As business becomes more competitive, cost-efficient and global in scale, there is a constant need for management tools that allow management to have rapid access to accurate information, especially concerning their information technology systems. Such a tool is configuration management. Configuration management is a software and team development tool that enables teams to work together in a revolutionary way that aids them in developing and delivering higher quality, more efficient software products more rapidly and inexpensively than ever before, “As software programming becomes more complex, and involves a larger number of programmers, developers increasingly need to coordinate workflow among team members. [Configuration management tools] respond to this need, helping developers to deliver high-quality products on time and within budget, by providing an easy-to-use, fully integrated family of software configuration management tools,” (StarBase 1).
Configuration management is a complex field that basically addresses the topic of information technology maintenance. Many corporations end up spending hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars on hardware and software that is ineffective because of its poor design or its inappropriate functioning. Configuration management helps to trim software maintenance costs and are a valid means of managing software change. Configuration management thus represents a tool that not only increases product quality, trims costs and increases efficiency and productivity, but it also represents a valuable management information tool, “80% of software projects are late, over budget, or abandoned due to poor software configuration management…Modern configuration management tools are a proven, reliable means of managing software change…Reliable tools already exist and can be deployed in a matter of weeks; projects can benefit from less bureaucracy, more control, and above all more m...