Companies Propose New Open Standard for Cloud-Based Solutions

Several tech companies have announced a new standard for cloud computing, the Configuration Management Database Federation specification (CMDBf). The new standard was created by non-profit organization Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) and is aimed at providing companies with an easier understanding between the IT components, software and hardware, needed to put in place a cloud computing environment.

Configuration Management Databases (CMDB) are used by companies as a repository of the information needed to understand the dependencies between the components of an information system. The new federation standard will allow enterprises to access the information spreading across several CMDBs to give a better overview on the topic. Similar repositories have been used by IT departments at large companies for years, but the term CMDB itself comes from the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) set of policies.

"Every day, our customers ask CA for help implementing CMDBs that federate asset and configuration data from both CA and non-CA systems. Without extensive federation, configuration management is so complicated and enterprises are forced to restrict the scope of their CMDBs projects and limit the realization of their potential value," Brian Bell, senior VP for service management at CA, stated.

For the companies using an ITIL system, the new federation CMDB could help them better keep track of the Service Asset & Configuration Management (SACM). SACM policies allow IT departments to control service assets and similar IT items.

Marv Waschke, senior advisor for product management at CA, told InternetNews.com that, without a CMDBf that would allow for the standardization of the different CMDB implementations, SACM would remain a difficult problem for most companies.

The new CMDBf published by DMTF isn't the only such standard, with other companies offering their own CMDB solutions. BMC Software has just launched its Business Service Management platform, which it believes will provide companies with valuable information on their current or future cloud-based solutions.