Strategic IT service management presupposes free access to information on the individual objects, their function, and on interactions within the company. The quality of a quick decision relies on how reliable, complete, and up-to-date the accessible information is. By combining a user-friendly integration system for system, network, and IT service management, REALTECH is offering a system for the integrated processing of all information that delivers unmatched performance.

During the development stage, REALTECH placed great emphasis on

• ITIL compliance,
• high levels of user acceptance,
• a fast Return on Investment (ROI),
• a short implementation period,
• and a holistic view of the IT infrastructure.

The Configuration Management Module allows for the management of all configuration items in a central configuration management database (CMDB). The underlying data model allows for the strict structuring of all data; using normalization, the information on a wide variety of different devices and systems can be easily compared. 

The data is collected automatically by connecting to external sources (e.g. PC inventory tools) and/or by using theGuard! NetworkManager. All data can also be entered and managed manually; the underlying concept strictly follows the guidelines of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
Data is maintained in a structured form based on CIs (Configuration Items). The incoming data is normalized in order to ensure comparability.

Configuration management (CM) cannot be equated with asset or inventory management because CM is much more than that. Within the CM, the relationships between the individual CIs (Configuration Items) are displayed. In combination with the optional Asset/Inventory Module it is also possible to read asset and inventory data into the CMDB and to manage them. The analyses are greatly simplified through the use of configuration management:

• baseline
• and change history.

A "baseline" is a precisely specified status at a defined point in time that is managed as part of the configuration management. It is also described as a snapshot of the current situation. This baseline is where the CMDB and the information from the other ITIL processes are based.
Using theGuard! Configuration Management one can specify target configurations on the basis of CIs and compare them to the current status. Deviations, which can also cause problems, can thus be quickly and reliably detected.

If required, a change history can be logged on the CIs.