What is IT infrastructure?
Information technology infrastructure refers to the combined components needed for the operation and management of enterprise IT services and IT environments. Implementing a stable IT infrastructure and working with a reliable Managed Service Provider (MSP) Protects your business and Empowers you to succeed.
Why is IT infrastructure important?
Technology powers nearly every aspect of today’s businesses, from an individual employee’s work to companywide operations. When properly networked, technology can be optimised to improve efficiency, create scalability, and increase productivity.
If your infrastructure is flexible, reliable, and secure, it can help an enterprise meet its goals and provide a competitive edge in the market. Alternatively, if it is not properly implemented, businesses can face connectivity, productivity, and security issues, like system disruptions and security breaches.
Evad can build a stable and reliable infrastructure to Protect and Empower your business to reach its goals. Overall, having a properly implemented infrastructure can be a major factor in whether a business is profitable or not.
With a strong foundation, a company can:
– Provide a positive customer experience by allowing uninterrupted access to its website and/or online store.
– Develop and launch solutions to market with speed and without error.
– Collect data in real time to make quick decisions.
– Improve employee productivity and communication.
– Minimise system downtime and increase business performance.
– Protect and Empower your Business
How do the components of infrastructure work?
The components of infrastructure are made up of interdependent elements. The two core groups of components are hardware and software. Hardware uses software like an operating system to work. Likewise, an operating system manages system resources and hardware. Operating systems also connect software applications and physical resources using networking components.
Hardware components can include:
- Desktop computers
- Servers
- Data centres & Hubs
- Routers
- Switches
- Facilities
Software components can include:
- Content management systems (CMS)
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
- Operating systems
- Web servers
Facilities
Facilities or physical plants provide space for networking hardware, servers, and data centres. It also includes the network cabling in office buildings to connect components of an IT infrastructure together.
Network
Switches, routers, hubs, and servers make up networks. Switches are used in local area networks (LANs) to connect network devices such as servers, routers, and others. Devices on various LANs can interact with one another and transfer packets between networks thanks to routers. Hubs serve as a single component by connecting several networking devices.
Server
A server is a fundamental piece of hardware required for a business IT system. In essence, servers are PCs that let numerous users access and share resources.
Server Room/Data Centre
Organisations house multiple servers in rooms called server rooms or data centres. Data centres are the core of most networks.
Types of infrastructure:
The two primary types of infrastructure are traditional and cloud.
Traditional
Traditional IT infrastructure is made up of the usual hardware and software components: facilities, data centres, servers, networking hardware desktop computers and enterprise application software solutions. Typically, this infrastructure setup requires more power, physical space, and funding than other types. It is typically installed on-premises for company-only or private use. This comes with the risk of limited disaster recovery and data backup options.
Cloud
A cloud computing infrastructure is similar to traditional infrastructure. However, end users can access their systems via the internet, with the ability to use computing resources without installing on-premises through virtualisation. Virtualisation connects physical servers maintained by a service provider at any or many geographical locations. Then, it divides and abstracts resources, like storage, so that they are accessible to users almost anywhere. As cloud infrastructure is often public, it’s usually referred to as a public cloud. The cloud option allows for a more secure disaster recovery and data backup solutions, as the data is not stored locally, but in multiple geographically unique locations.
The optimal IT infrastructure
Infrastructure setups vary by business needs and goals, but some goals are universal for every enterprise. The optimal infrastructure provides a business with the following ideals:
- High-performance storage systems store and back up data and include a data recovery system in case of disasters.
- Low-latency networks use enterprise-level infrastructure components to reduce the delay of data flow.
- Secure infrastructures include systems that control information access and data availability. It can also protect a business against breaches and cyberattacks wherever the data resides, maintaining the customers’ trust.
- WANs manage the network by prioritising traffic and giving certain applications bandwidth as needed.
- Virtualisation provides faster server provisioning, increases uptime, improves disaster recovery, and saves energy.
- Zero downtime aims to reduce disruptions to business operations and eliminates system downtime to keep costs down and profits up.
Get in touch to chat with one of our experienced ICT Consultants to learn how Evad can build and manage your IT infrastructure
