Despite claims that the rise of cloud cuts the relevance of CMDB, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) experience and field research consistently find the opposite to be true. In a recent EMA research study, a panel of global IT leaders stated that CMDB use was central to major functions. For many of those respondents, CMDB use was viewed as increasing in importance for automation of complex processes. Where is the disconnect? Check out these slides from EMA's Research Director, Valerie O’Connell, to get insights into the research findings, including: - CMDB use is increasing for 64% of organizations - Hybrid organizations have the highest rate of CMDB use increase - 24% update the CMDB in real time. Is that the right frequency? - Why CMDB has an uneven reputation - Success rates, reasons, and returns

1. | @ema_research
CMDB in cloud times:
myths, mistakes, and
mastery
Valerie O’Connell
Research Director, Digital Service Execution
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA)
Sponsored by

2. | @ema_research 2
Watch the On-Demand Webinar
• CMDB in Cloud Times: Myths, Mistakes, and Mastery On-Demand
Webinar: https://info.enterprisemanagement.com/cmdb-in-cloud-
webinar-ss
• Check out upcoming webinars from EMA here:
https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/freeResearch
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc.

3. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Featured Speaker
Valerie came to EMA with decades of senior-level
experience in the effective marketing of technology.
Her experience ranges from VP of product marketing
at what was then CA to a successful run as an
independent practitioner, serving industry giants such
as Microsoft and EMC, as well as cutting-edge
startups.
At EMA, Valerie leads the Digital Service Execution
practice, which encompasses intersections and
innovations across AIOps, asset management, end-
user experience, ITSM/ESM, and business context as
they interact to deliver excellence in digital service.
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 3
Valerie O’Connell
Research Director
Digital Service Executions
EMA

4. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Sponsor
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 4
| @ema_research

5. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
CMDB – a disconnect between reputation and reality?
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 5
(July 2023: 150 IT leaders in North America, EMEA, and APAC; mix of management levels and
industries: 1,000-20,000+ employees)
The purpose of this research:
get a view of the CMDB as practiced and planned today
EMA’s research over the past 5 years shows consistent findings.
Absence of current field research:
The topic is overshadowed by shinier trends
The reputation and perceived value are now
defined by a combination of myth, mistakes,
and anecdotal wisdom
Renewed interest driven by:
The challenges of hybrid IT and multi-cloud
Realistic evolution of CMDB expectations
and technologies to meet them.

6. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Some bottom-line conclusions
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 6
CMDB remains fundamental to IT service quality – and is on the rise.
CMDB 2001 is not CMDB 2023
The value CMDB delivers today maps to top IT initiatives…
(decrease in unplanned work/outages, increased IT productivity, and
improved service quality)
…using technology capabilities that weren’t generally available when ITIL
v2 introduced the notion of CMDB in 2001
(AI/ML, advanced automation, discovery and dependency mapping,
ability to handle large volumes of diverse data, and mainstream AIOps
make CMDB objectives workable)

7. | @ema_research
Clearly defined
expectations, goals,
objectives, scope, and
responsibilities
A plan for establishing
and maintaining data
accuracy and
completeness
Technology to
enable its health
Automation,
cross-functional
workflows, and
excellent discovery
and dependency
mapping
Skillset and staffing to
support its upkeep, as
well as management
backing
Stakeholder
involvement
Practical
processes
Advice from the field = attributes common to successful CMDB implementations
7
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. | @ema_research

8. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
A word about the research pool – Configuration tracking and some automation required
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 8

9. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Realistic expectations and enabling technologies underly a 90% CMDB success rate
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 9

10. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Cloud is not a CMDB killer
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 10
Top value that CMDB delivers:
• Cloud-only and hybrid – performance
management
• On-prem + private cloud only – security
The top value of automation in CMDB:
• Cloud-only cited cost reduction
• Hybrid – data accuracy
• On-prem + private cloud – automation
for cross-functional workflows
Cloud-only organizations reported the highest reliance on CMDB alone, without other external sources, such as
spreadsheets. Hybrid organizations reported increasing use of CMDB at a rate of 75% vs. 55% average.

11. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Why do you think people perceive
CMDB as having little value?
• Lack of understanding or experience
• Cost and complexity of upkeep
• Cloud and containers have made it obsolete
• It is too static to keep up with the dynamic
nature of IT
• Shift toward service-centric vs. component
approach
• It’s not accurate so it’s not used
Perceptions of CMDB
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 11
100% of executives think that perceived low value is due to lack of understanding or experience
Those with the most direct experience have the higher valuation of CMDB

12. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
CMDB is identified with specific use cases – not with its larger, generic purpose
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 12

13. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Primary reasons for multiple CMDBs
Scalability for performance
Resilience – no single point of failure
Localized autonomy and regulations
There is no effective way to standardize
Number of CMDBs in use – why and how
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 13
How are multiple sources or
CMDBs related?
34% Federated in a CMS
46% Independent, but share data
20% Completely separate

14. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
CMDB ownership
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 14
Who should own CMDB?
Not surprisingly, each group thinks they should
own it
Executives think service should own it
Ownership differences
• DevOps ownership sees CMDB use
increasing at 80%
• ITOps ownership has many more uses of
AIOps in conjunction with CMDB than other
groups
• Service ownership is more likely to require ITIL

15. | @ema_research
CMDB
characteristics

16. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
CMDB characteristics/practices and planned improvements
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 16
Areas of improvements:
Real-time discovery and alerting
Better integration with cloud platforms
DevOps and agile CI/CD support
Cross-functional workflow automation
Service mapping
IoT
AI/ML use for data quality
AI-assisted service and operations
Side note: Executives think there is much more
structure, standardization, and process in
place than do practitioners

17. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Data, discovery, and service mapping are top areas for improvement for CMDB value
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 17

18. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Number of DDM solutions
Bidirectional
49% Unidirectional
35%
No DDM integration
16%
Service modeling is most successful when automation is a strategic, high priority
Discovery and dependency mapping (DDM) is critical to success/usefulness
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 18
Does your CMDB include discovery and
dependency mapping (DDM) for application
and infrastructure interdependencies?
One
14% 2-4
54%
Too many
to count
10%
5-10
22%

19. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Update frequency: 24% real time, 20% daily+, 41% weekly+, 10% monthly
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 19
CMDB update is primarily…automated 35%, manual 10%, a mix of automated and manual 54%
The largest and smallest organizations
are the least likely to have real-time
updates; 2,500-10,000 employees most
likely to have real time
Real-time update correlates strongly
with advanced automation
65% of real time have bidirectional
DDM vs. 40%
There is no “right” frequency

20. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Extra-CMDB tracking sources are also the most frequent causes of manual updating
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 20
Average 3 per
respondent
CMDB update is primarily…automated 35%, manual 10%, a mix of automated and manual 54%

21. | @ema_research
CMDB technologies

22. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Automation heads the CMDB dream team
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 22

23. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Service – troubleshooting and impact on MTTR
Ops – accuracy
Cloud – auditability
ITAM – cost reduction
Top value of automation by respondent team
Automation and CMDB
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 23
Automation and high valuation of CMDB close correlation
CMDB use increasing at a higher rate when automation is
a high priority
High priority of automation correlates strongly with quality
of service, clearly defined CI scope, high level of service
modeling success, success rate with CMDB, and return on
CMDB investment relative to cost.

24. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
AI/ML use with CMDB – data leads by a mile
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 24
Average of
four uses
named per
respondent

25. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
When ITOps owns CMDB there are many
more uses of AIOps
High priority of automation also correlates
strongly with AIOps use
High-value AIOps use with CMDB
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 25
APAC much higher use for predictive
analysis and automated remediation than
NA or EMEA
EMEA = lower incidence of use across an
even range of cases

26. | @ema_research
CMDB uses and
values

27. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
CMDB impact on IT service – speed and effectiveness ties with reduced MTTR/disruptions
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 27

28. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
60% of service respondents rate reduction
in MTTR as CMDB’s top value
Performance management ranked as the use of CMDB that delivers top value
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 28
Sample Size = 157

29. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
Service quality and IT productivity are top CMDB values to organization –
and the top priorities for IT service and ITOps
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 29
Improved service quality and increased IT
personnel productivity (less unplanned work)
are the top two goals of ITOps and ITSM in
three recent EMA research projects.
CMDB plays directly to current initiatives.

30. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
98% see CMDB as fundamental to IT service quality or critical:
half of the respondents view CMDB use as increasing and critical in cloud times
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 30

31. | @ema_research
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 31
CMDB summary thoughts
CMDB arose in ITSM with early
ITIL to be all things to all people
The technologies to meet the expectations didn’t exist and the
technology landscape drastically changed
The highest-value use cases are
not primarily ITSM, but DevOps
and ITOps
DevOps and ITOps own the
most progressive
implementations of CMDB
Challenges: high-velocity IT, proliferation of virtualized and cloud
services, ill-defined relationships between component, data quality
and semantics
Top benefits: fix service issues faster, reduce operational costs, cut
unplanned work, and reduce security risks
Make expectations consistent with ability to deliver: keep it simple and current
| @ema_research

32. | @ema_research
| @ema_research
The Report is Now Available!
Learn more and download:
https://bit.ly/445nbwL
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 32