But go with me on this. It's important to examine how each layer relates to the others. For example, an organization may have satisfied the need for knowledge and control of its resources. Yet without the internal policies and procedures to fully utilize this knowledge, the IT staff may still feel exhausted at the end of each day, and not perceive how their knowledge and control has any positive effect on their company's core business. Before any IT department attempts to manage its resources, staffers need knowledge of the equipment for which they are responsible.
Systems management faces daily basic questions.
These are typical knowledge-related issues. Then there are control-related issues such as calls to IT support. Help requests arrive from across the organization, and the need to track and control them is fundamental. IT departments should also check for outbreaks of computer viruses, managing the source and proliferation of these through their networks. With the basics covered, it's time to move to the next layer.