theGuard! Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is exactly the technological basis that companies need to set up a successful and ITIL-compliant configuration management process.

theGuard! CMDB supports you in your efforts to map and manage the technical IT environment, the related non-technical objects, and their mutual relations. A CMDB that contains all the information you need gives you a better overview of your IT landscape. It allows you to reliably assess the effects of technical changes on business processes across all departments.

To make sure that these objectives are met, theGuard! CMBD is able to:

• identify the objects in a landscape (configuration items, CIs) and their current configurations
• identify relations and interrelations between CIs
• allow users to review and track changes
• create reports on the status of a configuration item whenever needed
  

The main purpose of a CMDB is to map the elaborate and complex network that is made up by relevant CIs and their relations.

The collection of this data is a very tedious and error-prone process if done manually. Moreover, it is not enough to just collect the proprietary data. It needs to be analyzed, which is possible only if it is available in a comparable format. This is referred to as normalized data storage.

Consequently, a CMDB must satisfy the following requirements:

• data collection regardless of the source
• automated data collection
• normalized data storage
• provision of data to change management and business service management solutions, service desks, etc.

theGuard! CMDB has a built-in discovery feature to detect and maintain all components of an IT infrastructure using standard protocols such as WBEM, WMI, or SNMP, ensuring agentless discovery. This feature can be extended to include specific interfaces to various management systems or applications.

The collected data can be manually updated to include company-specific entries of CIs and relation types.

You can use theGuard! CMDB as a central CMDB or have it supply data to other central databases.

Setting up a CMDB is not only a key priority but also one of the greatest challenges when introducing ITIL processes.

That is why the software comes with a standardized data model (CMDB design). These standards make it easier to define relationships while still providing the flexibility needed to customize the CMDB to meet specific requirements.

• automated and normalized data collection
• data and values can be directly compared to one another
• IT performance indicators are constantly updated
• automated discovery of CI relations
• enhanced transparency and flexibility in the definition of business services
• reliable and detailed reports
• provision of data to other solutions and for other purposes