What does 'Capacity Management' entail?

Capacity Management is a critical process within the ITIL framework that focuses on ensuring that the capacity of IT services aligns with the business's current and future demands. This entails analyzing performance metrics, forecasting future requirements based on business trends, and ensuring that the IT infrastructure can support those needs efficiently. By doing so, organizations can avoid performance bottlenecks and ensure that they are equipped to handle fluctuations in demand without incurring unnecessary costs or resource overprovisioning.

In contrast, monitoring user satisfaction primarily involves assessing the end-user experience and how well services meet their needs, which, while related to service quality, does not specifically address capacity. Scheduling maintenance for hardware focuses on the operational aspects of equipment upkeep and does not pertain directly to how capacity is managed in response to business demands. Conducting performance reviews of personnel pertains to human resources and staff evaluation, which is outside the realm of IT service capacity management. Therefore, aligning IT service capacity with business needs is the essential function that defines Capacity Management in ITIL.