First Light & Configuration Data Management

Holland Michigan, a city on the Lake Michigan shore line, has an annual custom called First Light. It is held in the middle of November celebrating the start of the Holiday season. We had the pleasure of attending this celebration this year. We went with friends that have also relocated from the east coast. We had an exceptional “First Light” dinner at Alpenrose which serves international cuisine.

Store owners opened their doors and provided cookies and refreshments to everyone. I was amazed at the number of people attending. It reminded me of holiday shopping in midtown Manhattan. We even enjoyed freshly cooked Chestnuts roasted on the sidewalk. I noticed how well organized the event was. Looking at the event from a systematic perspective, it was similar to a well implemented system that was developed using configuration data management practices.

IT Governance, particularly Configurations Data Management, is a term that IT departments of all sizes dread but should embrace. Configuration Data Management, simply put, is identifying the relationship of all entities in IT including:

• Network Equipment and Software
• Computers (Mainframe, Mid Range, Servers, PC, Laptops etc.)
• All Versions of software and their associated licensing
• Users and their organizational structure
• Applications (including interrelationships)
• Security (hardware, software, access control)

The benefits of implementing IT Governance and Configuration Data Management far outweigh any associated costs. They include:

• Enabling compliance to legislation such as SOX, HIPAA, GLBA, and Safe Harbor
• Ability to determine the impact of any hardware, software, or application change across the organization
• Providing proven “best practices” to the organization
• Decreasing time to implement enhancements
• Eliminating licensing compliance issues
• Providing better and faster response to user questions
• Improving Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning and Response
• Providing users with the equipment and services needed to perform their jobs

In order to effectively implement IT Governance and Configuration Data Management, an experienced consultant is frequently required. Mark Shurr, Vice President and Principal Consultant of Ada Business Technology, has over 20 years of experience in IT Governance and Configuration Data. Please contact Mark at (616) 805-7402 or on his mobile phone at (631) 742.5178. Email Mark at Support@AdaBusTech.com and visit his web site at http://www.AdaBusTech.com.