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the PROBLEM

Why do CMDBs Fail

Maintenance

Maintenance

  • It's always about the maintenance.

  • CMDB is an ongoing effort.

  • The rubber hits the road, after the CMDB Implementation 'Project' is complete.

Isolation

Isolation

  • An isolated CMDB is built without the consideration of how the CMDB will be used and which processes will use its data.

  • An isolated CMDB rapidly diminishes in value as there is no reason to maintain and enhance the quality of the data, in the CMDB.

Tactical

Tactical

  • A tactical approach to the CMDB, results in centralized 'silos' of data.

  • A CMDB built to tactically solve a specific problem often undermines the strategic sustainability of the CMDB.

  • Tactical decisions, that may seem appropriate at that time, often end up costing more in the future or result in suboptimal outcomes for others teams using the CMDB.

Process

Process

  • A successfull CMDB Implementation isn't just about the data.

  • Just like Incidents are managed via Incident Management, Changes are managed via Change Management, the CMDB is managed via the Configuration Management Process.

  • Any CMDB implementation that doesn't incorporate the process to govern the CMDB, results in failure.

Leadership

Leadership

  • The data stored in the CMDB is maintained by numerous teams within IT and across the Business.

  • Its maintenance requires resources to take ownership of the data, that they own, in the CMDB.

  • Lack of leadership support implies the inability of resources closest to the data in the CMDB, to dedicate the time and effort to effectively maintain their portion of the CMDB.

the SOLUTION

Lessons Learnt

Ongoing

Ongoing

  • It's always about the maintenance.

  • Any decision made wrt the CMDB, must always consider the total cost to maintain that solution.

  • It's best not to initiate CMDB work, if the ongoing maintenance, isn't something that is scoped or budgeted for.

Data Driven

Data Driven

  • Data Driven Processes reference and leverage the CMDB, utilizing CIs and their attributes to enhance and automate the process.

  • This ensures that the CMDB is constantly in use, thereby prioritizing its maintenance, resulting in an accurate and reliable CMDB.

Strategic

Strategic

  • A tactical approach to the CMDB, results in centralized 'silos' of data.

  • A strategic approach to the CMDB doesn't simply centralize the data, it goes deeper into understanding the data, who is using it and how it is being used.

  • This approach results in higher upfront costs, but significantly reduces the total cost of ownership to maintain the CMDB.

SACM

SACM

  • A successfull CMDB Implementation isn't just about the data.

  • SACM (Service Asset and Configuration Management) is the underpinning process to govern the CMDB.

  • SACM goes beyond just the data and requires a plan incorporating people, design, operations, reports and governance.

CIO

CIO

  • The data stored in the CMDB is maintained by numerous teams within IT and across the business.

  • Getting CIO support underpins the commitment for resources within IT and across the business, to work together on an ongoing basis.

  • This makes the CMDB an integral part of every process conversation and enhancement, increasing its utilization, accuracy and reliability.

the ALIGNMENT

Lets speak the same language

Key Definitions

The sections that follow capture definitions that are a prerequisite for understanding and aligning on the CMDB.

These definitions help with the alignment across the organization, independent of the background and experiences of everyone involved with the CMDB.

CI

CI

  • A Configuration Item is any service or component that needs to be managed in order to provide an IT Service.

  • Information about each CI is stored as a record in the CMDB.

  • A CI is anything of operational value that is worth tracking and maintaining.

  • Examples of CIs: Servers, Routers, VMs, Business Services

Attributes

Attributes

  • CI Attributes are represented as fields on the table (representing the CI Class) and capture additional information about the CI.

  • CI Relationships are 'attributes' that are the bridge between any two CIs in the CMDB. They capture the dependencies in the CMDB and add an additional dimension to the CMDB.

  • To build the bridge, we need to have a trusted set of CIs established, to provide the foundational pillars at the two ends of the Bridge.

