The goal for any IT infrastructure is to reduce the total cost of operation, while fulfilling the business’ current and future needs. While every organization is different, there are some components that are similar.

Identity Infrastructure
A unified identity infrastructure is important for any sized organization. Single sign-on provides for a seamless end-user experience between applications.

Monitoring
Maintaining the health of servers is critical to the services that IT provides. Continuous monitoring of servers can only be achieved using a dedicated monitoring solution. This helps in proactively addressing issues that might arise, enabling better service to internal customers.

Deployment
Software deployment is another important aspect to provide business with the software they need. Patching operating systems and software is a recurring process. A tool to help with deployment eases the burden of making software available and patches up to date.

Automated Management
Using policies and rules to automate management simplifies IT processes. User provisioning, desktop provisioning, etc. can be automated using policies as a technology. Scripting, though powerful, is mired with complexities in management and maintenance. It should be avoided.

Disaster Recovery
Planning for disasters and implementing a disaster recovery solution for key assets in IT is the first step in providing a reliable service. Recovery processes need to be managed as well.