CMDB and its Role in Transformation

Transcription

1 CMDB and its Role in Transformation

2 2 CMBD and its Role in Transformation Contents Foreword from Richard Pharro, CEO, APMG 3 Introduction 4 Setting the Scene 5 Implimentation 6 People, Process, Technology, Partners 7 Conclusion 9 Further information 10

3 3 Foreword by Richard Pharro, CEO, APMG To maximize the value of a CMDB organizations must consider the: Processes defining the right Service Asset & Configuration Management processes for each organization People creating the right corporate culture Partners including every organization involved in IT delivery Product (Technology) determining the right CMDB product. The Configuration Management DataBase is a crucial underpinning source of information for an organization s IT infrastructure, supporting the entire Service Lifecycle in an ITIL context. Without it, it is difficult to understand, track and control the key elements of the organization s services and infrastructure. Ensuring the CMDB investment is maximized will require access to specific skills. Building on existing ITIL expertise and CMDB implementation experience will enable organizations to: Build the business case for investment Determine the objectives for CMDB deployment from meeting ISO/IEC compliance requirements to integrating IT and business processes Enable the right corporate culture Assess product features and operating costs Achieve integration with a Service Management Suite toolset. With the right skills and experience, organizations can successfully deploy a CMDB and achieve both a return on investment and meet key business objectives. The CMDB is a repository of information related to all the components of an IT management system. It plays a key role in: Extending ITIL processes to achieve proactive service management Driving down IT costs Achieving lights-out operation Supporting the integration of IT and business processes

4 4 CMBD and its Role in Transformation Introduction Over the past few years there has been a growing desire for IT departments to become more proactive in order to deliver better IT service to the user whilst also containing costs. As a result, many have embarked upon successful ITIL projects, gaining benefits from improved Incident and Change Management. For those who have established a successful CMDB in tandem with their ITIL adoption, effective Problem Management is also within their grasp. Defining CMDB A configuration management database (CMDB) is a repository of information related to all the components of an information management system. The term stems from the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), and represents the authorized configuration of the significant components of the IT environment. The CMDB is a fundamental component of the ITIL framework s Configuration Management process and records configuration items and details about the attributes and relationships between these items, including technical, ownership and relationship. The CMDB is a key component of the drive to create the proactive approach to IT service management, The CMDB is a critical success factor in the quest to drive down incidents and proactively preventing further service interruptions. For example: Improve Incident Management linking to a good event management tool can reduce the calls to the service desk by 80%. Transform Problem Management proactive analysis of problem root cause and prevention of future problems. A database of known errors and integration with Problem Management can drastically reduce incidents and prevent further service interruption. Minimise Unauthorized Change % of incidents are due to failed or unauthorized changes. Supported by the right processes and company culture, the CMDB can facilitate well managed change management which drastically reduces incidents. Enhance User Response - improving the speed and accuracy of fulfilling user service requests is a key consideration for increasingly hard pressed IT teams. Linking the CMDB to the Service Catalog can significantly improve service fulfillment and ensure information is always up to date to both improve control and user communication. Unify diverse IT teams, partners and suppliers providing a central resource for all information on IT equipment and provision ensures multiple teams and companies can collaborate effectively. The CMDB could and should play a fundamentally important role within the service management framework, delivering key insight to operations, application and technology management teams.

