<s>
Information	B-Application
technology	I-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
is	O
defined	O
broadly	O
as	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
components	O
that	O
are	O
the	O
foundation	O
of	O
an	O
IT	O
service	O
;	O
typically	O
physical	O
components	O
(	O
computer	B-Architecture
and	O
networking	B-Device
hardware	I-Device
and	O
facilities	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
various	O
software	O
and	O
network	B-Architecture
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
ITIL	O
Foundation	O
Course	O
Glossary	O
,	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
termed	O
as	O
“	O
All	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
software	O
,	O
networks	O
,	O
facilities	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
that	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
develop	O
,	O
test	O
,	O
deliver	O
,	O
monitor	O
,	O
control	O
or	O
support	O
IT	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
,	O
the	O
above	O
technological	O
components	O
contribute	O
to	O
and	O
drive	O
business	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Leaders	O
and	O
managers	O
within	O
the	O
IT	O
field	O
are	O
responsible	O
for	O
ensuring	O
that	O
both	O
the	O
physical	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
software	O
networks	O
and	O
resources	O
are	O
working	O
optimally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
can	O
be	O
looked	O
at	O
as	O
the	O
foundation	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
technology	O
systems	O
,	O
thereby	O
playing	O
an	O
integral	O
part	O
in	O
driving	O
its	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
organizations	O
who	O
rely	O
on	O
technology	O
to	O
do	O
their	O
business	O
can	O
benefit	O
from	O
having	O
a	O
robust	O
,	O
interconnected	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
current	O
speed	O
that	O
technology	O
changes	O
and	O
the	O
competitive	O
nature	O
of	O
businesses	O
,	O
IT	O
leaders	O
have	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
their	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
is	O
designed	O
such	O
that	O
changes	O
can	O
be	O
made	O
quickly	O
and	O
without	O
impacting	O
the	O
business	O
continuity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
traditionally	O
companies	O
used	O
to	O
typically	O
rely	O
on	O
physical	O
data	O
centers	O
or	O
colocation	O
facilities	O
to	O
support	O
their	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
,	O
cloud	O
hosting	O
has	O
become	O
more	O
popular	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
easier	O
to	O
manage	O
and	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
can	O
be	O
managed	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
itself	O
or	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
outsourced	O
to	O
another	O
company	O
that	O
has	O
consulting	O
expertise	O
to	O
develop	O
robust	O
infrastructures	O
for	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructures	I-Application
have	O
become	O
more	O
complex	O
and	O
therefore	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
harder	O
for	O
managers	O
to	O
oversee	O
the	O
end	O
to	O
end	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
mitigate	O
this	O
issue	O
,	O
strong	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructures	I-Application
require	O
employees	O
with	O
varying	O
skill	O
sets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fields	O
of	O
IT	B-Application
management	I-Application
and	O
IT	O
service	O
management	O
rely	O
on	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
ITIL	O
framework	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
best	O
practices	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
ITIL	O
framework	O
helps	O
address	O
these	O
issues	O
and	O
allows	O
the	O
company	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
cost	O
effective	O
which	O
helps	O
IT	O
managers	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
functioning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
the	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
has	O
been	O
around	O
for	O
over	O
60	O
years	O
,	O
there	O
have	O
been	O
incredible	O
advances	O
in	O
technology	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
15	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
components	O
of	O
an	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
are	O
the	O
physical	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
storage	O
,	O
any	O
kind	O
of	O
routers/switches	O
and	O
the	O
building	O
itself	O
but	O
also	O
networks	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
these	O
components	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
“	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
Security	O
”	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Security	O
keeps	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
and	O
its	O
devices	O
safe	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
maintain	O
the	O
integrity	O
within	O
the	O
overall	O
infrastructure	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
three	O
layers	O
are	O
directly	O
involved	O
with	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
physical	O
layer	O
serves	O
as	O
the	O
fundamental	O
layer	O
for	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
and	O
third	O
layers	O
(	O
Data	O
Link	O
and	O
Network	B-Architecture
)	O
,	O
are	O
essential	O
for	O
communication	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
hardware	B-Architecture
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
can	O
be	O
achieved	O
through	O
a	O
traditional	O
,	O
cloud	O
or	O
hyper	O
converged	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
functioning	O
parts	O
that	O
go	O
into	O
the	O
health	O
of	O
an	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
key	O
technical	O
abilities	O
such	O
as	O
cloud	O
,	O
network	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
data	O
administration	O
skills	O
and	O
soft	O
abilities	O
such	O
as	O
collaboration	O
and	O
communication	O
skills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
data	O
storage	O
and	O
management	O
becomes	O
more	O
digitized	O
,	O
IT	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
is	O
moving	O
towards	O
the	O
cloud	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Infrastructure-as-a-service	B-General_Concept
(	O
IaaS	B-General_Concept
)	O
provides	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
host	O
on	O
a	O
server	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
cloud	O
computing	O
.	O
</s>
