When it comes to change management processes, just pretty good can get you in big trouble. Sure you have an established process but can you say it’s always followed? Even when change requests follow proper approval process, you still have to deal with deviations that often go undocumented.
Say it’s a web server or a database upgrade. It’s not uncommon for systems engineers to make a few tweaks on the fly and either forget or choose not to document them. Why? Maybe they’re too busy to report small changes or perhaps any changes that need to go to the change-advisory board (CAB) but there’s no time for all that bureaucracy.
Why is this a problem? The tweak itself could be harmful or break something else that doesn’t get detected for a while. When it does manifest as a problem changes are reviewed but the culprit isn’t in the change documentation!
It might not have an immediate impact, but when subsequent changes are made based on inaccurate documentation they can fail and it’s almost impossible to determine why.
What can be done to prevent this? Change management process and training is a good start . “Trust but verify” ring any bells? You need a tool that adapts to processes and automatically alerts you to device-level configuration deviations.
Virima does just that. It allows changes to be tracked through the request and approval process and automatically verifies changes. Deviations trigger alerts and you have a complete history so reverting to previous configurations is a snap. No more hoping things were done right. Verify it!
Virima features can automatically discover and map your critical IT resources and the interconnections that link them to one another, your applications and services, and your users.
Virima is here to help. To get started, contact us today to schedule a demo and explore the possibilities!
