The Service Management Soapbox

Every decision we make in IT, indeed every decision we make in life, is based upon accurate information. There are no exceptions to this basic law of nature. Think about examples of decisions big and small, both in and out of the IT domain. None can be made with any confidence unless the right information exists.

This sums up the whole notion of configuration management. It is the process and the system of technologies that ensure the right information exists to make decisions, both automated and manual. For this reason, configuration management is the most important of all the ITIL processes. One can effectively argue that change management is equally important, as the two form the nucleus of every function we perform. If I had to choose one over the other, however, configuration gets the edge.

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The FCAPS model has been a big part of network management for well over a decade. For those unfamiliar with FCAPS, the letters stand for Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security, the basic functions envisioned for network management that were then formalized by the ITU in 1997. I can recall FCAPS discussion long before 1997. It became a near-biblical reference in networking circles, as we all struggled to deal with the management of this new bit of complexity. All networking decisions came to include FCAPS in the process.

Times change, and so has the focus on such operational best practices. ITIL is now the model in vogue, so FCAPS has waned in importance. Both are viable perspectives of service management, but ITIL’s broader appeal and widespread development have propelled it over FCAPS.

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Welcome to my new blog!

In my inaugural posting, I was pondering a fitting title to introduce the theme of IT Service Management (ITSM), when it hit me. This title is a favorite quote I use, with apologies to Plato, who is widely credited with the “Necessity is the mother of invention” quote. It captures the essence of automation, which is one of the main philosophical and intellectual concentrations of this blog. Of course, I focus the subject of automation in IT Operations (i.e., IT Service Management).

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