Figure 1 (above) shows an analysis of the 10 most recent Base-One assessments carried out in the UK. It shows for each service management discipline, both the average score achieved by the 10 companies, and the highest score awarded. Asset and Configuration Management is at the bottom of the pile on both scales.

To many organisations Configuration Management as new discipline, demands increased headcount as well as considerable expenditure on tools. Justification of these resources can be a major inhibitor. Putting a persuasive case to the board for headcount increases is always a challenge. Coupling this with the need to explain that the benefits of Configuration Management would be a daunting prospect for any IT director.

There are two approaches that can be taken, faced with such a dilemma. 

One is to go for the full justification and to take the time to explain the undoubted efficiencies and benefits that will be gained within the service management function overall. We know from ITIL that Configuration Management is not designed as a burden and an overhead but as a useful, integral component of the Service Management processes. Fully integrated with Change, Release, Incident and Problem Management and as part of the organisation’s procurement and disposal procedures, the CMDB becomes the self-supporting tool upon which all else relies. The efficiencies to be gained in each of these areas can be measured and quantified and will provide a strong at business case.

The other approach is to take a number of smaller steps. It is almost certain that someone in the organisation, possibly more than one person, is keeping records of desktop equipment. Someone is probably recording and tracking software licences. These records are normally to be found in Excel spreadsheets or Access databases. A judgment has been made that the effort needed to maintain such details is worthwhile. Commonly however this information is not readily available to the Service Desk or to other Service Management disciplines. The simple step of transferring this data from the spreadsheet into the Service Management support tool would not increase the maintenance workload but would immediately make access to this information available to help in incident and problem resolution. Incidents could be recorded against specific assets and the capture of information is underway!

From this point on, further information can be added in a number of small steps, each with its own justification. It may be possible to justify the introduction of auto-discovery tools to remove some of the manual workload. It would clearly be beneficial to integrate Change and Release Management to software components held on the CMDB with links to servers and users. Stuart Wright is a consultant within CEC who specialises in this area. His advice on getting started is clear: “Think big - but start small. Start with a 200 pc roll-out or whatever asset based developments are going on - use the CMDB to capture the information. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg, and you’ve made a start”

It is time for Service Managers, looking at the ITIL architect’s grand plan, to start to use the building blocks that are already available to begin to construct their service management foundations.

Further details of the Base-One assessment and issues raised in this article can be obtained from CEC Europe Ltd in the UK or through its partner organisations in the ITSM Alliance.  For contact details click here.

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