cmdb as a corporate asset

Transforming the CMDB intoTransforming the CMDB into a Corporate Asset

Abbas Haider Ali, VP Product StrategyOctober 2nd 2008

m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved. The Business Service Management CompanyTM

Agenda

IntroductionCMDB 101

– What is a CMDB (v2 and v3)D I ll d CMDB? Wh t’ i it f ?– Do I really need a CMDB? What’s in it for me?

– How to spot a real CMDB vs. a knock-offPlanning for a CMDB

Strategy– Strategy– People– Data– Process– Adoption– Where other CMDB projects have failed

Monolithic vs. Distributed CMDBsPractical guide to implementing a CMDBUse cases and ROI realizedDiscussion topics

m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction – Who is this Abbas guy?

Pronounced Hay-der A-lee. Common errors: Hater-All, Hi-deer A-lie, Hader-all, or of course the popular, Ha-<mumble>


What is a CMDB ?

– ITIL v2: “A database that contains all relevant details of each CI and details of the important relationships between CIs.”

– ITIL v3: “A database used to store Configuration Records throughout their Lifecycle. The Configuration Management System maintains one or more CMDBs, and each CMDB stores Attributes of CIs, and Relationships with other CIs.”


Seriously…. What is a CMDB?

It depends...Source of truthSource of truthEncyclopedia for IT, and services it offersDNA map of IT environmentDecision support toolSelf-service application for IT knowledge….

U ( )m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m

©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.

Use case(s)

Do I really need a CMDB?

How up-do-date are the Visio diagrams on your walls?How many people are involved in SWAT meetings for P1 issues?y p p gDo many of your planned changes result have unexpected impacts?How well do you know the relationships between IT infrastructureHow well do you know the relationships between IT infrastructure elements and IT / Business servicesDo you spend a lot of time generating reports from different systems and stitching them together?systems and stitching them together?How effectively can you verify that IT services meet design/regulatory standards? e.g. DR, license usage ratios, etc.Are you concerned about impact of rapidly changing technologyAre you concerned about impact of rapidly changing technology in your environment? Virtualization, Green IT, <insert buzzword here>


How to spot a knock-off CMDB

Requires a homogenous environment for integration – Vendor lock-in anyone?y

Configuration management system by day, CMDB by night– Not an unusual claim from element configuration management systems

Only supports Extract-Transform-Load to populate a CMDBOnly supports Extract Transform Load to populate a CMDB– Someone quickly inherits data entry as a 2nd job

Inflexible schemaDon’t get talked out of having information you need in your CMDB It’s– Don t get talked out of having information you need in your CMDB – It s your asset!

Limited Federation capabilitiesData sources WILL evolve over time; CMDB must be able to do the same– Data sources WILL evolve over time; CMDB must be able to do the same

Belief that the CMDB is just a big database– It’s not. It’s an application.


Poll & Discussion

Who has an operational CMDB (even if you don’t call it that) ?Who has an operational CMDB (even if you don’t call it that) ?Are you happy with your CMDB? Why?Who’s looking at a CMDB right now? Why?What is the root of your CMDB?– Service Desk?– Asset / Inventory?– Discovery?– Application dependency mapping?


Planning for a CMDB – Strategy

Have a clearly defined objective– No definition = No recognizable value

Select specific metrics wherever possible– Select specific metrics wherever possiblePrioritize services for initial phase– Don’t try to tackle everything at once

Id tif t k h ld / f f CMDBIdentify stakeholders / scope of users of CMDBKeep an eye on what you want to CMDB to support in the future– Service oriented monitoring– Service Catalog– Automated impact analysis

Examples (good and bad):– Minimize impact of changes to top 5 business apps– Merge asset management, application discovery data into single database– Reduce MTTR by capturing multi-system and tribal knowledge into broadly


accessible application

Planning for a CMDB – People

Project team / Owners– Executive sponsor– Project manager / Product managerProject manager / Product manager– Relationship manager– CMDB admin

• Not a DBA More like an application architectNot a DBA. More like an application architect.Data providers / Contributors– Select just enough data to meet the requirements

Choose SMEs who know both front and back end of selected data sources– Choose SMEs who know both front and back end of selected data sourcesUsers / Consumers– Identify the parties who MUST be able to use the CMDB for

strategy/objectives to become realitystrategy/objectives to become reality– Clearly note the backgrounds, skills, time available, etc. for user community

• Critical to selecting a CMDB interface


Planning for a CMDB - Data

Keep objectives in mind and select minimum amount of data for persistence in CMDB, rest should be federatedBuild CI and CI attributes layout– Physical configuration– Location

Internet CustomerOrdering System

– OS version and patches– Next planned change– Trouble tickets

Take Orders ProductAvailability

Build CI relationship layout– Physical– Logical

Create anAccount Verify Credit Credit Card

Processing

Logical– Business services and processes

Identify requirements for CI statePerformance availability


– Performance, availability, …

Planning for a CMDB - Data

Governance– Reconciliation rules– Which relationships should be prioritized

Use layouts to identify data sourcesTest integrations earlyTest integrations earlyRecord currency information for each source– How frequently is this data updated?

