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Service Asset & Configuration Management (SACM)

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Service Asset & Configuration Management (SACM) is the one process that touches all of the other ITIL processes. SACM’s purpose is to deliver accurate and up-to-date data and information to every other process across the lifecycle.  The fascinating fact about SACM is that in many cases it depends on those other processes through their defined, documented and agreed to activities, to insure that the data and information about those assets is up to date, accurate and properly recorded through the Configuration Management System (CMS),  No organization can be truly efficient and effective without having a configuration management process to insure we understand how and where that infrastructure, application, tools, documentation and sometimes even people are being utilized in delivering business outcomes and creating value.

SACM ensures that CIs (configuration items) are properly identified; baselined and that changes made to them are properly controlled and recorded.  This is accomplished by closely integrating Change, Release and Deployment and SACM.  Most organizations have a process that will track and report on the value and ownership of fixed assets throughout their lifecycle.  Much of this is done by a part of the business known as fixed asset management or financial asset management. Their goal is to keep financial information on these resources. In most cases they are not usually within the same business unit as Information Technology.  For the most part they are not concerned with the relationships between these resources and how these assets are being utilized and what IT and business services they support.  SACM must ensure the proper care and maintenance of these CIs that are under the control of IT services.  There should be well established intersections between these groups in order to provide the overall business a more defined and detailed view of these capital assets.

By having an accurate representation and clear visibility to your service assets:
  • Staff is better able to forecast and plan changes.
  • IT staff have a better understanding of the relationship between CIs and the services they support
  • Assessments are more accurate for Availability, Capacity and Continuity planning.
  • There is a greater effectiveness in delivery of service levels.
  • You have the ability to precisely identify the costs of a service.
  • You can provide greater flexibility to the business in meeting market opportunities.
  • As technological changes happen it allows SACM to create more effect CIs and CI definitions to meet the new reality.
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