http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/Why-you-need-a-Configuration-Management-System/ba-p/88629 <p>My last blog post on the <a target="_self" href="http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/The-ITILV3-Configuration-Management-System-CMS/ba-p/30734">ITIL V3 Configuration Management System (CMS)</a> is from 12-Dec-2007, while lots of people keep asking me questions about the components of a CMS and how that is different from and/or builds upon the concept of a CMDB.</p><p> </p><p>And when I return the question &quot;why do you need a Configuration Management System?&quot;, the answers vary from &quot;because it is an ITIL best practice&quot; :smileysad: all the way to &quot;because I want to bring together data about <strong>all</strong> Configuration Items and their relationships&quot; :smileyindifferent: Are these the right arguments? I don't think so. And here is why...</p><p> </p><p>First of all I believe that there are two main target audiences for a CMS; 1) The IT Service Provider and 2) The Business (yes, you have read this correctly...)</p><p> </p><p>The biggest driver for the <font color="#ff0000">IT Service Provider </font>to implement a CMS is <font color="#ff0000"><font color="#333333">the </font>need to make good decisions fast(er)</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#333333">in managing IT services. Samples of situations in which decisions need to be made include:</font></p><ul><li><font color="#333333">Problem and incident resolution</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Cost optimization</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Portfolio changes / service design</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Performance improvement</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Reducing complexity and risk</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Consolidation / standardization</font></li><li><font color="#333333">Regulatory compliance</font></li><li>etc.etc.</li></ul><p>But where is the information? Typically the information is either scattered across multiple sources, partly available / accessible and often too old / incorrect. And even if you find the information then its quality can be questioned as CIs are not related to IT services, relations between CIs are unclear and the business value of IT services is undefined.</p><p> </p><p>And this brings me to the second target audience; The Business. Their biggest need is to understand the business value of IT Services, however what they typically get is inaccurate data such as:</p><ul><li>Information on (performance of) service components (e.g. server availability is 99.95%)</li><li>Inconsistent service reports derived from multiple sources (where is the master data?)</li><li>IT service information that is not related to business value (e.g. how is business growth impacted by IT service downtime?)</li></ul><p>Does all of this mean that decisions cannot be made? No, a decision can always be made. However with a well-designed CMS you can make <font color="#ff0000">informed decisions </font>that maximize the business value of IT at a reduced risk.</p><p> </p><p>So do YOU need a Configuration Management System?</p><p> </p><p>Regards,<br>Jeroen Bronkhorst</p> Mon, 28 Feb 2011 02:34:12 GMT J. Bronkhorst 2011-02-28T02:34:12Z http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/Why-you-need-a-Configuration-Management-System/ba-p/88629 <p>My last blog post on the <a target="_self" href="http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/The-ITILV3-Configuration-Management-System-CMS/ba-p/30734">ITIL V3 Configuration Management System (CMS)</a> is from 12-Dec-2007, while lots of people keep asking me questions about the components of a CMS and how that is different from and/or builds upon the concept of a CMDB.</p><p> </p><p>And when I return the question &quot;why do you need a Configuration Management System?&quot;, the answers vary from &quot;because it is an ITIL best practice&quot; :smileysad: all the way to &quot;because I want to bring together data about <strong>all</strong> Configuration Items and their relationships&quot; :smileyindifferent: Are these the right arguments? I don't think so. And here is why...</p> Mon, 28 Feb 2011 02:34:12 GMT http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/Why-you-need-a-Configuration-Management-System/ba-p/88629 J. Bronkhorst 2011-02-28T02:34:12Z