When we started this blog, CMDBs were all the rage. ITIL was at its peak. Practically every single customer asked us about our “CMDB strategy”.
From the start we had the vision that passing event, performance, and business context data through the already overloaded CMDB was a terrible mistake.
First, it was not a “best practice” as opposed to the rest of ITIL initiatives. Back then the number of existing companies around the world that had finished such a CMDB was zero. And it remains zero.
And when we say there will be surprises this Friday at the European Monitoring Symposium, we mean exactly that. But here is a little teaser.
Miss it at your own risk.
It is not because it is the only European event solely dedicated to Monitoring, it is not because we are going to present a radical change in the way leading companies do business, it is not because of the fine Mediterranean cuisine, the nice people or the awesome venue.
Well, it is because of all these as well. And it is because of the nice surprises (many of them), but the main reason to attend the Monitoring Symposium is to propel your career forward, to go further faster, whether you are a CIO or a CISO or you are one in the making.
Particularly now, when not advancing means going back.
Because monitoring, understood as Corporate Visibility, is really powerful stuff (hey, that’s what I’ve created this blog for). A wonderful opportunity that many pass on, and regret when it is too late.
And what we are introducing is completely new. Promise.
Well, I said it already. Now it is up to you.
Hope to see you in Sitges this Friday (May 23rd)!
Hugs.
Service Management guru Ian Clayton posted a great paper from one of his customers, about why Outside-In thinking is paramount to avoid frustrating everybody and yourself, as the article wisely says:
“For most organizations, it is a natural tendency to look inward at what they do. They are focused (sometimes totally) on how the work is designed and accomplished, and performance measures are geared toward achieving internal goals. (…)
Failure to please the customer leads to, well, failure.”
The article is short, download it from http://www.servicemanagement101.com/files/lockheed-lean-for-services-white-paper.pdf and while you are at it, subscribe to Ian Clayton’s blog.
We are being asked less and less about how to integrate a monitoring system with a CMDB.
Main reason: in the past, people thought that building a full-fledged, galaxy-comprehending CMDB was kind of easy and even mandatory (blame ITIL). But nowadays, people are aware of the horror stories and more wary about using a CMDB beyond Asset Management (yes, CMDBs are great for that!).
Only exception: people who arrived late to the party, and still think that a CMDB as defined by ITIL is beneficial or even doable. (If you are among them, please read this, this, this, and this).
By the way, the most popular post last year has been “CMDBs: butterflies or caterpillars?”. For a reason. And I am happy about it.
So what’s all the rage right now? Well, people went too fast from loving an all-encompassing Service Management solution (as proposed, and with sound reason, by ITILv3) to adore a tactical, scope-limited and still inside-out patch called APM. Again, APM tools, as CMDBs, are a good thing, if used properly. But they are not being used properly. I gave my two cents on it here.
Have a great afternoon.
Were you able to achieve more Visibility during 2012?
Did you remove blind spots in IT operations and business processes, did you align infrastructure management, did you get a holistic, consistent, real-time view at every level for critical services?
And, thanks to that, did you notably improve overall services, generating more value for your business and adding more meaning to your position?
Whether you did or not, remember: right now it is time for your New Year’s resolutions. A great occasion to decide that 2013 will be the year you are going to create the highest value for your company.
From this friendly blog we’ll try to continue helping you achieve that as much as we can.
Happy Visibility in 2013!
A big, big hug from Barcelona.
The Visibility Blog by Raul Cristian Aguirre 