5 5 Setting the Scene Of course, as a core component of ITIL, the CMDB has been around for some time. Whilst interest in the CMDB is not new, a number of factors are combining to raise its corporate significance. Lights Out: Growing numbers of organizations want to move towards a lights out operation i.e. a fully automated service, a goal which demands highly effective proactive service management. It is impossible to achieve a low risk lights out strategy without an accurate, real time view of the IT infrastructure and rapid identification of pain points and potential problems. Expand ITIL: Organizations want to build on the success of existing ITIL processes (typically Incident Management) to achieve full Problem Management and drive down the problems caused by unmanaged change. Service Oriented Architecture: The increasing demand for organizations to offer customers (end users) a firm Service Level Agreement (SLA) requires minimum service interruption. Organizations require a proactive IT service management model and effective problem prediction to maximize system availability. Linking to the CMDB is key to support better SLAs and provide good customer communication on the state and status of IT services. Cost reduction: Whilst economies are slowly recovering, the pressure on IT to contain costs and minimize headcount remains. Linking the CMDB to interactive service catalogs and adding automation can improve performance whilst reducing manpower. Compliance: Increasing numbers of organizations now recognise the value of achieving ISO/IEC compliance, which demands a CMDB. In addition, there are mandated requirements for a CMDB in some vertical markets, including the US utility sector. Integrating Business and IT: Most organizations are fundamentally constrained by the siloed nature of IT and business processes. The result is expensive and time consuming service administration. They also lack the true application integration required to facilitate business change and expansion. The CMDB enables the removal of these silos and provides a platform for effective business change. Used in tandem with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools and Business Service Management principles,cmdb also delivers streamlined, consistent information, linking the business and IT together in a seamless process flow. This framework provides complete visibility across service desk and operations, thereby significantly reducing time consuming and inefficient calls and s and delivers far more effective service management. The improved information also supports better communication with suppliers and partners, such as outsource providers. This ensures far greater control over every aspect of the IT delivery and management process ensuring more predictable business results. With this approach, organizations can transform the way they operate. Proactive Monitoring A rapidly expanding organization wanted to link business and IT processes to improve business focus. Real time monitoring of the business is now endemic, from purchasing to the service desk. Everyone within IT operations, applications and technology management has access to the CMDB and using that information to share IT status. This approach is enabling proactive, prioritized response to all issues being faced by the business.

6 6 CMBD and its Role in Transformation Implementation History Many companies have looked at a CMDB before. Indeed, many will have attempted to implement the technology but have been unsuccessful. How have attitudes to CMDB changed? In the early days, CMDB was oversold as the solution to every problem and organizations lost confidence in it. Gartner rated CMDB as at the peak of inflated expectations in its 2006 Hype Cycle. The result was that although many companies embarked on some level of CMDB implementation few realized their objectives. This attitude has changed markedly in the past six years. Indeed, today, CMDB is right at the bottom of the hype curve. Instead organizations are looking at the role a CMDB can play in addressing pressing issues such as Incident Management, Event Management and performance reporting. Of course, the recession has slowed down CMDB adoption. Organizations need a good Return On Investment (ROI) case to justify any investment. The drive is to find projects that will sustain the quality of delivery, ensuring SLAs are met whilst still reducing Full Time Employees (FTE) where possible. However, it is also important for organizations to also consider the effectiveness of existing IT resources. IT departments are plagued by a huge increase in short term absence from sick days to mental health days. As the business climate begins to recover and companies put further pressure on IT to deliver new functionality, this problem will only get worse. With the continued ban on recruitment, stretched IT teams are going to suffer more stress related illness unless clear changes are made. There has also been some concern about the level of maturity of CMDB products. After the initial hype, when large numbers of vendors were touting CMDBs, many of which were little more than incident databases, the market has matured. Today there are a handful of vendors selling fully functional, integrated CMDBs that can help organizations achieve quantifiable business value. Each of these products has its own speciality, from a data centre focus to an emphasis on integrating business and ITIL processes or automating the management of distributed systems. In addition, there is a new generation of cloud based products, which is provoking significant corporate interest. For those organizations that are wary of achieving a successful CMDB implementation, the concept of outsourcing the technology and adopting remote management has obvious appeal, especially when tied into tight SLAs for incident problems and service calls. Given the differences in features, delivery models and even operating costs, it is important to understand the pros and cons of each product and how each could map into an organization s objectives.

