6 reasons to choose Device42 over other CMDB solutions
The global configuration management market is slated to reach $4 billion by 2025 and includes such solutions as configuration management databases (CMDBs), service catalogs, and more. Technology buyers and teams value CMDBs for their ability to easily find and maintain up-to-date data on hardware, software, and virtualized assets; capture the impact of changes and configurations on infrastructure; and improve processes such as IT service management.
Yet, the reality is that there are many CMDB vendors on the market. So, how can buyers evaluate options, and why should they select Device42 over a competitor offering?
Here are six different ways Device42 outperforms traditional CMDBs.
Understand the Value of CMDBs
IT teams can use the following resources to help guide their CMDB search:
Blogs:
- To CMDB or Not to CMDB?
- CMDB in the world of infrastructure as code
- ITAM vs. CMDB – What are the differences?
Other resources:
1. Gain trustworthy asset data with automated discovery
The most important capability that a CMDB provides, in addition to a repository of all the Configuration Items (CIs), is also asset discovery. Asset discovery should work out-of-the-box, be agentless, and be automated so that IT teams can easily and systematically discover all of their organizations’ assets across their entire multi-cloud/hybrid-cloud infrastructures. Device42 provides these capabilities natively. In contrast, many of our competitors added discovery after their solution was already developed, often after an acquisition.
Trustworthy data drives infrastructure decision-making, such as which workloads to migrate to the cloud and which applications to modernize or retire. In addition, IT service desks need highly accurate data to triage IT incidents, ensure regulatory compliance, and maximize the value of solution warranties and service agreements. When IT teams select Device42, they gain a solution that does automated discovery both on-demand and on preset schedules, providing them with the holistic visibility and insights they need to evolve and maintain infrastructures to meet business and technical requirements.
2. Reduce work with an “opinionated” database
IT teams could develop the schema they need to support a CMDB, but wouldn’t it be better if it just came preconfigured?
Many large CMDB players offer an empty or barebones schema, requiring customers to use their services to configure it. Alternatively, IT teams can hire staff to complete this task, significantly increasing costs.
Device42 offers IT teams an “opinionated” database, with a pre-populated schema they can use as is, change, or extend. That means less work and less cost for IT, while still providing organizations with the flexibility they need to customize functionality to business needs.
3. Speed asset discovery with bottoms-up processes
Many CMDB providers require IT to begin discovery with known applications. IT teams point the solution at these applications, and the traditional CMDB provides them with data they already know. Then, over time, this solution adds other applications. This approach increases time to full discovery, as well as the risk that IT teams will miss important business applications. Typically, IT needs to make transformation and IT management decisions rapidly, so this lack of holistic visibility may harm decision-making.
Device42 begins from the bottom up, using automated processes to build a dependency map. Our CMDB automatically identifies all applications and their dependencies, as well all their correlations, enabling IT teams to plan transformations, changes, and configurations that include all of their vital assets.
4. Consolidate tools with a next-generation CMDB
Many companies use separate management solutions, such as a CMDB, IT asset management (ITAM) and IP address management (IPAM) tools, and a data center infrastructure management (DCIM) platform. IT teams can consolidate these practices with a best-of-breed CMDB from Device42.Device42 negates the need for a separate ITAM solution with comprehensive, automated inventory information IT can use to optimize the financial management of assets. And our solution also provides IPAM and DCIM capabilities, such as rack layouts, server room layouts, power consumption, and heat maps, along with enriched IPv4/IPv6 tracking – all in one place.
In addition, Device42 allows IT to right-size environments, a capability that may not exist in other solutions and also provide visibility into non-production workloads that can be used and balanced for business use, ultimately optimizing the environment and saving on cost.
Benefit from automatic data processes
One complaint about CMDBs is that they are difficult to set up and maintain, requiring extensive IT team intervention. If IT teams dedicate time to keeping IT data up-to-date, it takes away from innovation projects. If they don’t, CMDBs quickly become outdated and of low value.
Device42 addresses these pain points with fully automated data processes we call DNCE: automated discovery of asset data; cleaning and normalization of asset data for consumption; categorization of data; and information enhancement with third-party data, if so desired.
While traditional CMDB solutions need to be integrated with external tools to enrich captured asset data, Device42 uses EnrichAI to automatically begin enhancing asset data, right after it is deployed. As a result, Device42 provides organizations with a richer picture of their constantly evolving infrastructures, enabling IT to hone in on new optimization opportunities and resolve IT service incidents faster.
6. Answer questions using embedded insights
Most CMDBs are better at providing data than answering questions. Device42 provides easy-to-use interactive dashboards with analytics. IT gains visualizations and reports for multiple use cases, such as designing and troubleshooting application environments, planning capacity, balancing compute and memory across hosts, and more. IT teams can also easily answer questions, such as what software is installed, how much storage capacity is available, the latest changes and configurations made to specific assets, and more.
Simplify asset management with a multi-functional CMDB
Managing distributed networks can increase IT management duties and costs unless teams simplify processes. When IT teams deploy Device42, they gain a CMDB that provides trustworthy data, offers an “opinionated” database, speeds asset discovery with bottoms-up processes, consolidates tools, enriches data, and helps users answer questions with embedded insights.
Source: https://www.device42.com/blog/2022/11/14/how-does-device42-compare-to-other-cmdbs-on-the-market/
If you are looking for an ITAM, CMDB, or DCIM in the Middle East and Africa please contact Device42 Middle East at +971 4 285 7366.
