What is IT Operations: Definitions, Roles and Responsibilities
In today's business world, where reliance on the internet and technology is ever-increasing, the significance of IT operations (ITOps) cannot be overlooked. Organizations seek to ensure the security of their online assets, scalability, and advanced techniques to gain an edge in the competitive market.
ITOps encompass administrative processes, software and hardware support, tech management, infrastructure, and quality assurance, making them an essential part of IT service management. The team responsible for ITOps plays a critical role in ensuring that the final products meet the customers' expectations.
For those seeking more information on the topic, a dedicated article on IT operations is available. Here, our experts will highlight the key aspects of ITOps, including roles and responsibilities, to provide a comprehensive understanding of this critical field.
What are IT Operations: A Brief Overview?
IT operations (ITOps) is an overarching term for the services and processes administered by the information technology department of a business or organization. Different organizations may define IT operations in various ways. But in general, it refers to all processes a company has in place to monitor, manage, and support IT systems.?
Companies choose the elements of IT operations effectively to deliver the best services at the required cost and quality. For example, IT operations in a software development company include all the elements needed to complete all IT functions besides software development and management.?
IT operations specialists ensure that your company's technical infrastructure runs smoothly without disruption. Your business may experience costlier downtime due to troubles that may occur due to human error, network misconfigurations, and security incidents.?Technical glitches and resource under-provisioning can also result in on-premise data center downtime.
An example of the dire consequences of IT system failures can be seen in the case of Ticketmaster. During a highly-anticipated Taylor Swift concert sale, the surge in demand was too much for the company's IT systems to handle. The resulting failure not only caused significant revenue loss from unfulfilled sales requests, but also dealt a heavy blow to the company's reputation.
Another high-profile instance of IT system failure occurred in 2021 with British Airways. When most of the airline's online systems went down for several hours, it resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and severe disruptions to airline operations.
Importance of IT Operations?
Outdated technology and methodologies can hinder your company's business processes and IT services' quality. Robust IT operations can enhance business operations and help you adapt to changing customer needs.
IT operations are influenced significantly by the emergence of edge computing, serverless computing, and artificial intelligence. These IT trends can provide substantial benefits to your operations, including:
IT operations ensure the reliability, availability, and security of your IT infrastructure while preventing costly downtime. By implementing and maintaining efficient IT operations, your organization can meet customer demands and stay competitive in the market.
Understanding the Functions Included in IT Operations Management?
IT operations management (ITOM) is an umbrella term in the administrative sector within a company that usually deals with the infrastructure components and individual applications, such as storage, services, networking, and connectivity requirements. IT operations include external and internal clients' administrative processes and hardware and software support. ITOM encompasses all the functions needed to ensure stability, consistency, and the highest quality in IT services, deployment, and support.?
IT operations specialists are responsible for cultivating a catalog of services when an organization increases its IT infrastructure. The prime objective of ITOps is to ensure that all the services and applications are available for business use with stability.
ITOM professionals accomplish these goals by performing different management services in the following service areas:?
All the functions included in IT operations management aim to scale larger business operations and automate provisioning across virtual servers and databases.?
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What are Some Basic IT Operations Roles and Responsibilities??
The IT operations management process is outlined in the ITIL’s IT Operations Control book for businesses, which states that ITOM is a functional team of people responsible for monitoring and controlling IT services and infrastructure as well as performing the day-to-day operations required to keep services, applications, and hardware components running.?
ITOps roles and responsibilities may vary depending on your industry. For example, smaller ITOps teams have fewer IT operations roles, such as "network engineer" and "system administrator," to monitor IT systems and manage data backup. In contrast, larger organizations have more roles and responsibilities for their IT operations specialists. They need professionals to mitigate disasters, prepare backups, run solutions, maintain and manage IT infrastructure, and evaluate IT services.?
Businesses with bigger IT estates make do with larger ITOps teams to fulfill the following responsibilities:?
To accomplish the objectives of larger organizations, the ITOps team can include the following roles:?
IT Operations Definition by Edvantis?
As a provider of outsourced IT services, Edvantis offers a unique perspective on IT operations services that differs from the standard ITIL definition.
Rather than viewing IT operations services as specific teams or roles, we consider it a holistic process that requires a diverse range of competencies. Our primary objective is to deliver the necessary IT expertise to our clients, empowering them to achieve streamlined and stable operations.
To be more concrete, IT operations management encompasses several key areas, including Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Technical Support, and DevOps, where we are uniquely positioned to provide the greatest value to our clients.
DevOps
In DevOps, our team eliminates downtimes and risks of errors by integrating a series of automated and interactive workflows with the software development cycle.?
Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)?
SRE is the practice of promoting the automation of IT infrastructure operations and management. This practice ensures that your IT infrastructure should work seamlessly under any condition.?
Technical Support?
Technical or IT support includes different functions to resolve the technical issues that users might face with your product. IT support from Edvantis can help detect systems' vulnerabilities, discover the root cause of the problem, and fix it.?
The Bottom Line?
In conclusion, the importance of robust IT operations cannot be overstated in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Any interruptions to your IT services can lead to significant financial and reputational losses. Therefore, implementing best practices like Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and DevOps can help you take your IT infrastructure to the next level and ensure that your company remains competitive and agile in meeting your customers' changing needs.
Want to learn more about IT Operations Services and how IT infrastructure administration and optimization processes can benefit your business? Be sure to check our full article here .