Categories

Categories

  • Logical CIs
  • Services
  • Components
  • Infrastructure CIs
  • Discovered CIs
  • Non-discovered CIs
  • CI Relationships
  • Relationships between Logical CIs
  • Relationships between Logical CIs and Infrastructure CI
  • Relationships between Infrastructure CIs

CMDB

CMDB

  • A Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a repository of Configuration Items (CIs), CI Attributes and CI Relationships and is managed and maintained by the Configuration Management Process.

  • It is the foundation of every ITSM Implementation along with ITOM, ITBM and Sec Ops.

  • When done correctly, serves as the focal point for building data-driven Process.

SACM

SACM

  • Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) or simply, Configuration Management, is defined as the process for establishing and maintaining the CMDB.

  • Just like we have Incident Management to manage Incidents and Change Management to manage Changes, Configuration Management is a must when it comes to managing the CMDB.

  • It is important to explore and evaluate ALL the five phases of Configuration Management (Plan, Design, Run, Report, Audit) for a successful CMDB initiative.

Confusing Terminology

The sections that follow capture terminology that is often confused with one another and thus needs to be understood in the context of the other.

Confusing Terminology

Fundamentals

Fundamentals

  • CI vs Asset

  • Configuration Management vs

Asset Management

  • Code Driven Processes vs

Data Driven Processes

CI vs Asset

  • A CI is an operational Asset.

  • An Asset is any service or component, operational or non-operational, that is of, and provides value to, an organization.

  • An Asset anything and everything which has a cost implication and is worth tracking and maintaining.

  • Examples of Assets: Servers, Routers, VMs, Business Services

Configuration Management

vs Asset Management

  • The process to manage CIs is Configuration Management.

  • The process to manage Assets is Asset Management.

  • Asset Management can be broken down into:
  • Hardware Asset Management
  • Software Asset Management

Code Driven Processes

vs Data Driven Processes

  • Code Driven Processes have routing and workflow logic captured in code or hardcoded in the process, making the process static, hard to scale and expensive to maintain.

  • Data Driven Processes have routing and workflow logic controlled by CIs in the CMDB, making the process dynamic, scalable and inexpensive to maintain.

Grouping

Grouping

  • Discovered CI Attributes vs

Manually Maintained CI Attributes vs

Calculated CI Attributes

  • Discovered CI Relationships vs

Manually Maintained CI Relationships vs

Calculated CI Relationships

  • Status vs Status (this is not a typo!)

Discovered CI Attributes vs

Manually Maintained CI Attributes vs

Calculated CI Attributes

  • Discovered CI Attributes: are automatically populated via ServiceNow Discovery or Service Mapping.

  • Manually Maintained CI Attributes: are manually maintained and thus can't be automatically populated.

  • Calculated CI Attributes: are derived from other attributes and are automatically populated.

Discovered CI Relationships vs

Manually Maintained CI Relationships vs

Calculated CI Relationships

  • Discovered CI Relationships: are automatically populated via ServiceNow Discovery or Service Mapping.

  • Manually Maintained CI Relationships: are manually maintained and thus can't be automatically populated.

  • Calculated CI Relationships: are derived from other attributes and are automatically populated.

Status vs Status

  • For Configuration Management, the core status attributes are:
  • Operational Status (cmdb_ci.operational_status)
  • Status (cmdb_ci.install_status)
  • Status (cmdb_ci_hardware.hardware_status) &&

Substatus (cmdb_ci_hardware.hardware_substatus)

  • For Asset Management, the core status attributes are:
  • State (alm_hardware.install_status)
  • Substate (alm_hardware.substatus)

ServiceNow

ServiceNow

  • CI Type vs CI Category vs CI Class

  • Primary CI vs Affected CIs vs

Impacted Services

  • Services vs Components vs Applications vs

Application Instances vs Software vs

Software Instances vs Software Models

CI Type vs CI Category vs CI Class

  • CI Type can be used generically to group CIs, for example Servers, Network Devices, etc. without going deeper into the classification of that CI.

