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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>
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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.”
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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>
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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.
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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?
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
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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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
– 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?
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
– 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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
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Interoperability
Selecting a CMDB – Detailed Features
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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– …
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
Strategic projects vs. fixing broken things
CMDB Project Team’s Work is Never Done
OperationalEfficiencyEfficiency
Services
Users
Business
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
Effectiveness
Q&A
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
m a n a g e d o b j e c t s . c o m©2008 Managed Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.
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