IT Information Systems

It is important that IT organizations design and maintain adequate information systems to facilitate the flow of information necessary to achieve their goals. There exist certain guidelines for these information systems within the ITIL body of knowledge.

The overall information database that houses all the others is called the Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS). All the information systems mentioned below as well as any other custom systems are housed within this system. Some of the recommended information systems are:

The Configuration Management System (CMS) which contains the details of the Configuration Items that exist within the organization and their relationships with each other. This system is within the purview of the Configuration Management Process and the Configuration Manager.

The Service Desk System which contains logs of all service requests and customer incidents. This is managed by the Service Desk function and the Service desk manager.

The Capacity Management Information System (CMIS) which contains details of the capacity requirements for the business, service and components. The existing capacity specifications for the systems in place and the Capacity Plan for all the services also exist in the CMIS. This is managed by the Capacity Management process and the Capacity Manager.

The Availability Management Information System (AMIS) which contains details of the availability requirements at both the service and component level. The existing availability specifications and the availability plan for all the services also exist in the AMIS. This system is managed by the Availability Management process and the Availability Manager.

The Security Management Information System (SMIS) which contains the Security Policy for the organization and the various details of the security system in place. This system is managed by the Security Management Process and the Security Manager.

The Supplier and Contracts Database which contains information pertaining to the supplier and contractors of the organization. This system is maintained by the Supplier Management Process and the Supplier Manager.

These are the primary Information Systems that ITIL recommends that It organizations maintain. Of course, there could be other specific to the company systems as well that are beneficial if created and maintained by the organization.

The inter-communication between these systems is also crucial in making the whole communication flow work and must be undertaken by care by the organization. However, if implemented correctly these information systems provide a useful framework for communication and document control within the IT organization.