Information technology management
(or IT management) is a combination of two
branches of study, information technology and
management.
Strictly speaking, there are two incarnations to this
definition. One implies the management of a collection
of systems, infrastructure, and information that resides
on them. Another implies the management of information
technologies as a business function. The first
definition stems from the practice of IT Portfolio
Management and is the subject of technical manuals and
publications of various information technologies
providers; while the second definition stems from the
discussion and formation of the Information Technology
Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
The ITIL has been in practice throughout regions of the
world mainly conducted by IT service providers
consulting companies. The relative paucity in the use of
the best practice set can be attributed to a lack of
awareness among IT practitioners. However the lack of
ready-to-use tools also presents a significant barrier.
Some organizations that value such practices tend to
engage consultants to introduce the practice. Such
implementations can conflict with the home-grown culture
due to a lack of internal buy-in. Other organizations
implement the practices by spending resources to develop
in-house tools.
Most in-house developed tools tend to focus on one or a
few specific areas where the organizations feel the most
pains To reap the full advantages, tools will need to be
integrated with the organization's IT data in the
center.