Today, most IT teams remotely deploy, support, and manage applications, systems, servers, and network devices that are geographically dispersed and sometimes located all across the world. In most cases, this IT infrastructure is the lifeblood of the organization, enabling all business-critical operations. And it only continues to evolve and grow.
As the pace of technology innovation and adoption continue to accelerate and organizations become increasingly digital, the practice of IT management becomes more critical and more complex at the same time. Organizations need an approach to IT infrastructure management that is as sophisticated as the technologies being managed so they do not put the critical IT systems that run their businesses at risk.
What is IT management?
IT management, sometimes referred to as IT infrastructure management, encompasses all the work that goes into keeping an organization’s IT infrastructure running smoothly and efficiently. Most organizations today have zero tolerance for downtime. That means that their data centers, IT closets, server rooms, test labs, cell towers, and any other location where data is processed must be always on and always available.
As the footprint of this IT infrastructure expands exponentially, IT teams increasingly rely on remote, secure access via the best IT infrastructure management software to monitor and control IT device operations and health, and ultimately keep their organizations operating reliably around the clock.
What does a good IT management solution look like?
There are a number of boxes that any highly effective IT management software system must check. Given the critical nature of the work the IT team does, it is wise to make sure the approach you use can cover all these bases, empowering your IT team to keep pace with escalating digital demands.
1. Centralized out-of-band management capabilities. Remote access to IT devices such as servers, as well as the networking equipment behind those devices, including firewalls, routers, and switches is increasingly important due to both the accelerated growth of edge computing and the trend of remote working. Devices such as keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) switches and serial consoles provide remote access and can even allow IT teams to manage the IT infrastructure when the network is down or doesn’t exist. Using such devices, team members can rapidly troubleshoot issues and restore service quickly, minimizing downtime.
Additionally, IT teams today often require secure remote access to a variety of critical business applications in order to perform their many duties. A centralized IT management platform that provides IT teams with all the types of access they need and one that is based on the industry’s best remote access software for IT support is the key to keeping productivity and morale high. With such a system, IT teams can accomplish everything on their growing lists, no matter where team members and IT infrastructure are located.
2. Granular device access and usage control. Enabling remote access to IT infrastructure creates efficiencies, but it opens the door to security concerns at the same time. This makes it critical to choose IT remote access software that allows for controlling and right-sizing networking system administrator privileges. Ideally, you want a solution with multiple layers of security controls to authenticate users and manage their privileges, including defining access by exact roles and jobs functions. Fortunately, setting granular controls for IT networking devices is now easier than ever, allowing IT teams to provide the right access while keeping networks secure.
3. Ability to manage and monitor heterogenous IT infrastructure. As fleets of IT devices continue to grow and expand, companies need a vendor-neutral platform for managing everything from the servers to the networking equipment, to the rack power distribution units (rPDUs) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. An IT management platform and IT infrastructure monitoring software that accommodates diversity is the best way for IT teams to streamline and centralize management of their end-to-end IT network. This ensures IT teams can keep tabs on the health and condition of all devices, regardless of brand or vendor.
4. Scalability across data centers, edge sites and devices. An organization’s technology requirements will only continue to grow as 5G wireless, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning (ML), and all the technological advancements yet-to-be-discovered continue to proliferate. Any IT management solution you choose today must have the flexibility to easily grow and expand with your business, and support the addition of new facilities, devices, and business applications.
5. A future-ready approach. Beyond the ability to scale across locations and devices, IT management solutions must also afford IT teams the ability to easily innovate and enable security, performance, and functionally enhancements as needed. This means that proprietary IT infrastructure software is likely not the best choice. Such solutions often limit what IT teams can do and force team members to stick with the established program as opposed to evolving as needs change. On the other hand, open-source software based on open standards and APIs not only saves time and money, but it also gives IT teams increased flexibility to work in the ways that make the most sense. Open-source solutions help IT networks keep pace with ever-changing market and technology needs and ensure business continuity for the long-term.
Infrastructure management solutions available from Vertiv
Vertiv offers a wide range of IT remote access software and solutions including a comprehensive IT management platform that combines the best infrastructure monitoring software with remote access IT support.
Vertiv™ Avocent® ADX Ecosystem
This product combines a series of tools to create the fastest and most feature-rich solution for the automation, management, monitoring, and control of all IT devices that power the business. Security is unmatched in this scalable, resilient, and extensible IT management platform. Built upon a secure common architecture, the Avocent® ADX Ecosystem provides the highest performance and agility for your ever-changing IT management needs.
With the Vertiv™ Avocent® and Cybex IT management products and platforms, teams can count on full control of their dispersed network and distributed devices anywhere in the world.