ITIL's CMS in Context and What it Means for You

The concept of the Configuration Management System (CMS) in ITIL v3 is potentially a game changing catalyst in planning and shaping CMDB deployments. In parallel, and at least eighteen months prior to the introduction of the CMS by ITIL, Enterprise Management Associates had defined a federated model for CMDB Systems (CMDBS) that reflected real patterns in adoption. This model was based on real-world requirements for assimilating different management data sources, often from different investments, into a cohesive, process-driven, whole. This presentation will examine the dynamics behind the CMS and the CMDBS, and how they will lead to a constituency-driven CMDB model in the future, in which federated CMDBs are optimized to support unique constituents (e.g. asset management, network operations), united through a core system with consistent CI definitions. The presentation will draw from real-world adoptions, and will conclude with critical lessons learned from CMDB deployments in 2008.