  • CI Category can be used as an alternative way to group CIs, for example Logical, Infrastructure, etc. allowing for an additional dimension for the classification of that CI.

  • CI Class is a ServiceNow specific term that represents the Table that the CI is stored, in ServiceNow.

Primary CIs vs Affected CIs vs

Impacted Services

  • Primary CI is the single CI selected to help drive the ITIL process for routing, assignments, prioritization, SLA, etc.

  • Affected CIs are one or more CIs that have a downstream impact as a result of the Primary CI.

  • Impacted Services are one or more Business Services that have a downstream impact as a result of the Primary CI.

Services vs Components vs Applications vs Application Instances vs Software vs Software Instances vs Software Models

  • Services (or Business Services) are a menu or list of services that one team within an organization, publishes for its internal customers (other teams within the organization) or external customers - The single layer of abstraction.

  • Components (or Business Service Components) are the underpinning CIs, abstracted from the End User, that help with the operations and support of the Service.

Services vs Components vs Applications vs Application Instances vs Software vs Software Instances vs Software Models

  • Applications or Logical Applications (to explicitly differentiate them from Application Instances), is the logical grouping and supporting nomenclature to abstract executables and supporting infrastructure.

  • Application Instance is the realization and embodiment of the Application on the IT infrastructure, either stand-alone or across multiple clusters, regions and environments.

Services vs Components vs Applications vs Application Instances vs Software vs Software Instances vs Software Models

  • Software is a generic term used to describe Software Instances.

  • Software Instance is any executable installed on any infrastructure within an organization.

  • Software Models are a means of grouping the various Software Instances within the organization for SAM.

Key Concepts

The sections that follow capture key functional concepts that are a pre-requisite for understanding and aligning on the CMDB.

These key concepts help with the alignment across the organization, independent of the background and experiences of everyone involved with the CMDB.

CMDB Approach

CMDB Approach

  • Top-Down OR Bottom-Up OR Vertical

  • The decision for which approach is most suitable depends on your organization maturity, available technology and your implementation partner.

  • Considerable thought should be given to the 'people' constraints and commitments, over and above the cost of the 'technology' and associated licensing.

Process Alignment

Process Alignment

  • Each ITIL process implemented in ServiceNow should be designed to leverage the CMDB.

  • A CMDB without Process Alignment is destined to become obsolete.

  • The simplest and most effective way to ensure alignment is to have the processes reference the CMDB via a single Primary CI and one or more Affected CIs, where applicable.

Maintenance

Maintenance

  • CMDBs vary within different organizations.

  • A single scope or design doesn't apply across the different organizations.

  • A simple approach to building the CMDB, with maintenance being the underpinning factor, results in a successful CMDB.

  • It's always about the maintenance.

the ASSESSMENT

Where to begin

Start

Start

  • Preparation:

Identify stakeholders and participants.

Align schedules to confirm availability.

  • Scheduling:

Scheduling the initial set of meetings, including the project kickoff.

  • Project Kickoff:

Initial meeting to share detailed timelines, set expectations and align on stakeholder priorities.

Talk

Talk

  • CMDB Alignment:

Bridge functional and technical knowledge gaps via comprehensive CMDB Training.

  • Functional Conversations:

1:1 meetings with non-technical resources / teams to understand the processes aligned with the CMDB.

  • Technical Conversations:

1:1 meetings with technical reasources / teams to understand the technology aligned with the CMDB.

Walk

Walk

  • Analysis of Process Documentation:

Due diligence to review existing process documentation.

  • Analysis of Technical Documentation:

Due diligence to review existing technical documentation.

  • Analysis of ServiceNow CMDB Implementation:

Due diligence to review existing ServiceNow Implementation.

Deliver

Deliver

  • Deliverable Preparation:

Create, based on the 'Talk' and 'Walk', recommendations and rationalizations for the CMDB.

