In my travels and in this blog I have noted the widespread interest I've encountered in the CMDB. Though there is not a lot of quantifiable data available on CMDB use, my own observations are validated in a survey conducted by Freeform Dynamics.
My webcast on the survey, co-hosted by Martin Atherton of Freeform Dynamics, is available as a replay and is one of the most highly attended webcasts I have ever conducted on a CMDB-related topic. I take that to mean that IT professionals are thirsty for data to back the claims of widespread CMDB adoption.
The survey found that 20% of respondents have a CMDB project in progress and an additional 25% plan to implement a CMDB in the next six to 18 months. The survey also found that 75% of large enterprises and 60% of organizations overall will have some form of CMDB implementation underway in 18 months time.
Clearly, the numbers back what I've personally witnessed--that organizations are adopting CMDBs to enhance the stability of their IT infrastructures and insure against costly system down-time. Still, the high adoption numbers reported in the survey shocked even me.
Though popularized in ITIL® v2, some CMDB demand is not ITIL-driven at all. While to some CMDB=ITIL, many IT organizations I've spoken with who are not pursuing ITIL initiatives are adopting CMDBs to simply help them manage change, the ever-present threat to IT infrastructure stability.
Key to the success of full CMDB market acceptance is the ability to yield short-term deliverables that increase stakeholder buy-in. In planning meetings, I often recommend that implementations have some focus on delivering quick wins, which go a long way toward building project support and enthusiasm. In fact, it may be that the CMDB's ability to deliver some quick and useful results is what's driving IT professionals to kick the tires.
Your personal experience may or may not agree with the survey findings, but the resulting white paper is quite interesting. You'll need to register for the link, but I hope that won't stop you from taking a look.
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