IT components and IT asset management: hardware, software, inventory and licensing

IT operations rest on many components: servers, storage, network devices such as routers and switches, end-user devices, operating systems, databases, middleware and applications, whether they sit on premises or in the cloud. An auditor does not need to configure them, but must understand what each does and what can go wrong, because risks and controls follow from the technology. A database holds valuable data, middleware passes it between systems, network devices decide who can reach what, and every one of them needs an owner, patches and a place in the inventory.