7 ISO/IEC Overview 7 People, Process, Technology, Partners Given its over hyped status during the past decade, it is no surprise that many organizations have tried to implement CMDB before and have not achieved even the most basic process improvements. As corporate pressures increasingly demand organizations reconsider the role a CMDB can play in effective service delivery, how do they get it right this time? Process First: One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is to implement the technology before defining the Service Asset & Configuration Management (SACM) processes that support the CMDB. The CMDB is not the utopia solution that solves all issues in IT. With no process to govern the CMDB, it will be stuck in a reactive and chaotic state, and will be very hard to manage. Without good change processes the CMDB will rapidly become out of date, because unauthorized changes will continue. IT teams can be seduced into believing that good discovery tools which enable rapid identification of an unauthorized change is enough. In fact, the problem caused by that change a problem which can rapidly grow and affect multiple systems will still occur. It is therefore, critical to define, design and put in place the right Change and SACM processes before implementing the CMDB technology. However, organizations must also beware outof-the-box SACM processes. Processes must be defined to meet each company s goal and vision. Educate People: It is also essential to ensure people understand the importance of good change processes and put in place the right culture. With discovery tools it is easy to find who committed an unauthorized change. The key to ending this behavior is to create a culture that makes such changes a reportable offense. The culture can be reinforced by incentivizing individuals to undertake only authorized changes. By combining these strategies with an education programme that explains the value of an accurate CMDB to the business, organizations can drastically reduce the number of unauthorized changes, and hence downtime, to the business. Include Partners: Few IT teams deliver end user services in isolation. It is therefore essential to ensure every organization involved in IT delivery, from outsource partners to equipment providers, is using the CMDB. If the Service Catalog is to be used effectively it has to be up to date and fully integrated with the supplier information, including purchase orders. Similarly, if the network management provider is planning an update that information must be within the CMDB to ensure everyone on the IT delivery team is aware of the update in case the changes cause problems. Effective Technology: Once the people, process and partner elements have been considered and planned, organizations need to ensure the right CMDB technology is adopted. For smaller companies, it is possible that a very basic database could suffice. For most, however, a fully functional, integrated technology is required to maximise the investment in ITIL processes, meet government mandates for CMDB and provide a strong platform for IT and business process integration. Key to getting these elements right will be an investment in the right skills. This is certainly an area where organizations have struggled in the past, lacking both the rigor and expertise to maximise the chance of a successful CMDB implementation. The right CMDB skills will build on existing ITIL qualifications and experience and will enable organizations to proceed effectively through the following stages of CMDB deployment. 1. Balancing Risk: Undertake a risk assessment to ascertain the biggest areas of pain and

8 8 CMBD and its Role in Transformation define the ROI opportunities. These will range from minimizing incidents, to providing better SLAs, and reducing FTEs. 2. Setting Objectives: Understand what the business is trying to achieve with the CMDB. For those organizations adopting a CMDB simply to meet a government mandate such as the US utility companies there will be a specific set of requirement to meet. Similarly with ISO/IEC compliance, where the CMDB plays the key role in demonstrating control processes are in place, that the company can account for assets and produce reports. It is possible to take a tick box approach to compliance and simply use the CMDB to achieve these objectives. However, growing numbers of organizations are expecting the CMDB to play an important role in becoming more proactive and breaking down the barriers between IT and the business. It is therefore essential to define requirements and expectations up front. 3. Tailor Processes: Define the SACM processes, including Change Management and Supplier Management, to meet the organization s specific goals. 4. Cultural Change: Put in place the new cultural model, combining strong penalties with incentives to drive down unauthorized changes. 5. Review Products: Undertake a robust technology assessment. As outlined above, few vendors offer fully functional CMDB solutions and each has different pros and cons, as well as very different operating costs. A CMDB educated employee can cut through the hype and promises of the vendors and match functional features to organizational needs. For example, this expertise and knowledge will be key in assessing whether or not cloud based CMDB technology is mature enough. With growing corporate pressure to move more applications into the cloud and reduce reliance on internal IT, it will be tempting to take this route. However, this is a very new technology and one that will not suit every organization. 6. Integration: The CMDB should be integrated with the Service Management Suite in order to enable proactive system management. In addition, it can link to new technologies such as self-healing IT infrastructures. This new generation of computers will report when potential problems are about to occur, and sometimes heal themselves. Building alerts into the CMDB enables the IT team to react immediately to any possible problem if required. In house expertise will be essential to ensure the right CMDB is chosen and then used effectively. Change Control: One business with an average 100 changes per week was experiencing many change related incidents. After implementing change management procedures supported by a CMDB this had been reduced to one incident in six months.

9 9 Conclusion Achieving Quantifiable Benefits CMDB s role in embedding ITIL Best Practice and its underpinning of ISO/IEC compliance is prompting more organizations to develop their own CMDB. Critically, in what is still a difficult economic climate, the adoption of a CMDB supports far more effective IT operations. This enables organizations to reduce stress related time-off which is endemic in IT teams and support business expansion without hiring new resource. with technology maturing and a growing understanding of the right way to implement CMDB, there are significant opportunities to achieve clear benefits; from the business looking to strengthen its position for future growth, to the company moving toward a lights out operation and the organizations integrating IT and business processes. The successful, measured implementation of a CMDB will not only provide a strong ROI but also enable true business transformation. To date, only a handful of organizations have pushed the CMDB adoption to achieve true business/it process integration. However,

10 10 CMBD and its Role in Transformation Further information International APMG-International Head Office, Sword House, Totteridge Road High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP13 6DG Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Web: APMG International 2011 ITIL is a Registered Trade Mark of The Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countires