In this podcast, www.enterpriseleadership.org asks Casanova to describe some of the key tasks associated with CMDB/CMS; the effect technologies, such as virtualization, service-oriented architecture, and cloud computing are having on the CMDB/CMS; and the various approaches CIOs can use in selling CMDB/CMS within their organization.

During his tenure as the senior enterprise architect for MetLife, Inc., Carlos Casanova realized that carrying out an enterprise configuration management database (CMDB) became one of the most influential actions an IT organization can take to improve service delivery, and to bridge the gap between technology and the business.

Casanova has done two things to make it easier for large IT organizations to deal with what he calls the CMDB imperative. First, he is president of K2 Solutions Group. His firm offers professional services to support the delivery of IT service initiatives, such as the CMDB. Second, he is the co-author with Glenn O’Donnell of The CMDB Imperative: How to realize the dream and avoid the nightmares.  He says with a well-designed CMDB in place, companies can better position themselves to manage and optimize IT infrastructure, applications, and services; automate more IT management tasks; and restrain burgeoning costs. His book presents a start-to-finish implementation methodology that works and describes how the CMDB is shifting to the superior configuration management system, the CMDB renamed and overhauled in ITIL v.3.

Bio
Carlos Casanova is the president of K2 Solutions Group, Inc. and the co-author of The CMDB Imperative: How to realize the dream and avoid the nightmares. He is also a committee member and contributor to the itSMF USA newsletter and the financial sector vertical lead for the itSMF New England Chapter. Prior to K2 Solutions, he was a senior enterprise architect and chief technology officer with MetLife, Inc.

Resources
What is the CMDB? - InformIT
The Convergence of CMDB/CMS: Is it the answer? - Computer Reseller News
Data management grows up: From CMDBs to CMSes - TechTarget - Data Center News

Production Credits
Elizabeth Ferrarini, Executive Producer
Tom Parish, Host and Audio Producer
Audio Editing by Doug Marcis

When Dr. Jerry N. Luftman established the information systems graduate programs at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, he didn't envision that it would someday become one of the world's largest, with more than 1,000 students. Most of the graduate students have at least 10 years of professional experience. The effective alignment between IT (or IS) with the needs of the business has become a critical part of the curriculum and a major research area for Dr. Luftman. Students put themselves in the tactical role of a CIO, and then in the strategic role where a CIO builds business strategy driven by IT.

During the past 20 years, many processes have evolved to improve the over arching relationship between IT and the business. Business service management or BSM has emerged as an important concept for improving availability and performance. It's also a complement to the IT Infrastructure Library or ITIL. BSM tries to ensure that IT processes are in harmony with the business processes so IT can improve the business's services. Specifically, BSM looks at what affect each of the different services and the technologies supported by IT can have on the business.

Dr. Luftman says that BSM has become necessary because today's systems are tightly integrated with each other. He says, "You have a myriad of different hardware and different software technologies, such as Web servers, databases, file servers, middleware, and virtual servers. If there's a problem with any of these things, how can you stay out in front to be more proactive, to be responsive to our business, and to be able to minimize the impact it might have on the business. That's where BSM comes in."

Bio

Dr. Jerry N. Luftman is the executive director of graduate information systems (IS) programs, and distinguished professor at Stevens Institute of Technology. Before establishing the IS graduate programs at Stevens, Dr. Luftman had a 23-year technology and product management career with IBM.

The Society for Information Management (SIM) sponsors Dr. Luftman's annual study about IT trends, which has served as an industry barometer for the past 10 years. He also has served on the executive boards of several companies and organizations, such as SIM and The Conference Board. He has written dozens of journal articles about IT, and is author of Competing in the Information Age: Align in the Sand, Competing in the Information Age: Strategic Alignment in Practice, and Managing the Information Technology Resource: Leadership in the Information Age.

Resources
A Dialogue with Business on the IT Curriculum for the 21st Century and Its Impact on Talent Management - Society of Information Management
Jerry N. Luftman News from Fierce CIO
Competing in the Information Age:Strategic Alignment in Practice - Oxford University Press

Production Credits
Elizabeth Ferrarini, Executive Producer
Tom Parish, Host and Audio Producer
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