Since the launch of ITIL 4, incorporating DevOps into service management strategy has been a hot topic. On the surface, both DevOps and ITIL are frameworks that can help facilitate successful operations surrounding IT services. But that doesn’t mean that IT pros need to choose one or the other. Like most great marriages, it’s how these two methodologies complement each other that makes them an ideal pair when it comes to ITSM.

Both the technology and infrastructure we use have changed how we deliver services to our customers (or employees in this case). But how are our businesses adapting to these changes? How are we identifying relationships across new environments? Are we understanding the implications of what’s being introduced? In order to keep business applications and operations running smoothly, it’s crucial to understand the value of three key ITIL practices: configuration, change, and release management.

The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) has always been a tricky beast to tame, despite having a longstanding presence in enterprise IT. Originally implemented to help track and manage ever-changing IT assets, the CMDB has a checkered past but is finally ready to shed its bad reputation thanks to new technology.

Okay, good. You have a change management practice in place. You know how to define it, its benefits, how to get the process started, and how to measure its success. You also know it makes for greater success for business initiatives, it prepares the organization for the future, and drives consistency. But how can your current change management practice be improved upon? No matter if you’re a change requestor or change manager, the improvement of your current practice depends on these four actions.

Our CTO and Field CTOs spend a substantial amount of their time talking to customers, industry leaders and domain experts, gaining extraordinary insights and subject matter expertise on the most current and burning issues in IT Operations. Listening to them speak at events, webinars, prospect meetings and even as part of random watercooler chats, we always thought it was a shame we didn’t have a platform to share their wisdom on a broader scale.

Configuration items (CIs) in the configuration management database (CMDB) stores information regarding the relationships among its assets. IT configuration management is becoming increasingly critical in order to maintain service levels and keep all hardware and software performing at peak levels. In order to maintain those levels, there are a few things to understand about the CMDB, how those CIs are connected, and how their relationships can be used to improve technology services.