The primary components of an IT Infrastructure are the physical systems such as hardware, storage, any kind of routers/switches and the building itself but also networks and software . In addition to these components, there is the need for “IT Infrastructure Security”. Security keeps the network and its devices safe in order to maintain the integrity within the overall infrastructure of the organization.

The IT Infrastructure is integral to the layers of the OSI Model. Without an IT Infrastructure, IT operations would not be possible. Everything from physical devices of the end user to the network in which they work on as well as the data they consume are not possible without the proper infrastructure in place in all the layers of the OSI model.

Specifically, the first three layers are directly involved with IT Infrastructure. The physical layer serves as the fundamental layer for hardware. The second and third layers (Data Link and Network), are essential for communication to and from hardware devices. Without this, networking is not possible. Therefore, in a sense the internet itself would not be possible.

IT Infrastructure Types

Different types of technological tasks may require a tailored approach to the infrastructure. These can be achieved through a traditional, cloud or hyper converged IT Infrastructure.

Skills

There are many functioning parts that go into the health of an IT infrastructure. In order to contribute positively to the organization, employees can acquire abilities to benefit the company. These include key technical abilities such as cloud, network, and data administration skills and soft abilities such collaboration and communication skills. It is vital that employees keep up to date with the latest tools and technologies because of the ability to cloud host which creates the need for certifications. A lot of specialized skill sets often require certifications for career growth and IT Infrastructure integrity.

Future

As data storage and management becomes more digitized, IT Infrastructure is moving towards the cloud. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provides the ability to host on a server and is a platform for cloud computing.

IaaS, PaaS (Platform-as-a-service), SaaS (Software-as-a-service) are all different models of how companies can choose to go with their IT road map. Companies can carry this function out themselves or they can hire a firm that can do this for them via private cloud. Additionally, they can can also go with the public cloud, which would potentially involve either Microsoft’s Azure, Amazon’s AWS, or Google’s Cloud.