IT operations is a separate function within the IT organization, with clear tasks and rights. However, the technical and application management frequently also take over parts of the day-to-day operation and therefore perform an integrated operations function covering multiple teams. There is no central method for the clear separation of tasks between operation and engineering as this is dependent to a significant extent upon the IT infrastructure’s degree of maturity and stability.

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In the business the term “operations management” is used for that part of the organization which controls and monitors the operational day-to-day business. This is also the case within the IT: there is a whole range of activities which relate to all aspects of IT service delivery. These can be ensuring that systems are started up, data is backed up, reports printed or batch jobs executed.

The role of IT operations management consists of performing continuous activities as well as the control and maintenance of the IT infrastructure so the services can be delivered and supported in accordance with the agreed service level agreemen

This role can be summarized as follows:

• On the one side, operations control, in other words the processing of the console management, job scheduling, backup & restore procedures, printout and output management as well as the maintenance work for the various technologies.
• On the other side, this also includes the facility management which relates to the management of the physical IT environment. Typically this includes the data center rooms, recovery sites or network room as well as securing the air-conditioning and a reliable power supply.