Identify gapsIdentify gaps– Need discovery, or is asset database complete?– Application dependency mapping?


Planning for a CMDB - Process

Review objectives and identify processes that benefit from interaction with CMDB

AvailabilityAvailabilityService Level MgmtService Level Mgmt

Incident MgmtIncident MgmtProblem MgmtProblem Mgmt

Capacity MgmtCapacity MgmtC ti it M tC ti it M t

Change MgmtChange MgmtR l M tR l M t

CMDBCMDBServiceServiceSupportSupport

ServiceServiceDeliveryDelivery

Financial MgmtFinancial MgmtContinuity MgmtContinuity Mgmt

Configuration MgmtConfiguration MgmtRelease MgmtRelease Mgmt

For CMDB value to be recognized, existing processes have to change– Deployment of new apps/services– Analysis of scheduled changes– Usage / configuration of monitoring systems

CMDB itself should be subject to a review process on a regular basisDon’t let process become a barrier to getting started


Planning for a CMDB – Adoption

Most challenging, and most overlooked part of most CMDB projectsHow is the casual CMDB user going to interact with it?– Avoid software installation as much as possible

Allow everyone to contributeAllow everyone to contribute – Comments, point out errors, inconsistencies, missing information– Mechanical Turk model

Identify mavens in each community of CMDB usersIdentify mavens in each community of CMDB usersExamine company culture, risk, regulatory issues and select editing model for CMDB

Wikipedia like or strict governance/process– Wikipedia-like or strict governance/processRecord all successes and share with CMDB user community– Start a blog or newsletter

S b d


– Success breeds success

Planning for a CMDB – Why CMDB Projects Fail

Not uncommon to hear about 2nd or even 3rd attempts at CMDBNo clear objectivej– Field of CIs approach: “If we build it, they will come”

Too broad, too deep, or bothPoorly defined roles and responsibilitiesPoorly defined roles and responsibilitiesBad dataInaccessible – only a handful of people know how to use itDoesn’t stay current


Monolithic vs. Distributed CMDBs

Always tempting to grab all data from integrated data sources and store them in a giant database, just in case – Far more susceptible to problems as underlying systems change or get

replaced– Much higher cost to architect, store, and operate – Inflexible and hard to adapt to changing environment

If CMDB usage become pervasive, expect an ecosystem to develop

CMS Master CMDB

Data Sources

CMDB Server Team

MOM CA Unicenter

HP Service Desk

Asset Mgmt

Network Team

EMC Smarts Alterpoint HP Service

DeskAsset Mgmt


Monolithic vs. Distributed CMDBs

Specialized CMDBs can be used by individual IT silos, business units, application teamsTop level CMS can unify key information in support of a larger CMDB strategyFederation shouldn’t be limited to traditional CMDB data sources – must be able to link to other CMDBs

• Need to consider multi-vendor federation between different CMDBs


Practical Guide – Selecting a CMDB

Well executed planning stage should result in a clear list of must-have features

Federation

Synchronization

Reconciliation

Vi li ti / E f UVisualization / Ease of Use

Interoperabilitym a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m

©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.

Interoperability

Selecting a CMDB – Detailed Features


Practical Guide – Selecting a Partner

Don’t reinvent the wheelReview experiencep– Should have worked with CMDB software and integration points as well

Ask for referencesIn most cases CMDB vendors have services businessIn most cases CMDB vendors have services businessUsual suspects in systems integrator space– IBM

