The emerging capability of federating data sources is the biggest boon and the largest potential pitfall that has arisen for the discipline and process called Configuration Management! On the surface this may appear to be a completely contradictory statement. However, as is the case with all good intentions it all comes down to the application. First and foremost, database federation is an absolute must for a successfully Configuration Management Database (CMDB) implementation.

In keeping with the last post that challenges the artificial separation we have placed between IT and the business I would like to share a personal experience.

Many books and papers have been written on the subject of IT and business alignment. While not to downplay this important topic, one needs to ask why we are having this conversation. You don't see the equivalent concerns about HR and business alignment, Finance and business alignment or Engineering and business alignment. The very fact that these are relevant topics today tells us something about the current level of maturity of our industry.