The concept of a CMDB serving as single source of data is one of its greatest strengths-- without a central repository for configuration information, IT organizations continue to work in silos, and fail to align activities with business objectives. A basic Configuration Management (CM) process and toolset (i.e. CMDB) can enable teams to better communicate and coordinate processes by establishing a common data repository. 

Put another way, how can you manage and improve IT services if you don't know what equipment you have, where it is, how it’s connected and the impact of changing it? It is suggested that 80% of critical system outages are the result of people or process failure, with the main proponent being that of changes to the IT environment. This is exacerbated by the fact that planning activities derived from inadequate sources of information drive a path to failure. Additionally, subsequent recovery processes are further hampered by those same inadequate data stores.

Since the CMDB provides the logical model for the IT infrastructure and related services, organizations can more easily manage configuration items and their relationships with other entities and services. Some of the primary benefits a CMDB can provide from the start are related to the areas of proactive change management, security and IT compliance.

Less Reactive, More Proactive Management. A CMDB, coupled with an effective Change Management process, can provide the ability to more effectively manage changes within the IT environment. Since the number of IT changes in an environment will increase as the infrastructure becomes more complex, having a central repository of all configuration information and relationships can help avoid downtime through better planning and understanding of the impact of those changes on the rest of the computing environment.

Improved Security Deployment and Assessment of Risk. When assessing a known vulnerability on a server, CMDB information can be used to assess risk based on both the severity of a patch, as well as the business context of the vulnerability. This capability allows IT organizations to prioritize patches that support the business and ensure that critical systems are secured first.

More Accurate and Streamlined Compliance. To better facilitate Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA initiatives, IT organizations can tap into the CMDB data model to ensure that asset information is accurate and complete. Additionally, the CMDB coupled with the assignment of accountable CI owners and auditors can better enable IT organizations to demonstrate better internal controls. Tracking CIs, relationships and validating their accuracy through continuous monitoring can provide a higher level of assurance that IT systems and related components are controlled and managed in accordance with legislative requirements.

Other advantages of deploying and optimizing a standard CM process and supporting CMDB toolset may include:

• Centralize storage of physical and logical infrastructure information

• Establish clear ownership and accountability for IT components

• Allow more efficient planning and support of the IT infrastructure

• Highlight technical inefficiencies for correction and/or improvement

• Provide a foundation for standard ITIL-based service management (ITSM)

• Compliment regulatory compliance and auditing activities

• Decrease the cost of patching, repairing and troubleshooting

• Minimize downtime and improve customer responsiveness

• Decrease redundancy of IT operational support activities

• Support proactive Problem Management initiatives

• Track intangible attributes of IT assets and their relationships

• Fine-tune Incident Management and operational support

• Allow for more efficient handling of data center and/or IT asset migrations

• Articulate the business context of IT processes and associated activities

• Proactively assess inherent risk from potential IT service failures

• Support Business and IT Service Continuity  (ITSCM) initiatives

• Promote IT standards to the broader IT community

• Provide a service-oriented view of the IT infrastructure

• Foster an environment of continuous improvement