Why Should You Use CMDB-ITIL Software?
Wikipedia describes a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) like this:
A configuration management database is a repository that acts as a data warehouse for information technology (IT) organizations. Its contents are intended to hold a collection of IT assets that are commonly referred to as configuration items (CI), as well as descriptive relationships between such assets.
A CMDB can be used to increase profitability, manage time better, and enhance the economy of your business model. Here are six solid reasons to employ a CMDB in conjunction with a Microsoft SharePoint-based IT Help Desk and Asset Management system.
Analyzing Change Impact
When any change is made to a system, especially an IT Help Desk, how it will affect operations in the business needs to analyzed and understood. With a CMBD integrated with SharePoint Help Desk, developers and IT staff can:
- proactively expose potential issues with proposed changes and the level of impact they will have
- reveal who is affected by the change and coordinate resources
- ensure increased productivity and efficient control of costs.
Discovering Fault Origins
A CMDB used with SharePoint Help Desk and a good Asset Management system can:
- expose the underlying issues causing faults
- reveals who is affected and help organize resources
- help reduce recovery time, collateral damage and costs.
Managing Change Guidelines
When managing strategic change, CMDB can help:
- provide enforcement for organizational policies
- reduce bureaucracy and increase acceptance across departments
- reduce costs through timely data access.
Optimizing Resources
With CMDB used in partnership with IT Asset Management:
- proactively track Configuration Item allocation
- manage resource placement and enhance utilization
- timely optimization increases economy of purpose and enhances revenue.
Monitoring Flow of Services
Monitoring business flow can be the name of the game for some organizations.
- Have immediate access to Services traceability
- enhance focus and possibilities of enhancing performance
- improve SLA compliance and boost revenue.
Auditing and Compliance Visibility
When it’s time to review for compliance and auditing purposes, a properly integrated CMDB:
- provides complete information access for management overview
- reveals compliance state and assures proper validation
- helps with timely regulatory enforcement so revenue can be protected.
Any of these cases can be introduced separately over time to reflect a specific business strategy. Discrete implementation allows for setting readily reachable goals on specific IT projects while keeping use of resources to a minimum. In addition, this gradual implementation of the Configuration Management Data Base allows the controlled introduction of multi-level projects within a department, as well as the introduction of new use cases, with minimum enterprise-wide impact.
With CMDB as the foundation, Change Management policies become less daunting, the overall time and effort expended for IT Asset Management is reduced, and these efficiencies directly boost business value.
Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Crow Canyon Systems and a clickable link back to this page.
