Configuration & Inventory
As an IT executive or manager, you recognize the importance of accurately tracking the relationships and configurations of IT assets.
- Broad ITSM initiatives increasingly include highly integrated systems that require a common understanding of IT assets.
- Likewise, process improvement efforts require access to authoritative asset data.
- Provisioning of orders requires integration with a trusted asset database.
- Sarbanes-Oxley and other compliance mandates require control and reporting of assets.
How Does Windward Help?
Organizations investing in configuration management face numerous challenges in driving these projects to completion. Windward helps organizations effectively implement these solutions and fully integrate them into all IT operational processes.
|
“New network and application services are constantly introduced, but we are not keeping up with updating our operations systems, data and procedures.” |
Windward helps clients design custom services and configurations within vendor CMDB, provisioning and inventory tools. Windward analyzes the new service, implements schemas and then enables workflow to support ordering, provisioning and activation. |
|
“We have static sourcees of configuration data including Excel spreadsheets, but no central system to ensure integrity of this data” |
Windward implement leading software solutions and custom solutions to auto-discover, validate and reconcile data in a CMDB to the lowest level of detail justified. |
|
“Our biggest obstacle is scoping the breadth and level of detail that we realistically can support in the CMDB…it quickly gets more complicated that we imagined” |
Understanding that the CMDB exists to support other processes, Windward analyzes these processes, defines data requirements and implements an integrated and proportional CMDB solution. |
|
“We had CMDB initiatives in the past, but expectations were not met and the project was derailed” |
Leveraging its experience in configuration management planning, Windward helps organizations define CMDB objectives and develop a realistic roadmap that ensures buy-in. |
|
We can not maintain data integrity within our inventory database because too many people have access to the system and the control processes are inadequate. |
By focusing our client’s investments on the levers of real configuration management control, versus the many activities with little impact, Windward helps achieve data and process integrity. |
What is the Windward Solution?
While a database to manage IT configurations is a pre-requisite for all IT service management processes, many organizations still struggle to implement an authoritative CMDB. Windward partners with its clients to plan, prioritize and implement each of the elements essential to managing inventory and configurations.
These include:
-
|
(Click Image to Enlarge)
|
CM plans defining scope, objectives, policies and procedures
- Configuration Item (CI) identification and relationship mapping
- Status accounting throughout the CI lifecycle, design to retirement
- Auto-discovery and population of CI data and relationships
- Change management procedures supporting change authorization
- Auditing and reconciliation to enforce data integrity
- Open interfaces to support other IT service management processes
Some Leading Software Packages:
Resource and Provisioning Packages
- Cramer OSS Suite
- Visionael Service Automation Suite
- Netcracker Framework
Configuration Management Database Packages:
- CA MDB
- BMC Atrium CMDB
- IBM Tivoli CCMDB
- Front Range HEAT
- InfraEnterprise
- ScienceLogic EM7