Third-Party White Paper by EMA: Understanding Your CMDB Project's ROI

A Board Room View: Understanding
Your CMDB Project's ROI
®An ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMAT) White Paper Prepared for ASG Software Solutions
July 2008
IT Management Research, Industry Analysis, and ConsultingA Board Room View:
Understanding Your CMDB Project's ROI
Table of Contents
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................................... 1
A CMDB Value Statement......................................................................................................................................... 1Cost Avoidance, Risk Avoidance, and Advancing IT Maturity...................................................................... 2The Cost of Doing Nothing................................................................................................................................ 4
The CMDB in Context............................................................................................................................................... 5
Adoption of the CMDB in 2008.............................................................................................................................. 6
When Should We Do an ROI Study? ...................................................................................................................... 7ROI Best Practices Advice ................................................................................................................................... 7"Soft" ROI.......................................................................................................................................................... 7Detailed Requirements..................................................................................................................................... 9"Hard" ROI......................................................................................................................................................10
What to Expect From Your ROI Calculation......................................................................................................10
EMA Perspective on ASG MetaCMDB................................................................................................................11
About ASG Software Solutions..............................................................................................................................12
©2008 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IT Management Research, Industry Analysis, and ConsultingA Board Room View:
Understanding Your CMDB Project's ROI
Executive SummaryEnterprise Management Associates (EMA) research and consulting has uncovered sev-eral trends and best practices in the industry around configuration management database (CMDB) return on investment (ROI) calculations. While long-term ROI claims from early adopters are oftentimes 200%, 400% or more, and these claims appear to be borne out in emerging research into late-phase CMDB projects, many companies struggle with making the initial ROI assessment for their CMDB project. In particular, two types of initial ROI approaches, one "soft" and one "hard", are available to executives attempting to quantify the value and expected return on their company's CMDB project. From ex-tensive CMDB consulting engagements, typical results for a "soft" ROI can be expected to be 25% while "hard" ROI results are more typically in the 60% range. EMA has discovered that both approaches have significant complexity, requiring careful analysis to properly frame the ROI results in the overall context of IT operations, the CMDB mar-ketplace, and evolving IT management trends. EMA sees the CMDB as a fundamental building block for improving IT efficiency, aligning IT with the business and controlling IT operational costs. The CMDB is an enabling technology, analogous to the wheels and tires of a car, which provides a reconciled, synchronized view across the infrastructure so that processes dependent on IT data can run smoothly. While you can't drive a car without wheels, finding the right wheels for your make and model of car can be tricky. Only by understanding the big picture, can executives make the link between initially low ROI estimates and the outstanding long-term ROI benefits. ... [download for more]