A perfectly functioning IT is a basic requirement for every company. However, very few people know exactly which components make up IT and what the individual parts are responsible for. 

What is an IT landscape? 

Basically, an IT landscape adapts to the framework conditions of its environment. In a company, this would include the technological development, the performance and the available basic elements of the available IT. 

The IT landscape thus describes the entire area of ​​information technology in connection with the state of development. 

IT landscape: components of an IT infrastructure 

The term can also be defined in relation to the IT infrastructure with technology solutions. The IT infrastructure generally includes everything that has to do with internal company IT. That would be all usable installations from computers including processors and other hardware (e.g. RAM) to software and operating systems to network technology (e.g. switches, routers, hubs). 

This term also includes entire networks and servers, such as the domain controller or the terminal server. The connection between hardware and software (e.g. in a client-server model) is also part of an IT infrastructure. In this context, the environment under which the IT of the IT infrastructure works is an IT landscape. 

It is important for a company that an IT landscape works well and is optimally integrated into business processes. However, IT landscapes must constantly adapt to their environment and develop further. 

For example, new software developments are often pending in addition to new business requirements. In this regard, the networks of the different areas must also be updated. For example, in an internal company network, the intranet must always be up to date so that employees can exchange data and information with each other. 

This also includes the networking of, for example, several computers (clusters) or cloud computing, a kind of "virtual database". 

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing means that resources are not provided by a specific computer but in a digital cloud. This cloud is networked with many computers, which are thereby connected to one another. 

Cloud computing makes it possible to store data in a data center and also to run programs that are installed in this very cloud and not on a local computer. 

A cloud enables a user to access stored data, applications, services and much more from anywhere. This is done via the Internet, where the customer registers with their respective cloud computing provider and can then log in. 

Since all cloud services are available around the clock, you only need an internet connection to be able to use all functions. This also enables an optimization of the exchange of data. 

Help for the IT landscape

In order to ensure a perfectly running IT landscape (regardless of whether it is hardware or software), many companies use IT monitoring, which is there to monitor all areas of IT. 

Software for remote maintenance is also used here, with the help of which system houses can provide technical support without having to be on site at the customer's site by connecting to the customer's systems. 

The Docusnap software is a good helper for IT documentation, i.e. inventory and inventory tracking of all systems in a larger IT landscape. 

The software used in a company and the associated licenses must also be documented and managed to prevent over- or under-licensing. Reasonable software asset management is therefore also crucial for a functioning IT landscape. 

What does software do? 

First of all, “software” is an abstract concept. It is not a material object, but consists of a system of signs and symbols of a metalanguage. Therefore, there is no uniform definition for the term software. 

Many authors like  تقنية المعلومات have tried to come up with a definition, but the descriptions vary depending on the author, even if they are only nuanced. 

In principle, one can say that the software can be divided into two areas. In the system software with the system programs and in the application software with the associated application programs. 

The application programs are understood to mean, for example, the standard and individual software, while the system programs include the operating systems and driver programs. 

The term software therefore refers to all executable programs and functions of an electronically operated device, it is its core, so to speak. 

The software as the counterpart of the hardware 

In principle, these executable programs control hardware. There is a kind of division of labor between the software and the hardware. The software tells what to do and the hardware executes that command. 

To do this, the software uses the meta language already mentioned, which contains exactly the information that hardware can understand and then execute. In order for the hardware to understand this language, the software is programmed in such a way that it can smoothly transmit the digital information to the hardware. 

So everything the computer or other software-controlled hardware does is determined and dictated by the software. This interdependence means that the hardware is no longer operational due to the missing or damaged software. To a certain extent, software is therefore the inevitable counterpart of hardware. 

Administration of an IT infrastructure

The creation of network plans is also helpful for the administration of an IT landscape. So-called topologies can clarify the connections between the individual IT components, which in turn helps to identify weak points, but also points for optimization. 

Load balancing is a method of making an IT landscape efficient and fail-safe. In order to protect their own IT from potential attackers, most companies and private individuals use a firewall that, for example, blocks malware like a kind of wall and thus offers no chance of getting into a computer. There are also several solutions to protect against data loss in your IT, including RAID or NAS offered by Mojawasia.