Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Survivor's Guide to 2007: Network and Systems Management: Page 10 of 12

So Much More Than Just A Pretty Database

The CMDB is focused on integrating management solutions in support of better process efficiencies. While database technologies, and in particular those supporting the integration and reconciliation of multibrand investments, are central to CMDB planning, so are discovery, identity management, access control and workflow.

The CMDB is therefore not a "thing." It is a landscape in which trusted sources of information are identified and ownership is assigned so that consistent perspectives on configuration, topology, performance, assets and more can be shared effectively and without redundancy.

This first step is the most difficult, not because of technology issues but because of politics. We live in a universe of multiple discovery systems, multiple trouble-ticketing systems and niche tools that will be relinquished only after sometimes violent debate. But standardizing on consistent sources of information is a non-negotiable requirement for moving forward. To succeed requires committed investments in architecture and process expertise and the willingness to engage in ongoing, bidirectional dialogue across all IT silos--talking to each other in a way that's never before been required, or even invited.

What's Driving The It Transformation?

If you've been paying attention, you've noticed over the past several years signs of a move to address network, system and application management as a continuum, supportive of process requirements and best practices. That vision puts subtle but very real pressure for change on IT organizational structures.