CMDB Strategy and Planning Issue For a successful CMDB deployment, it is important to have a detailed configuration management plan for implementing, designing, and sustaining a configuration management capability. The general steps 1. Set your direction2. Build a team and governance model3. Design your configuration plan4. Show your CMDB’s value to other departments The most important things to knowHave clear goals for your configuration management process and CMDB. A well-configured CMDB can help you manage service health, understand service consumption patterns, and calculate the cost of services—but you need to understand your most important business priorities to guide CMDB development. Start small and iterate. Build a solid inventory of CIs tied to specific use cases. If you find yourself populating your CMDB with items that don’t tie back your business priorities or use cases, you’re probably off track. The payoff of getting this rightA well-configured CMDB can save you as much as 40% in IT costs—and help you avoid the costs of unplanned outages. Related LinksThe latest up-to-date CMDB and Discovery deployment success playbooks and checklists are available for download.