August 21, 2008

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES OFFERS

Latest study shows CMDB deployments maturing from planning phase to second stage, new EMA services help drive value and success

BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 13, 2008 – Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) (www.enterprisemanagement.com), a leading IT management research and consulting firm, today announced new research and a series of service offerings focused on Configuration Management Database (CMDB) implementations. The new research report, CMDB Systems Deployments in 2008 – the Search for Value, is complemented by a set of offerings that includes CMDB consulting services and a one-day CMDB Requirements Workshop.

“Our new research reveals that CMDB deployments are at a fundamentally different stage than just two years ago, as they move from the planning stage to value-driven initiatives,” explained Dennis Drogseth, vice president at EMA. “Based on industry input, our new offerings are designed to help IT professionals accelerate their CMDB projects through thorough assessments and practical advice on how to effectively define and build the CMDB from the ground level.”

The goal of the new EMA research study was to capture the state of CMDB deployments in 2008 in terms of objectives, budgets, success metrics, functional and packaging priorities (what’s working, what’s not), and best-practices advice from adopters. Drogseth and his team gathered 174 quantitative survey responses and conducted more than 15 in-depth focal interviews with IT professionals actively involved in the planning or deployment of their organization’s CMDB.  The respondents were 90 percent from North America, but focal interviews reached out to deployments ranging from Australia to the U.K.

Key study findings include:

• Most CMDB deployments are less than two years underway, with 43 percent less than a year underway and 68 percent not yet in full production.
• Fewer than 50 percent of CMDB initiatives currently have metrics in place for governance. The relative immaturity of metrics definition was underscored by the fact that only three-four percent of respondents had “other” metrics to offer than those proposed in the questionnaire.
• The top three technical concerns for CMDB deployments are “maintaining effective CMDB performance;” “lack of in-house available architectural expertise;” and “identification of systems of record” or trusted sources.
• The number one answer to “what would you have done differently?” was “We would not have used in-house development for software as much as we did.” This was followed by better detailed requirements, better process planning and education, building a bigger team for CMDB deployment, and more attention to communication across IT.

• When asked about changes made that were driven from “lessons learned,” the top four were: better requirements documentation; increasing the commitment to the CMDB program; having higher-level management support; and obtaining executive buy-in. Expanding the number of stakeholders came in fifth.

 Drogseth will conduct a free EMA Webinar highlighting additional key findings from this study on August 19. To register, please visit: http://www.emausa.com/ema_lead.php?ls=cmdbreswebpr0808&bs=cmdbresweb0808

New CMDB Service Offerings
In conjunction with the release of this new research report, EMA has introduced several new service offerings to help IT organizations succeed with CMDB:

CMDB Assessment Service
The eight-week CMDB Assessment Service leverages Enterprise Management Associates’ unique combination of industry knowledge, product knowledge and proven consulting methodology to deliver a practical approach to planning and implementing a CMDB. During the engagement, EMA CMDB experts work with IT teams to assess their readiness to tackle a CMDB; develop specific process, organization and technology architecture recommendations; and create an implementation roadmap that lays out short-term wins in the context of a long-term vision.

CMDB Solution Design Service
The EMA CMDB Solution Design Service helps IT teams establish and validate the detailed requirements for tools, processes and people. During this six-month engagement, EMA experts work with clients to document detailed business and technical requirements, deliver comprehensive process definitions and develop pilot project use cases.

CMDB Requirements Workshop
The new one-day EMA workshop – How to Define Detailed Requirements for your Enterprise CMDB Project – arms attendees with the knowledge needed to articulate the context of the CMDB at both an executive and a technical level. Workshop attendees obtain the skills and tools to gather and create detailed requirements needed for long-term CMDB success.

EMA also offers a free, online CMDB Solutions Center where users can compare in-depth profiles of more than 15 leading CMDB solutions to find the right one for their organization. Register for free access at: http://itsolutions.emausa.com/register.php

For more information on Enterprise Management Associates’ new CMDB offerings or to purchase a copy of the report, CMDB Systems Deployments in 2008 – the Search for Value, contact sales@enterprisemanagement.com or +1.303.543.9500.

NOTE TO EDITORS

For more information, contact Guy Murrel at gmurrel@catapultpr-ir.com at 303-581-7760 x17

About Enterprise Management Associates
Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst and consulting firm dedicated to the IT management market. The firm provides IT vendors and enterprise IT professionals with objective insight into the real-world business value of long-established and emerging technologies, ranging from security, storage and IT Service Management (ITSM) to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), virtualization and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Even with its rapid growth, EMA has never lost sight of the client, and continues to offer personalized support and convenient access to its analysts. For more information on the firm’s extensive library of IT management research, free online IT Management Solutions Center and IT consulting offerings, visit www.enterprisemanagement.com.