With so many kinds of “alphabet soup” served up in the IT world, you may be wondering why yet another flavor is being offered to you. You may even be wondering, what exactly is a configuration management system, or CMS? How is a CMS different from a configuration management database (CMDB)? Why should IT organizations even care?

While the CMS is not a new concept, it is given considerable focus in the latest release of the IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®). ITIL version 3 (V3) is an integrated and cohesive set of best-practice recommendations with common definitions and terminology published by the Office of Government Commerce. ITIL has become the de facto standard for IT service management worldwide.

This white paper describes the CMS as emphasized in ITIL V3, and explores how it differs from a CMDB. Further, it shows how a CMS increases your ability to make better IT decisions that impact business agility, productivity, and quality of service.