**Configuration management** is an [[IT service management|IT service management]] (ITSM) process responsible for maintaining information about [[Configuration item|configuration items]] (CIs) required to deliver IT services, including their [[Dependency (computing)|relationships]] and [[Attribute (computing)|attributes]]. The process ensures that accurate and reliable information about the IT environment is available to support other ITSM processes such as [[Change management (ITSM)|change management]], [[Incident management (ITSM)|incident management]], and [[Problem management|problem management]]. Configuration management is a core component of the [[ITIL|ITIL]] framework, where it is formally known as **Service Configuration Management** in ITIL 4. The primary repository for configuration management data is the [[Configuration management database|configuration management database]] (CMDB), which stores records of CIs and their interdependencies. Maintaining the CMDB involves activities including identification of CIs, recording and reporting their status, [[Verification and validation|verification and auditing]] of CI data, and controlling changes to configuration records. [[Discovery (IT)|Automated discovery tools]] are commonly used to populate and update the CMDB by scanning the IT environment to detect [[Hardware (computing)|hardware]], [[Software|software]], and [[Computer network|network]] components, though manual processes may supplement discovery for non-technical CIs such as [[Documentation|documentation]] or [[Service-level agreement|service-level agreements]]. Configuration management is closely related to, but distinct from, [[Asset management|IT asset management]] (ITAM), which focuses on the financial and contractual aspects of IT assets across their [[Asset lifecycle|lifecycle]]. While asset management tracks ownership, cost, and [[Depreciation|depreciation]], configuration management emphasizes the technical attributes and service relationships of CIs. In practice, the two disciplines often share data and tooling, particularly in platforms such as [[ServiceNow]] where the [[Common Service Data Model|Common Service Data Model]] (CSDM) provides a unified framework for organizing both configuration and asset data. Effective configuration management is widely considered foundational to [[IT governance|IT governance]] and reliable [[Service delivery|service delivery]], though organizations frequently struggle with maintaining CI accuracy, managing scope, and justifying the investment required to sustain a mature configuration management practice.