As a specialist in IS mapping and application monitoring, we are often asked how Kabeen, our SaaS solution, compares with traditional Configuration Management Databases (CMDB). This article dives deep into this comparison and explains why these two tools differ but can also complement each other in various IT scenarios.

Understanding Kabeen: A 360° view of your IT systems

Kabeen provides a SaaS platform for enterprise application mapping. Beyond simple asset identification in an IT ecosystem like a traditional CMDB, it examines how these assets relate to the overall application landscape. This enables a unified picture covering documentation, usage and user experience measurement, associated costs, and other key indicators. CIOs, IT decision-makers, and architects then obtain a transverse and real-time vision of their company's information system thanks to dashboards and reports.

Furthermore, Kabeen goes beyond the infrastructure layer to provide insights into actual application usage. By combining effective tracking technologies with AI-powered analytics, it creates a dynamic real-time picture of the enterprise application landscape, taking on the role of the CIO cockpit.

The CMDB: The dictionary of your IT infrastructure

The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a repository that catalogs all relevant IT infrastructure assets. Among others, the CMDB deals with hardware, software, systems, facilities, and personnel. The CMDB is the "encyclopedia" of the IT environment, keeping data used to monitor assets throughout their lifecycle. See the article What is a CMDB?

A key asset of the CMDB is its ability to document relationships within the IS - how server A connects to server B, which in turn interacts with an application server, and so on. This information helps IT teams manage changes and handle daily incidents by quickly identifying the impacted ecosystem.

Kabeen vs CMDB: The application at the center of concerns

An essential differentiating factor between Kabeen and the CMDB lies in their level of consideration.

While the minute details of infrastructure (the famous assets!) are the heart of a traditional CMDB, Kabeen places enterprise applications at the forefront. By doing so, it offers a deep understanding of the applications themselves, the user journey, and experience. Thanks to Kabeen, the IT landscape is analyzed beyond infrastructure to focus on functionality, business needs, and indicators shareable with business lines and general management.

Real-time discovery: Kabeen's advantage over CMDB

Traditional CMDB systems generally rely on manual asset documentation or semi-automated processes to be kept up to date, a process that can sometimes delay information gathering and decision-making but above all render them obsolete: We no longer count abandoned CMDB projects due to lack of time to maintain them. And an obsolete CMDB is useless...

Kabeen, on the other hand, continuously discovers applications based on usage detected among users. This allows maintaining a precise and real-time picture of an IT landscape without other efforts than the initial deployment of an agent on user workstations.

Monitoring key indicators

As its name suggests, a CMDB is limited to managing "configuration items". If one wishes to obtain metrics on these, additional solutions must be deployed: A monitoring platform such as Nagios or PRTG, an APM for application performance, or EUEM to better understand usage. The accumulation is costly and technical. These are tools that are not necessarily oriented for a complete vision of the IS but rather for fine analysis to perform a diagnostic.

Kabeen associates application documentation with the measurement of different indicators. It combines them in a unified view to give a complete picture of the company's application portfolio. Among other things, Kabeen measures health, usage, performance, time spent, and the real usage cost linked to each application. Such information can prove essential to build an IT strategy adapted to the company's needs.

Reports and restitutions

Kabeen is equipped with a high-level reporting and restitution system that helps companies understand their IT landscape and make informed decisions. It generates real-time dashboards, detailed reports, and offers data export functions to allow deeper analysis.

These reports can cover various key areas such as resource usage, service cost, incident tracking, application performance, and much more. Moreover, reports can be customized to meet specific company needs, thus providing the most relevant information for each situation. This level of detail, combined with the ease of use of the Kabeen interface, allows companies to derive maximum value from their IT data, empowering their teams with the information needed to optimize operations, improve efficiency, and support company growth.

Comparative table

| Kabeen | CMDB | | :--- | :--- | | Application discovery | Automatic and real-time | Manual or semi-automatic | | Application catalog | 80 000+ | No | | Shadow-IT discovery | Yes | No | | Contract management | Yes | No | | Application usage | Yes | No | | Restitutions | IS mapping and dashboard | Inventory oriented |

Conclusion

In conclusion, Kabeen offers an integrated platform for IS application mapping, which is not limited to technical aspects traditionally documented in a CMDB, but extends its capabilities to a deep understanding of the relationships between the IS and user business activity.

Although Kabeen and the CMDB go in different directions, they complement each other massively. A CMDB offers the basic framework of an ITIL implementation, cataloging infrastructure at a granular level. However, it is Kabeen's application-centric approach that truly highlights IT investments, leveraging the power of AI for simple and intelligent application portfolio insights and monitoring.