An important function of configuration management is defining the state of each system. By orchestrating these processes with a platform, organizations can ensure consistency across integrated systems and increase efficiency. The result is that businesses can scale more readily without hiring additional IT management staff. Companies that otherwise wouldn’t have the resources can grow by deploying a DevOps approach.

Configuration management is closely associated with change management, and as a result, the two terms are sometimes confused. Configuration management is most readily described as the automation, management, and maintenance of configurations at each state, while change management is the process by which configurations are redefined and changed to meet the conditions of new needs and dynamic circumstances.

Benefits of Configuration Management

• Increased efficiency with a defined configuration process that provides control and improves visibility with tracking.
• Cost reduction by having detailed knowledge of all the elements of the configuration which allows for unnecessary duplication to be avoided.
• Your business will have greater agility and faster problem resolution, giving a better quality of service for your customers.
• Enhanced system and process reliability through more rapid detection and correction of improper configurations that could negatively impact performance.
• The ability to define and enforce formal policies and procedures that can help with process status monitoring and auditing.
• More efficient change management that reduces the risk of product incompatibility or problems.
• Faster restoration of your service if a process failure occurs. If you know the required state of the configuration then recovering the working configuration will be much quicker and easier.