A program originally developed in the 1950s in the U.S. Department of Defense to track changes in the development of complex systems is now known as configuration management. This essential IT management process, which monitors, checks and changes individual configuration elements of an IT system to enable companies to operate successfully, is a central component of ITSM.
Configuration management, also known as ITIL configuration management, is a process that involves the management of changes to systems, hardware, software, technical products or assets in an organization. It provides data that is important for all ITSM processes. This data …
This enables controlling various aspects of a product or system in a company, such as hardware, software, networks and documents. Configuration management is therefore particularly important for IT products and services, as these often consist of a large number of components and dependencies that need to be regularly monitored and updated.
The purpose here is to ensure that all components of a system or service are always up to date, remain compatible with each other, and work properly. This should minimize errors, increase the reliability of the system and improve efficiency within the company. It also helps ensure that policies and standards are followed properly. The graphic below illustrates how Configuration Management fits into IT Service Management:
Configuration management helps to identify, organize and control systems. Especially two terms are important in this context:
The following section explains these and other important terms.
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Configuration Management helps development teams keep an overview of complex software systems and their components. Using tools that automatically manage and monitor updates to configuration data unlocks many benefits.
Configuration management provides a complete overview of the IT environment and all related components. This allows IT teams to quickly identify what hardware and software is included in the infrastructure and what configurations are applied to it.
Configuration management tools make it easier to manage changes to the IT infrastructure by providing automated workflows that ensure changes are made correctly.
Configuration management helps IT teams operate the IT infrastructure more efficiently by identifying and correcting outdated, underperforming and non-compliant configurations. It also helps in prioritizing operations.
With a configuration management tool, you can identify CIs automatically and create a database. In addition, the tool supports you in the efficient management of your data. Integrated monitoring continuously records status information and changes, so your CIs are always up to date.
Configuration management also helps to make the IT infrastructure more secure by enabling patches and updates to be automatically deployed to all affected systems and by prioritizing corrective actions.
Configuration management enables faster recovery of systems after a failure by giving IT teams access to a complete view of the IT infrastructure and its configurations.
Configuration management gives IT teams the possibility to document and track changes in the IT infrastructure. This enables them to meet the defined compliance level agreements and, in retrospect, to track who made which changes.
Overall, configuration management can help IT teams operate their IT infrastructure more effectively, efficiently and securely by …
Configuration management is about avoiding problems in the first place, minimizing risks, improving the ability to provide information and keeping systems in the desired state at all times.
In the past, this was done manually or with special scripts programmed by system administrators. However, this manual monitoring and maintenance is no longer state of the art. Special software solutions now automate this work.
Configuration management via software therefore saves time and costs, reduces complexity and helps to avoid errors. REALTECH offers an intelligent solution for this in the ITSM tool SmartITSM: Our proven configuration management software, which includes the following functions:
However, our SmartITSM solution not only offers an efficient configuration management tool, you also benefit from the following applications:
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Last but not least, let’s take a look at the practical side of configuration management and give you 8 simple tips if you are planning to establish configuration management in your company.
In conclusion, configuration management is essential for IT teams to manage and operate the IT infrastructure effectively. Without a solid configuration management system, IT teams may not be able to quickly respond to issues and ensure the security and efficiency of their systems.
A configuration manager is responsible for monitoring and managing IT configurations in an organization. Responsibilities include managing and documenting configuration data, reviewing and approving configuration changes, and coordinating collaboration with other IT departments.
There are several good reasons why an organization should implement configuration management:
A CMDB is a data pool that stores all information about the configuration of elements within an organization. The IT organization determines exactly what should flow into the CMDB database.
A Configuration Management Database (CMDB) should contain the following elements:
