IT Monitoring – What Is It and What Benefits Does It Bring?

IT infrastructure is a key component of almost every company’s operations. A stable environment enables the collection, processing, analysis and management of data necessary for proper functioning of business processes. IT monitoring helps maintain continuity of IT services, ensuring secure and failure-free system operation. What exactly is IT infrastructure monitoring and how does it work? See why implementing this solution can benefit your organization!

What Is IT Monitoring and How Does It Work?

IT monitoring involves a set of activities that allow real-time oversight of IT infrastructure to obtain information about its performance. Monitoring services include supervising, analyzing and managing elements of a company’s IT systems. As a result, they increase the availability, performance and security of devices within the infrastructure.

An IT infrastructure monitoring system collects data on the performance of network devices, computers, systems, network services and processes. The solution enables monitoring of applications and servers, as well as RAM usage, component performance and resource consumption levels. Monitoring also includes system logs—records of all events occurring within the IT environment. As part of a comprehensive approach to infrastructure management, it is also worth considering the implementation of a Service Desk module, which centralizes technical support and ticket handling, improving responses to incidents and user issues.

Monitoring services improve the process of locating errors, which can then be eliminated. Collecting information on system performance reduces the number of failures, accelerates problem resolution and optimizes system efficiency.

Types of IT Infrastructure Monitoring

There are two main types of IT infrastructure monitoring: reactive monitoring and proactive monitoring. What distinguishes them?

Reactive monitoring.
As the name suggests, it involves responding to an event once it occurs. In the context of IT infrastructure, the event is an error, and the reaction is identifying the issue, determining its cause and informing selected users or systems.

Proactive monitoring.
Here, the name also suggests its function. Proactivity means taking preventive actions aimed at avoiding issues before they occur. Monitoring services allow tracking trends in monitored systems and reducing the risk of threats or failures.

Why Is It Worth Monitoring IT Security?

Monitoring IT infrastructure has a significant impact on the level of security within a company, protecting systems not only from issues or errors but also from external attempts to interfere with organizational data.

Here are the key benefits of this service:

Fast response to errors.
IT monitoring allows quick detection, localization, identification and resolution of problems, as well as gathering information on potential failures based on collected data. Rapid reaction helps prevent more serious consequences. It is worth noting that such solutions are crucial for meeting the requirements of the NIS2 Directive, which obligates organizations to implement effective mechanisms for detecting and responding to security incidents.

Real-time infrastructure control.
Continuous oversight of infrastructure performance acts as an audit that enables real-time examination of resource usage and helps prevent system overload.

Security.
Constant supervision of IT infrastructure protects the organization from data loss on computers and servers—both due to user errors and external interference attempts. Event tracking ensures a quick response to potential threats.

Easy reporting.
IT monitoring systems allow generating reports based on collected data. Reports help identify failure-prone areas and support the development of strategies for handling issues.

Cost optimization.
Improved performance and availability of IT infrastructure reduce costs associated with system downtime or errors requiring additional intervention.

Implementing changes in the infrastructure.
The system is particularly useful when planning IT infrastructure expansion. Analysis of collected data reveals current load levels and resource consumption, which is essential when making decisions about changes to the environment.

IT Monitoring Service — How to Choose the Right One?

When selecting an IT monitoring service, the choice should primarily depend on the needs and capabilities of the environment in which the tool will operate. The system must be aligned with the requirements of the specific industry. It is also worth considering the provider’s reputation.

At OXARI, we developed CMDB—a modern solution that supports tracking and managing components essential to IT infrastructure from a business perspective. What is CMDB? It is a central database storing information about components such as computers, servers, routers and software. The database contains data on component attributes and relationships between them, enabling infrastructure monitoring, information retrieval and data analysis. IT monitoring supported by CMDB allows organizations to further enhance infrastructure and operational management.