Configuration Management application

The Configuration Management application identifies, defines, and tracks an organization’s CIs by creating and managing records for those items. Other Service Manager applications can then access these records from a central repository. For example, when you create an incident, you can access the hardware component details from Configuration Management and populate the new incident with that information. Access to Configuration Management significantly reduces the time spent to resolve the incident, as well as alerts you to other potential incidents due to component relationships and dependencies defined in the database.

Configuration Management assures you that releases into controlled environments and operational use are performed on the basis of formal approvals. Configuration Management also provides a configuration model of services, assets, and infrastructure by recording relationships between service assets and configuration items.

All CIs are defined in the device file, the foundation of Configuration Management. Each CI record can include contact, location, vendor, and outage history. Other Service Manager applications, such as Incident Management and Change Management, access Configuration Management to populate fields on forms through the use of link records.

Configuration Management enables you to do the following:

• Identify, control, record, report, audit, and verify service assets and CIs, including versions, baselines, constituent components, and their attributes and relationships.
• Account for, manage, and protect the integrity of service assets and CIs throughout the service lifecycle by ensuring that only authorized components are used and only authorized changes are made.

As new and updated services and systems are released and distributed, accurate configuration information must be available to support the planning and control of changes. Service Manager’s out-of-box Configuration Management workflow tracks the IT assets and configurations that make up the infrastructure. These assets can be hardware, software, and associated documentation. The inter-relationships between these components are also monitored. Effective results integrate the service provider's configuration information processes and those of its customers and suppliers. All major assets and configurations must be accounted for and have a responsible manager who ensures that protection and control is maintained.

User profiles determine the access level within Configuration Management. Depending on your access level, you can do the following:

• Add, edit, and save CI records.
• Manage CIs using predefined views to find CIs quickly.
• View and modify software installation information.
• View the maintenance schedule for a CI.
• View and modify SLA information.
• Add CIs to a contract and manage existing contracts.