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Daily updates keep rolling in and all indicate that our Early Evaluation Program (EEP) for myCMDB continues to progress nicely. We have been contacted numerous times by both customers and internal employees with feature suggestions, questions and bug reports. A handful of folks with whom we have never spoken with previously have even sent inbound requests to give the software a try.

In many ways, the EEP has also become an extension to our QA department. Many people find that it is fun to find a bug and to report these to us. While we don’t necessarily “like” having to fix these bugs since we would rather be working on features -- we know this is a vital part of the process and are very happy to find them early in the development process where the overall cost to fix is dramatically lower.

We have been following standard practice by categorizing the enhancement requests and bugs and placing them into our ticketing system so that they can be reviewed and addressed by the proper personnel during the proper time in the schedule. We are working to manage these fixes in between preparation for our next “formal” code drop for the EEP. We have been updating the code periodically during our maintenance periods for a few fixes we deem necessary, however, we are not delivering additional major features to the product until our next code drop in August.

Currently we are aggregating overall usage data and it will be interesting to see if there are significant trends: What type of user logs in most frequently? Who uses it less frequently? Who is leveraging the community aspects? Are the CIM standard for CI’s useful or have they constructed their own classes? Stay tuned. 

- Adam

We’re thrilled to see the buzz gathering around our newest announcement - analysts and media alike seem to agree that we’ve added something new and noteworthy to the market. We think this kind of innovation is especially welcome in a market that has little confidence in those larger competitors.

With myCMDB, we’ve really unleashed the power of the CMDB by adding the community features that should logically be part of any project that requires the input from so many different people within an organization. Heck, using email and voicemail for CMDB communication is like using a rotary dial for a smartphone.

Instead, we’ve brought CMDB communications and process into the 21st century, by adding a combination of Facebook interactivity, Wikipedia information quality management, and Google’s searching model. Basically, these features make it easier to get more users involved in its creation and maintenance, which means the CMDB quickly becomes a more accurate representation of the infrastructure, relationships, and services. This allows organizations to use the CMDB to better control the impact of change and move it into a decision support role.

Stay tuned as the buzz continues to build!

It is important for development organizations to stay informed on industry standards and to continually review them (new and old) for applicability to technology selection and problem resolution. Staying knowledgeable of standards is critical for selection of internal software components as well as providing outward interfaces and other benefits for both customers and engineers.

Recently I was reviewing some of the latest Java standards published over the last year to see if any standard resolutions had evolved to a development challenge on which my team was currently working. No dice. As it turns out, many other vendors had met and solved this very same challenge however no approach had been standardized. As a result, I’m now weighting the pros and cons of implementing a solution of our own that I’ve been noodling in my head.

But it got me to thinking even if a standard approach had been adopted, it does not mean that the standard solution would be the best development decision. Why? Because while standards generally do provide many benefits, they can also pose new problems which are what I classify as standards freeze.

If a standard is not open and flexible, it can stunt innovation and provide a speed-bump rather than an expressway to productivity. For example, standards freeze happens when an engineer or product manager finds he or she cannot add a new feature or function without breaking the adopted standard. It leaves the development team in the difficult position of either skipping the new feature or breaking the standard – both of which can have political consequences.

Thinking outside of the box does not always go hand in glove with standards adoption. Developing competitive differentiators many times means thinking outside of the box, and thus outside of the standards. It is crucial to take the time to research and ensure that the standards selected by a development organization or product allow for flexibility within the standards so that the product and/or organization can continue to grow without an expensive and time consuming overhaul.

The next time you feel yourself itching to download that open source project and use it because it will save you a few days, make sure you’re also thinking through the standards it was developed on and ensure that you can think outside of the box while staying within the standards.

-- Adam

When I joined Managed Objects as CEO in 1999 as the 9^th employee, few of us could see the future then:  the dot-com bubble, the recession and the long hard slog that led the technology community to where we are today:  the rise of Web 2.0.

Managed Objects just turned 10 and while we’ve accomplished much in the last decade – topped 100 employees, 300 customers and opened offices in a long list of countries to the extent it might rival tour stops on the back of a U2 t-shirt – today is special; I have the honor of posting our first entry to the Managed Objects blog.

In the coming, weeks, months and years, people from all departments in our firm will author entries.   As the first company to evangelize BSM, Managed Objects is no stranger to contrarian positions and therefore, some ideas you might find agreeable, while others you may not.  In either case, I can assure readers that all entries will be interesting.

Stay tuned... - Siki Giunta