  • Deliverable Review:

Present, via a series of meetings, the documented recommendations with rationalizations.

  • Deliverable Completion:

Deliver, based on feedback, the final recommendations and rationalizations.

Close

Close

  • Follow-up Q&A:

Answer any additional follow-up questions or clarifications pertaining to the deliverable.

  • Socialize:

Communicate results of the deliverable to all the stakeholders and participants.

  • Next Steps:

Initiate CMDB effort based on the recommendation of the Assessment.

the PROCESS

Service Asset and Configuration Management

Plan

Configuration Planning and Management involves the creation of the Configuration Management Plan, the identification of the roles and responsibilities to support the execution of the Configuration Management Plan and the identification of the scoped data sources populating the CMDB.

The Plan

The Plan

  • The Configuration Management Plan is the document that captures all aspects of the Configuration Management Process.

  • Any changes in decisions made to the Configuration Management Process must be captured by making relevant updates to the Configuration Management Plan.

The People

The People

  • Every process requires clearly defined roles and responsibilities to design, operationally execute, and maintain the process.

  • Capturing roles and responsibilities sets the foundation and provides ownership to successfully execute Configuration Management within the organization.

The Data

The Data

  • Data Sources responsible for populating the CMDB need to be identified, validated and technically vetted.

  • Decisions for the sources of Data for the CMDB subsequently drive design decisions, configurations and integrations.

Design

Configuration Identification involves the identification, design and documentation of the CMDB. This incorporates the definition of CI Classes with their supporting attributes, CI Relationship Types and corresponding CI Baseline Definitions.

CI Classes

CI Classes

  • Defining and identifying CI Class Scope is the precursor to an accurate CMDB.

  • Limiting the number of CI Classes in the CMDB helps gain control of the CMDB.

  • Introducing CI Classes with supporting CRUD processes to maintain them, ensures the CMDB Design will continue to accurately represent the CMDB.

CI Relationship Types

CI Relationship Types

  • Defining and identifying CI Relationship Types between CI Classes is the next step towards maturing the CMDB.

  • Only pre-approved CI Relationship Types should be allowed to be created in the CMDB and should be defined as such.

  • Synergies can be obtained by studying how ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping populate CI Relationships.

  • This helps with impact analysis and the overall interpretation of BSM Maps.

CI Baseline Definitions

CI Baseline Definitions

  • A CI baseline is an agreed point which you can use for comparison and remediation.

  • Baselining the whole CMDB for every change that take places is akin to having no Baseline at all.

  • Its important to define why Baselines should run, how often and on which CI Classes.

Run

Configuration Control involves processes that govern operational changes to the CI and its attributes.

This ensures that the CMDB is updated after a completed change and helps control the accuracy of the CMDB.

CIs

CIs

  • Defining the process to manage a CI operationally controls the integrity of the CMDB.

  • This is typically implemented via the Change Management Process. However, it is normal to have certain CI CIasses outside the scope of Change Management.

  • It ensures that the CMDB accurately represents the true state of the Logical CIs or the Infrastructure CIs.

CI Relationships

CI Relationships

  • Defining the process to manage CI relationships operationally controls the integrity of the CI relationships within the CMDB.

  • The approach to relationship management differs significantly for CI Relationships between Logical CIs, Logical and Infrastructure CIs, and Infrastructure CIs.

  • It ensures that the CMDB accurately represents the true state of the inter-relationships between the CIs in the CMDB.

CI Baselines

CI Baselines

  • A CI baseline is an agreed point which you can use for comparison and remediation.

  • It is marked by the completion and the formal approval of a set of predefined changes.

  • It is often used during audits as a means to compare the current state with the approved state and help with the remediation of descrepancies.

Report

Configuration Status Accounting & Reporting involves the recording and reporting of information needed to manage configuration items effectively.

Correctness

Correctness

  • Orphan CIs unintentionally left active in the CMDB, when no longer needed.

