A Complete Guide on What is CMDB? Explained

A configuration management database (CMDB) is a file mostly in the form of a standardized database containing all relevant information related to hardware/ software components used in an organization’s IT services. The CMDB contains complete information about each asset including its history, location, owner, function, etc. Within a CMDB, the tracked items are called configuration items (CIs). CIs are components that which must be managed professionally for delivering quality IT service.

Businesses these days have increased their dependency on CMDB for storing information that provides a well-structured view of configuration data. The same information can be used to evaluate the data from any desired perspective. The primary goal of a CMDB is to provide the much-required information needed to make better business decisions and run efficient ITSM processes. By centralizing all configuration information at one place, leaders can better understand critical CIs and their relationships.

 

Difference Between Configuration Items & Assets

Any piece of hardware, software, or information used within a business for smooth functioning are configuration items. For instance, an organization’s laptops, printers, operating systems, applications, cloud resources, databases, routers, servers, software licenses, etc. are configuration items.

On the other hand, IT asset management (ITAM) manages an asset throughout its lifecycle. The task is to obtain, maintain, monitor its depreciation in value, and determine the need of replacement. Asset management looks at an asset individually, while configuration management lays emphasis on assets’ relationships to other assets and how they can improve the performance of IT services.

 

List of Activities Performed by CMDB

In addition to capturing CI data, configuration management can do a lot of tasks including:

• Performing problem management.
• Conducting root cause analysis.
• Identifying potential weaknesses.
• Complying with regulatory metrics.
• Examining workflows.
• Dropping downtime.
• Improving service delivery.
• Providing complete optimization
• Tracking software licenses.
• Capturing real-time data on potential performance issues.

Virtually, CMDB remains connected to each and every element in the IT infrastructure and offers asset management, network administration, and security management.

 

Characteristics of Configuration Management Database

Now we know what is CMDB, let’s discuss the key characteristics of the same.

• CMDB seamless dashboards with CI metrics and analytics which eventually makes tracking the health of CIs, their relationships, the impact of changes, etc. quite easy.
• It also provides detailed records and visibility to accurately evaluate the current state of CIs, in addition to knowing their historical changes, checks and balances, incidents, etc.
• CMDB supports federated data sets such as normalization and reconciliation of CIs and data. 
• It also accesses controls and provides different access levels to different people or teams as required to trace back the changes, if any.

 

Advantages of CMDB

Businesses use configuration management databases to capture information and when paired with asset management systems, it helps identify all elements within an IT infrastructure. CMDBs built on asset inventories provide information on the relationships among CIs. Main benefits of CMDB include:

Centralized view of data: With a centralized data view, IT administrators can easily manage the entire IT infrastructure. Admins can get data on each component in an IT infrastructure and manage the same. This eventually helps them in planning, managing and maintaining the entire infrastructure seamlessly. With this advanced technology, the chances of administrative and management errors also reduce greatly.

Cost savings: CMDB provides new and innovative ways to IT managers to eliminate unnecessary or redundant IT resources and reduce the overall costs.

Data integration: Thanks to advanced technologies like CMDBs which makes integrating data from various vendors’ software easy. A CMDB system can also deploy many other configuration-related tasks. From change management to incident management, CMDB can help manage the entire IT environment.

 

Explore the Potential of Powerful CMDB Software with Kodehash

For the organizations having any amount of IT infrastructure, CMDBs plays a crucial role in their ITSM approach. CMDBs compile data about every CI into one system, assist IT teams in understanding all of an organization’s assets along with managing a lot of related tasks. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that CMDB assists organizations in maintaining an efficient, secure, and reliable IT environment.

If you also want full control over the service lifecycle in your company, then hire Kodehash Technologies who advise, support and accompany you during the implementation of a CMDB solution. Our experienced IT specialists deploy the right software based on the individual needs. Whether it’s a healthcare organization or an educational hub, we have successfully completed CMDB implementation.

 

Benefits of Professional Configuration Management Database

• Central management of configuration items from different sources
• It brings compatibility between ITIL and CMDB
• It gives assurance for IT customer service
• Provides complete access over the service life cycle
• Graphical visualisation of data for enhanced understanding

 

What We Offer:

• We ensure successful implementation and optimization of CMDB.
• We deploy hi-tech and effective configuration management processes.
• We look for more effective ways to transfer data into the CMDB.
• We provide expert guidance on ways to regularly update the CMDB.
• We leverage more advanced tools for complete accuracy.

By offering comprehensive visibility into the IT configurations and environment, Kodehash’ CMDB lets organizations establish a well-defined configuration management process. Our solutions provide a consolidated view of IT operations and ensure effective configuration management?

For more info on what is CMDB, book an appointment with our experts.