Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
A key concept of ITIL, the configuration management database (CMDB) is a repository of information related to all the components of an information technology system (configuration items). CMDBs help organizations understand the relationships between IT components and track their configuration.
The CMDB is a fundamental component of the ITIL framework's Configuration Management process. The CMDB records configuration items (CI) and important details about the attributes and relationships between CIs.
The key power of the CMDB is federation, distributed sharing and integration of CI data across the various management systems, along with the intelligent formation of relationships among the CIs. These aspects make the CMDB a core enabler for managing IT from the end-user and business perspective.
Business Service Management (BSM)
Business Service Management (BSM) is a process for monitoring, reporting on, and managing IT resources in a way that delivers the highest business value. A good BSM plan goes beyond the standards of typical IT management; it fuses the goals of IT and business.
BSM is also a best practice for the selection and utilization of appropriate IT management frameworks covering IT Service Management (ITSM) and associated disciplines, along with related tools and software.
BSM consists of all hardware, system, and application software components, as well as network devices, which deliver business applications to end-users. Any component that is part of the delivery mechanism for a business service is also a part of the definition of that service.
Effective BSM solutions actively monitor each of the components and report the overall health of the related business service in real-time. The effective implementation of BSM solutions results in improved end-user satisfaction, higher revenue, reduced risk, and lower costs.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
ITIL is a leading best practice IT management framework emphasizing IT as a provider of services for the business. ITIL originated as a collection of books each covering a specific practice within IT Service Management (ITSM).
ITIL provides widely accepted terminology, as well as comprehensive coverage of the processes surrounding IT service delivery and support. ITIL also formalized the CMDB concept.