  • Stale CIs (and CI Relationships) that are active in the CMDB, but not updated for a specified period of time.

  • Duplicate CIs in the CMDB leveraging identification rules.

Completeness

Completeness

  • Mandatory CI Attributes that are not populated in the CMDB. (Red asterix)

  • Recommended CI Attributes that are not populated in the CMDB. (Incomplete forms)

  • Valid CI Relationships that are not populated in the CMDB. (Hardest to identify)

Compliance

Compliance

  • Comparison of actual values against expected values.

  • Data Compliance: CIs and Attributes.

  • Design Compliance: Metadata i.e. CMDB Design.

  • Process Compliance: SACM and Change Management.

Process

Process

  • CMDB must be referenced by other ITSM Processes, such as Incident Management, Problem Management and Change Management.

  • While each of these process areas have their own reporting requirements, to derive correlations between these processes, is something that is only possible leveraging the CMDB.

Archiving

Archiving

  • ServiceNow manages the data archiving requirements as a part of the platform and it is transparent.

  • Additional exacts may be taken to meet customer-specific archiving requirements.

  • Archiving is often done prior to major changes to the CMDB to facilitate restoration of the CIs.

Audit

Configuration Audit & Verification involves the periodic audit of scoped CI to verify conformance to requirements associated with process, design and data.

Process

Process

  • Configuration Management process validation ensures that the Configuration Management process is being executed as defined in the Configuration Management Plan.

  • The audit captures:
  • How often the audit takes place
  • Where the audit results are captured
  • Who does the audit
  • What sections of the SACM Plan are audited

Design

Design

  • Configuration Management design validation ensures that the CMDB design is being executed as defined in the Configuration Management Plan.

  • The audit captures:
  • How often the audit takes place
  • Where the audit results are captured
  • Who does the audit
  • What sections of the SACM Plan are audited

Data

Data

  • More commonly associated with 'audits' and synonymous with GRC.

  • Must have a different approach for Logical CIs and Infrastructure CIs.

  • Leverage the Data Certification Application in ServiceNow.

the TECHNOLOGY

Feaured on the ServiceNow Store

www.DiscoveryAdmin.com

ServiceNow

Discovery Admin by QuickNexus requires and builds on the ServiceNow CMDB and ServiceNow Discovery.

Its not an alternative to ServiceNow Discovery.

It simplifies the manual overheads associated with the maintanance of the CMDB.

ServiceNow CMDB

ServiceNow CMDB

  • The CMDB in ServiceNow is a hierarchical, relational and highly normalized database.

  • It comes with 100s of CI Classes, CI Attributes and CI Relationship Types which can be directly leveraged.

  • The CMDB Design is further rationalized and extended, when paired with ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping.

Data Population

Data Population

  • Manual Data Entry (Logical CIs, Attributes and Relationships)

  • One-time Data Imports (Deprecated Sources)

  • ServiceNow Discovery (Horizontal)

  • Service Mapping (Vertical)

  • 3rd-party Solutions and Integrations (Active Sources)

Things to consider

Things to consider

  • Credentials | MID Servers | Schedules

  • Optimal Configurations

  • Troubleshooting | Remediation

  • Ongoing Maintenance

  • Limitations wrt ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping

Discovery Admin

Available since Q4-2017 on the ServiceNow Store

Millions of logs analyzed

Our customers are running Discovery Admin in Production to configure, maintain and troubleshoot ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping

Native to ServiceNow

Business Value

An accurate and reliable CMDB is core to every successful ServiceNow Implementation, whether it be:

IT Service Management,

IT Operations Management,

IT Business Management or Security Operations.

CMDB

CMDB

  • What if Amazon shipped you the wrong Item?

  • What if Uber sent you the wrong Driver?

  • And... What if your CMDB has inaccurate and unreliable data?

  • Our world outside of work, doesn't work, without accurate and reliable data.

  • And no ServiceNow Implementation is complete without an accurate and reliable CMDB.

