Towards a Standard Definition of IT Infrastruture

September 17, 2008 · Filed Under General, IT Estimating  - 0 Comment(s)

In the article “IT Policy: An Essential Element of IT Infrastructure“  the authors correctly state that IT Infrastructure is more than hardware and software but is the services as well. 

“Over the last decade, it has become clear that functional IT infrastructure and systems are composed of more than hardware and software. Budgeting methods that did not adequately account for the full human resources costs to analyze, design, integrate, support, and manage new hardware and software systems mostly underestimated the costs involved. If we accept a more blurred definition of IT infrastructure that incorporates not only the hard IT assets but also the human, process, and organizational elements, then IT policy development clearly deserves a greater level of attention—and on an ongoing basis.”

IT Infrastructure: ”IT infrastructure consists of the equipment, systems, software, and services used in common across an organization, regardless of mission/program/project.  IT Infrastructure also serves as the foundation upon which mission/program/project-specific systems and capabilities are built.” from cio.gov

 

One ITILdefinition  Defines IT Infrastructure in essentially the same way,looking at the delivery of the service as the  product, and the hardware, software, and IT services as the means to that end.   Another source just defines infrastructure as the hardware.

ITIL:    “All of the components (Configuration Items) that are needed to deliver IT Services to customers. The IT Infrastructure consists of more than just hardware and software.”

 

All these definitions clearly provide insight that IT infrastructure is everything needed to deliver the service. 

 

 

 

 

 


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