Summary
At this point in the book, we hope we have conveyed a clear picture of the macro-level challenges and opportunities of the CMS. In this chapter, we explained the enigma that is a CMDB. The CMDB is many things, but it certainly is not a single database. The CMDB is bound by the limitations imposed on it by rampant misinformation. Although we dislike the term, the CMDB’s woes are more a product of culture than definition. We strongly endorse the transition from discussing CMDB to the more flexible and powerful CMS. CMS is fresh, and we all have a profound opportunity and duty to get it right.
Leading thinkers and practitioners have embraced the principles of the CMS. The publication of ITIL v3 was a catalyst for this inflection. It will take a long time, probably years, to abandon the CMDB term, so we will all continue to use it in conversation. For the purposes of this book, we call the entity a CMS. This is the future. Because we encourage its use, it is our responsibility to follow our own advice. We use CMDB only in a historical context throughout the remainder of this book.