Proper IT management in a contemporary business environment is of utmost importance, on an equal footing even with proper financial management and business acumen. Understanding information technology is therefore essential to all organizations. The IT Management Essentials offers a sound and structured framework for the techniques, methodologies, and activities related to IT management. Modern information technology is more than simply high-tech and gadgetry. In the near future, professional organizations without information technology will be a thing of the past. IT infrastructure will be used to support virtually all activities within any organization: general and financial management, human resources, sales and marketing, production, and, of course, e-business and e-commerce. This book bridges the prevalent IT gap in both commercial and nonprofit organizations. On the one hand, managers need to be able to estimate the opportunities, threats, costs and revenues of information systems and to consider the benefits of a possible adaptation to the latest technologies. On the other, IT specialists are experts in the technological field, but are often less familiar with the strategic and management aspects of business information systems within organizations. The role of the IT professional is currently shifting from that of a technological expert to that of a business analyst, solutions architect and IT services delivery manager. Some of the topics discussed in this book include IT strategy, IT architecture, development methodologies, operational management, IT services' cost calculations, and business-IT alignment.