A t– Accenture– CSC– …


Partner Example – Managed Objects

Strategy and PlanningTarget Audience

ObjectivesMeasures for Success

Specify RequirementsIdentify Services

CMDB High Level DesignCMDB Depth

Select Technologies CMDB TechnologyAutomating Technology

Construction and Deployment

BuildTrain

Document & Turnover

Ongoing Value /

Deployment ocu e t & u o e

Communicate Value


Ongoing Value / Improvement

Improvement Plan

Partner Example – Managed ObjectsSt

rate

gy/

Plan

ning

s

Project Kickoff Create GeneralCounsel Team

CMDBWorkshop

CMDB VisionDefinition

Define Benefitsand Measures

of Success

Spec

ifyR

equi

rem

ent s

Define ServiceCatalog

Requirements

Define CI levelsIT Service

Model

Define CIRelationships

Define CIAttributes

Design ITService Model

Blueprint

High LevelCMDB Design

Define Governance

Requirements

Sele

ctTe

chno

logi

es

Select CMDBTechnology

SelectTechnology for

Population

SelectTechnology for

Auditing

uctio

n an

d lo

ymen

t

Training for CMDB

Technology

Install CMDB Technology

Con

stru

Dep

le nt

ProductionReady CMDB

Train the CMDBCM team

ConstructThe CMDB

AutomateThe CMDB

PopulateCMDB

Create CI Lifecycle Mgmt

ProcessDocumentation

Transfer

m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.O

ngoi

ng V

alu

\Im

prov

eme n Continuous

Svc ImprovementPlan

Implement Measures and

Metrics

Specify Requirements

Construction of CMDB

ModificationsTest

DocumentationTransfer &

User Training

Case Study of Financial Services - Overview

Challenges– Identify and resolve problems fastery p– Complex problems, cross domains – hard to get to root cause– Poor communication with the business units

Data sources identified for CMDB projectData sources identified for CMDB project– Combination of commercial management tools and 15+ internal databases

CMDB vital statistics– Greater than 2 million CIs– Greater than 2 million CIs– More than 4 million CI relationships


Case Study of Financial Services - Benefits

Express dependencies quickly and clearly – for Outages, Break Fix Activities, Maintenance

– e.g. list all hosts for a telco switch, all users for a SANMaintenance InteractionsMaintenance Interactions

– e.g. identify common components between a SAN upgrade and a Switch upgrade. Avoid un-expected interactions during multiple changes.

Diversity and BucketingDiversity and Bucketing– o e.g. take a business flow and prove that their A and B side are diverse and have

no single points of failure. Concentration Risk

– e.g. report on number of critical apps that are dependent on server X or Y.Infrastructure Domain Failures

– e.g. Construct and test theories around processes geographyId tif d di t d th t h BU d d iIdentify dedicated servers that have cross-BU dependenciesEnable targeted infrastructure refresh

– e.g. identify non-standard versions of infrastructure and order by number and criticality of systems dependent on them Provide information to help manage risk


criticality of systems dependent on them. Provide information to help manage risk around upgrade plans.

Case Study of Insurance Carrier – Overview

Challenges– Better understand planned and unplanned changesp p g– Enforce process adherence– Changes frequently had unintended consequences; required multiple

attempts to complete– 60% of incidents resulted from planned changes

Data sources identified for project– Discovery solution (general and server specific)y (g p )– Internally developed asset management system– Service desk

CMDB vital statisticsCMDB vital statistics


Case Study of Insurance Carrier – Benefits

Real-time visibility to planned and unplanned changesClearly understand impact of proposed changesy p p p gLower risk – fewer outagesSuperior, always current documentation Reduced MTTRReduced MTTRMuch lower % of incidents with planned changes as root causeAvailability of additional statistics to drive analytics for IT

ti tiexecutive reporting


Measuring ROI

Refer back to the original metrics identified during planning– MTTR reduction / shorter outagesg– Mean Time Between Outages (MTBO) increase– Increase in successful change tickets– Less total tickets– Shorter maintenance windows– Increased availability for critical services– Reduction in software licenses– Cost reductions from increased DC density or server consolidation

Softer metrics also count– Process improvementProcess improvement– Increased productivity– Shift from reactive to proactive operations

• Strategic projects vs fixing broken things


Strategic projects vs. fixing broken things

CMDB Project Team’s Work is Never Done

OperationalEfficiencyEfficiency

Services

Users

Business


Effectiveness

Q&A


Additional Resources

CIO.com: Managed Objects Adds 'Facebook' Twist to CMDBITSMWatch.com: 10 Tips for a Successful CMDB Projectp jGRIDtoday: Virtual Management, Virtual MessData Center Journal: Myths of the CMDBComputerworld: How Much Is 'Just Enough' for a CMDB?Computerworld: How Much Is Just Enough for a CMDB?Managed Objects Blog - BSM Communique


Transforming the CMDB intoTransforming the CMDB into a Corporate Asset

Abbas Haider Ali, VP Product StrategyOctober 2nd 2008

m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved. The Business Service Management CompanyTM

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