ITSM

ITSM

  • All ITSM Processes must reference the CMDB and leverage the CI attributes to further automate the process.

  • Change Management can leverage the CMDB for Approvals.

  • Incident Management can leverage the CMDB for Escalations.

  • Request Management can leverage the CMDB for Assignments.

ITOM

ITOM

  • ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping are core to ITOM.

  • Orchestration, Event Management, Operational Intelligence and Cloud Management requires that CIs be accurately represented in the CMDB.

ITBM

ITBM

  • Business Services and Application Portfolios are core to ITBM.

  • These need to be defined in the CMDB to help gain financial insights to:
  • understanding the cost of service delivery
  • predict demand
  • manage resources
  • control budgets

Sec Ops

Sec Ops

  • Security Operations consists of:
  • security incident reponse
  • vulnerability response
  • configuration compliance
  • threat intelligence.

  • Each of these capabilities need to reference CIs in the CMDB for successful remediation of the vulnerabilities by IT and comprehensive tracking by the Sec Ops team.

Core Features

The core features of Discovery Admin cover every aspect needed for a successful ServiceNow Discovery Implementation, resulting in an accurate and reliable CMDB.

Configure

Configure

  • Proactively CONFIGURE ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping.

  • Discovery only what you want populated in the CMDB. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  • Simplified configurations by simply toggling the Active Flag.

Troubleshoot

Troubleshoot

  • TROUBLESHOOT Logs 100x faster than an experienced ServiceNow Discovery Administrator.

  • Comprised of a pattern matching engine with 100s of predefined patterns to underpin the troubleshooting.

  • Generate Error Codes with documented root cause and remediation.

  • Automatically ignores irrelevant errors, eliminating false positives.

Customize

Customize

  • Configure Rules to accommodate Customer Specific CUSTOMIZATIONS to ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping.

  • Additional granularity to align with who within the organization is responsible for remediating which errors.

  • Document these rules, within the Application, for recurring analysis

Remediate

Remediate

  • Generate Incidents and auto-assign them to the correct teams for remediation of the Errors.

  • Eliminate false-positives, saving time and frustration for the Device Support Teams.

  • Provide in the Incident, the root cause and steps required to REMEDIATE the Errors.

Populate

Populate

  • Automatically POPULATE Manually Maintained Attributes, to minimize time wasted in manual data entry.

  • Eliminate human errors and further increase the accuracy of the CMDB.

  • Enrich your CMDB leveraging CIs and CI Attributes already populated in the CMDB.

Pricing Models

Pricing Models for Discovery Admin cover every situation we have seen at customers, from one-time engagements to end-to-end managed services.

Project

Project

  • One-time Discovery Project with Discovery Admin.

  • Includes a project-based T&M engagement for ServiceNow Discovery and CMDB initiatives.

  • Incorporates Discovery Admin for the setup, configuration and deployment of ServiceNow Discovery.

Subscription

Subscription

  • Turbocharge your Team with Discovery Admin

  • Includes the Discovery Admin Subscription (only)

  • Optional T&M engagement for configuration and deployment of ServiceNow Discovery with Knowledge Transfer to your team for ongoing support.

Managed Service

Managed Service

  • Let us handle everything with Discovery Admin.

  • Includes an end-to-end, fixed-price Managed Service that bundles the Discovery Admin Subscription.

  • Includes configurations and deployment of ServiceNow Discovery and its ongoing maintenance.

Videos

Videos explaining the capabilities and core features of Discovery Admin, along with an App Demo.

Videos

About

About

Click Play >

Core

Core

Click Play >

Demo

Demo

Click Play >

www.QuickNexus.com | +1-347-674-8878 | info@QuickNexus.com

We focus exclusively on the CMDB in ServiceNow

Founded in 2016

More than 10+ Years of experice on the ServiceNow Platform

100+ CMDB Implementations

More than half of these have been with ServiceNow Discovery

About Us

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