What Is Systems Management?

You know when you're in the seat of your flight all locked in and ready to go, the flight attendant is explaining to you the exit ways, and suddenly you hear an announcement that breaks your heart. There's a flight delay, and suddenly, you hear that announcement asking you to stay in your seat until the plane has been fully evacuated it is just so annoying when something like this occurs. That's systems management. Systems management is the enterprise-wide management of IT systems and is usually directed by an organization's chief information officer (CIO). It's about ensuring that all of your systems are running smoothly, efficiently, and without fail, and it can be stressful for those in charge. They have to ensure that everything from your company's financial system to its payroll software is working correctly and not causing any issues. They have to keep an eye on things like server uptime, security threats, and data breaches, and they also have to make sure everything stays secure. It's not easy work! There are a lot of tools out there that can help them do their job better than ever before. Systems management encompasses various activities, including monitoring performance, installing updates, installing and configuring new systems, inventory management, capacity planning, vendor management, etc. System management aims to ensure the continuous and reliable operation of enterprise systems while reducing ownership costs. Systems management also provides the foundation for other IT initiatives, such as business transformation and strategic sourcing, by enabling enterprises to optimize their technology assets. You probably have about a dozen systems running in your head at any time. You've got the one that manages your eyes. The one that contains your ears. The one that works your mouth. And so on.