June 3

Managing Information about Your Information Management Systems

Managing Information About Your Information Management System If you have a large number of computers in your business, you already know that there’s more to keeping them running effectively, legally, and safely than other assets your business may require. For instance, your inventory of desks don’t generally require patches as often as your inventory of laptops; and changing a light bulb at end of life is arguably simpler and less risky than replacing one of your application servers. In fact, if your business is run on more than a trivial number of IT devices, the business of managing the information about these devices may, at times, seem like it requires more effort than the actual running of your business.

Want to get the most out of your IT investments?

Here are a few suggestions that can make a big difference:

Be aware of the age and expected lifespan of each device
Make sure all devices are kept up-to-date with the latest operating system and software patches
Have the appropriate level of network security and virus protection
Anti-virus software should be required on all employee devices
Configure your firewall in a way that allows you to do your business, but prevents others from doing “their business” to you.
Be sure that all software licenses are paid for… but don’t have more licenses than you will use.
Upgrading your accounting system? Check to see if your point of sale will still work
Know who to call when one of your devices doesn’t work, especially if it’s a vendor’s fault.
Know what your support agreement stipulates

Mercy! And you thought you were in the lute-stringing business.

In the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL™) framework, detailed data about IT hardware, software, and related assets (configurations) is stored in one or more databases appropriately coined the Configuration Management Database, or CMDB. The concept has its critics and, by ITIL™’s proponents’ own admission, is not realistic as it is currently laid out in the latest ITIL™ spec.

“’CMDB’ is very hard and possibly impossible to build ‘IF’ and ONLY ‘IF’ your view of it is a single monolithic repository as prescribed by the black & white written words of the ITILV2 literature”

However, the concept is powerful and pervasive worldwide, and speaks to a critical need already evidenced in this brief article: managing the information about even relatively small information management systems is no trivial task. There are piles of vendors clamoring to offer wiz-bang, heat-and-serve out-of-the-box CMDB solutions. But success is by far more a matter of process and practice than about databases and applications. Maintaining a CMDB effectively is an all or nothing endeavor. It is a waste of effort to enter data into a system if there is not sufficient commitment to follow processes that ensure the data is accurate and current. If you can’t trust the data, you might as well not have it.

So how can a relatively small business realistically and responsibly manage their information systems? Tune in next time… but be forewarned, it will be a layup for our services.