How To Perform an IT Infrastructure Audit

 An audit of IT infrastructure​ is a structured review of your systems, networks, and security controls that helps you identify risks, reduce uncertainty, and plan smarter technology improvements.

Key Takeaways

• An IT infrastructure audit reviews your hardware, software, networks, cloud systems, and security tools to find gaps and lower risk.
• The audit should start with your business goals, then move to building an inventory, mapping systems, and checking security controls.
• Having clear documentation and simple action steps helps you fix problems and improve system stability, security, and performance.

A building stays safe because the structure behind the walls is solid. The same idea applies to your technology. Laptops, servers, cloud platforms, Wi-Fi, and security settings form the foundation your business depends on every day. If that foundation has weak spots, the problems usually show up at the worst time.

An IT infrastructure audit gives you a structured way to review that foundation. Instead of reacting to outages or security scares, you step back and evaluate what you have, how it’s configured, and where risk is hiding.

This guide explains how to audit IT infrastructure in a practical way and how to turn your findings into clear next steps.

WHAT IS AN IT INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT?

An audit of your IT infrastructure is a structured review of your core technology environment. It focuses on the systems and processes that keep your business running day to day:

• Hardware: Laptops, servers, firewalls, printers, and network equipment
• Software: Operating systems, business apps, security tools, licenses
• Network resources: Wi-Fi, switches, VPNs, internet connection, DNS
• Cloud resources: Email, file sharing, cloud servers, backups
• Cybersecurity controls: Access settings, patching, monitoring 

The audit also reviews the policies and daily processes that keep your systems secure and consistent. These day-to-day habits often reveal gaps that aren’t obvious at first glance.

An IT infrastructure audit gives you something most organizations lack: a way to reduce uncertainty. Instead of guessing whether your systems can support growth or withstand disruption, you gain documented insight into how your environment actually operates. That clarity leads to better decisions because you’re working from facts rather than assumptions.

The IT audit also strengthens internal accountability, since responsibilities and system ownership are clearly defined. When your infrastructure is fully understood and intentionally managed, your business is better positioned to adapt to change and invest with purpose instead of reacting under pressure.

WHEN SHOULD YOU RUN AN IT INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT?

Many businesses wait until something breaks before reviewing their systems. A stronger approach is to be proactive. You should schedule an audit of your IT infrastructure when your business is going through change, uncertainty, or growth. Technology tends to shift quietly in the background, and without a structured review, small adjustments can compound into larger risks. 

Common triggers include:

• Preparing for cyber insurance renewal or a compliance review, when documentation and control validation are required
• Completing a merger, acquisition, leadership transition, or major software rollout that alters system access and ownership
• Expanding remote work, opening a new location, or moving systems to the cloud
• Recovering from a ransomware event, data breach, prolonged outage, or unexplained system instability
• Seeing IT costs increase without a clear understanding of where spending is going
• Operating with outdated diagrams, incomplete inventories, or knowledge concentrated in one employee 

If it has been more than 12 months since anyone reviewed your full environment end-to-end, you’ll want to conduct an IT infrastructure audit. Growing organizations may benefit from lighter reviews every six months, especially if systems change frequently.

HOW DO YOU AUDIT IT INFRASTRUCTURE?

If you’re wondering how to audit IT infrastructure without overcomplicating it, start by defining what areas your review will cover. The scope of the audit depends on your size, industry, risk level, and current priorities.

A practical way to organize the review is to look at the domains of IT infrastructure and the key functional areas that support them:

• Users: Access controls and training
• Endpoints: Laptops, mobile devices, and workstations
• Local networks: Wi-Fi and wired office connectivity
• Internet connectivity: Edge security and firewalls
• Remote access: VPNs and cloud-based entry
• Business systems: Software and data storage 

Structuring the audit this way reduces the risk of overlooking an entire category of exposure. If you operate an on-premises server room or data center, include physical elements such as power, cooling, hardware layout, and environmental monitoring. Logical security controls lose their value if physical safeguards are weak. 

