reduce operational costs, and make better-informed decisions.

5. Regularly Update And Maintain Systems

Updating your system is one of the simplest yet most important ways to keep your IT infrastructure secure. Outdated systems are inefficient and, therefore, vulnerable to attack. On the other hand, updated systems address previous security issues with patches. Most data breaches are actually due to unpatched vulnerabilities.

When you maintain and update your system regularly, you keep it secure and efficient.

• System updates go beyond applying security patches. They also include updating hardware and ensuring your systems comply with the latest security standards.
• Automation is a great way to ensure you always get updates and maintenance schedules.

6. Embrace Hybrid IT Environments

You can house some of your IT infrastructure on your business premises and some of it in the cloud. Companies adopting a hybrid IT environment enjoy more flexibility, better performance, and data redundancy.

Housing critical applications on-premises gives you more control over their security. On the other hand, using the cloud for less critical applications provides more scalability while allowing you to cut costs.

Hybrid setups allow enterprises to optimize resource utilization, enhance disaster recovery capabilities through efficient cyber-resilient strategies, and improve overall agility.

With tools like VMware Cloud on AWS or Microsoft Azure Stack, you can seamlessly integrate a strategy that includes on-premise and cloud solutions to build a practical hybrid IT environment for your business.

Takeaways:

To recap, here are some takeaways from this article:

IT infrastructure management is the cornerstone of a successful enterprise. The most successful and adaptable enterprises use these best practices to manage their IT infrastructure:

• Proactive Monitoring
• Implementing Robust Security Measures
• Leveraging Cloud Solutions
• Embracing Automation and AI
• Regularly Updating Systems
• Opting for Hybrid IT Environments

By applying the best practices mentioned above, your organization can enhance operational efficiency and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving digital environment.