The fundamental capability which configuration management provides is backup and archiving of critical configuration data from network and server equipment. This along with collecting detailed inventory data provide the basis for managing change and compliance.

The ability to detect, report and alert on change in near real time improves overall service availability and reduces the time required to identify the cause of incidents and outages.

This paper is to help Network Engineers, IT Managers and Executive Leadership understand the benefits of configuration management and how it contributes to change and compliance management at the business.