1. Define Business Priorities

Start with outcomes, not tools. Before beginning an IT infrastructure audit, clarify what the business truly depends on to operate and grow. Identify which systems must remain online to avoid lost revenue, which data would cause financial or legal damage if exposed, and what major changes are planned for the year ahead. When you anchor the review in business priorities, you focus attention on what actually matters instead of getting lost in technical details. 

You might ask:

• Which applications cannot go down during business hours?
• What data is most sensitive or regulated?
• Are we prioritizing cost control, security improvement, compliance, or growth?
• Are new offices, staff, or platforms being added soon?

These answers guide the rest of the process. Without them, the effort becomes a checklist exercise rather than a strategic evaluation of risk and performance. 

2. Build or update your inventory

Next, document what exists. You cannot evaluate risk, cost, or performance if you don’t have a complete picture of your environment. Many organizations discover gaps simply by counting assets because outdated devices, unused licenses, and forgotten systems often remain active long after teams stop paying attention to them.

Your inventory should include:

• Devices such as laptops, desktops, servers, and network equipment
• Installed software and active licenses
• Cloud platforms and SaaS tools
• User, admin, and service accounts
• Third-party vendors with system access

This inventory becomes the backbone of your IT infrastructure audit. It highlights duplicate tools, unsupported systems, unnecessary spending, and shadow IT that increases security exposure. 

3. Map how systems connect

After you finish building your inventory, the next step is to understand how your systems interact. Listing your devices and software is helpful, but it doesn’t show how data moves through your environment or how one system depends on another.

You need a clear picture of how everything is connected. Even a basic network diagram can show weak points, outdated links, or systems that are more complex than necessary.

Review and clarify:

• Where internet access enters your network
• What devices protect the perimeter
• Which systems are cloud-based versus on-site
• How remote users connect
• Where business data is stored and backed up

When teams map these connections, they often uncover legacy servers, open ports, or old integrations that no one has reviewed in years. Addressing these blind spots reduces risk and makes future upgrades more manageable.

4. Evaluate core security controls

Security is often the most important part of any IT infrastructure audit because small gaps can lead to serious problems. You need to make sure your basic protections are not only in place, but actually working.

Start with identity and access management. Turn on multi-factor authentication wherever you can. Limit user access to only what each person needs to do their job. Remove access rights immediately after an employee leaves. Poor account control is one of the easiest ways for attackers to get in.

Next, review system health. Keep operating systems and applications up to date with regular patches. Make sure your antivirus or endpoint protection tools are active and sending alerts. When you ignore updates or fail to monitor systems, you increase your risk.

Then look at your network setup. Review your firewall rules and update them when needed. Don’t forget to separate your guest Wi-Fi from your main business network. Restrict and track remote access so you know who connects and when. This separation helps contain damage if a breach happens.

Finally, check your backups. Set them to run automatically and store them in a way that protects them from ransomware. Test your backups by restoring real data, not just assuming they work. If you’ve never tested a backup, you cannot rely on it during an emergency.

QUICK CHECKLIST TO PERFORM AN IT INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT

If you want a simple way to review these processes, use the following high-level checklist. The steps summarize how to audit IT infrastructure without getting lost in technical detail:

• Define business priorities and risk tolerance
• Inventory all hardware, software, cloud services, and accounts
• Map network architecture and data flow
• Review identity, access, and security controls
• Verify patching, monitoring, and backup reliability
• Document findings and prioritize remediation

This checklist is not a replacement for a thorough audit, but it provides a clear framework for evaluating your environment and identifying gaps in IT infrastructure best practices.

PROFESSIONAL IT INFRASTRUCTURE AUDITS BACKED BY REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

At TSP, we know how to audit IT infrastructure for businesses of all sizes. Whether your goal is compliance, cost control, or better performance, our team follows a clear and structured process to review your systems from end to end. Our engineers work across many platforms and vendors, so you get an objective evaluation based on real-world experience.

We don’t just hand you a report. We help you understand the findings and turn them into practical next steps that improve stability, efficiency, and long-term reliability. Contact TSP to learn more about our IT professional services.