Business Application vs Software Model in Product Catalog

Welshblacklab · ‎05-13-2022

Hi,

I am trying to clear up some confusion that people are having with regards to COTS technical software such as SharePoint where they are referenced as a Business Application but then the specific versions of the software will be listed in the product catalog. Is there any sort of link between these entries or are they deliberately separate ??

I appreciate that the Business Application entry will be version Agnostic and the catalog will have entries for say version 2019 and 2020 which will be linked but there is then the fact that lower in the discovered application layer there will be references there as well.

Thanks

Matt

s4scott · ‎05-13-2022

Something that gets glossed over at times is the difference between the Product Model and Application or Software Model layers of the Model hierarchy.
The Product Model should contain all of the Application or Software model versions, thus it does not have a version. This is the model record that should be used on the Business Application. Use of Application/Software models vary, some only use one for all classes of application and software CIs, others split them up between client/endpoint software, and server/hosted applications. Discovery/SAM uses Software Models for CIs. Regardless, grouping the model versions into the Product model addresses the issue you describe.

mcastoe · ‎05-13-2022

First Application Services are used represent your deployment of differing versions. In the scenario you describe, you would have two deployments / App Services: 2019 and 2020. Maybe more if you choose to represent non-prod environments and so forth.

Second, if you use Application Portfolio Management (APM), you will be able to associate the Software Model and full lifecycle representing the version deployed at each Application Service. APM will allow you to associate not only the SharePoint version but version of all Software and Hardware Models going you a Technology Bill of Materials as well as a nice view of the support lifecycles or even your own enterprise expressed lifecycles.

Welshblacklab · ‎05-15-2022

Many thanks for the answer I will indeed have a look at APM to see what value that this can give us, with regards to Business Application is there a link/reference with the Software Model or are they independent ??

Thanks

Matt

mcastoe · ‎05-16-2022

Hi Matt,

as mentioned, the Application Service represents your deployment or an instance of the Business Application. So, APM associates the Software and Hardware Models at this level. these associations essentially "roll up" to the Business Application. If you think about it, it makes great sense.

Imagine you have a Production instance and it's version of the primary software used to build the Application is on version 2.4. Version 3.5 has released so over in Development you are running 3.5.

Note that Business Application , or maybe think of them as Enterprise Systems, are comprised of potentially many Software and Hardware Models. You have the primary software, the application server(s), load balancers, databases, message queues, and so forth. The idea in APM is to be able to understand the technology "bill of materials" and manage tech currency and therefore risk as well as just knowing what the key "Entities", your Business Apps, in IT are comprised of.

So, for a direct answer. the Technology Portfolio Management(TPM) Module in APM gives you a very niew of that association along with the manufacturer and your own internal support lifecycles. You may also use CMDB Query Builder to derive traditional list reports and such (this is because of the use of CMDB Relationships).

I encourage you to drop in over at the APM Community here on the Now Community.

thanks,

Mark