CMDB instead of Excel
7 signs it is time to switch
When the spreadsheet stops being "good enough" and how to run the migration to ITAM over a weekend
Last week I spoke with the IT manager of a manufacturing company - 180 employees, in Silesia. I asked how he manages hardware inventory. "We have an Excel file. A colleague updated it in February." This was in May. Three months without an update - and during that time the company hired 12 new employees, replaced 8 laptops, and signed a contract for 15 new software licenses.
What is a CMDB and why it is not just a list of computers
CMDB - Configuration Management Database - is the central register of all IT infrastructure components (Configuration Items, CIs) and the relationships between them.
In Excel you have a list. In a CMDB you have a list plus:
- Change history - who changed what, when
- Dependencies - this server runs these applications, which are used by these employees
- Automatic updates when the network changes
- Ticket linkage - when an issue is reported for a device, the full ticket history is at hand
Dependencies are the key. When the database server goes down at night, you want to know within 5 minutes which applications and services rely on it and how many users are affected. Excel will not tell you that.
7 signs your Excel-CMDB is a time bomb
Signal 1 - License audit
Microsoft, Adobe, SAP, Autodesk - they all run license audits. The typical problem: the number of actual installations exceeds the number of purchased licenses because nobody updated the Excel after automatic deployments. The vendor can then demand back-purchases of the missing licenses and apply penalty fees. An up-to-date inventory lets you catch the gap before the auditor does.
Signal 2 - Employee leaving
An employee leaves. The IT manager opens the Excel - no laptop return date, no record of licenses assigned to that person, no ticket history. Physically: where is that laptop? Have the licenses been released? Who took over their accesses?
Signal 3 - NIS2 and inventory requirements
Companies covered by the Polish KSC Act (whose legislative process is still in progress) will be required to maintain a current inventory of IT systems and assets. "We have an Excel from February" is not an acceptable answer to the supervisory authority. Detailed inventory requirements and other NIS2 obligations are covered in our NIS2 checklist for IT managers.
Signal 4 - Unplanned outage
A server crashes. You do not know what is running on it. You search the Excel - 200 rows, no filter by dependencies. For 20 minutes you rebuild from memory what might be on that server. The server is still down.
Signal 5 - Onboarding a new employee
A new employee starts on Monday. The Excel lists 3 laptops as "available". One was sent for repair 6 weeks ago. Nobody remembers where the second one came from. The third has the right status.
Signal 6 - Next year's budget
The CFO asks: how many computers will need replacing next year? You have an Excel with purchase dates - but you do not know how many of them have expired warranties or are nearing 5 years of service. The report for the CFO takes you a full day.
Signal 7 - Deploying a new application
You are planning an ERP rollout. The consultant asks about hardware requirements: how many workstations with at least 16 GB RAM, which OS version, how many virtual machines. Pulling that out of Excel: half a working day. From a CMDB: 3 minutes.
What a company loses without a CMDB
No formal ITAM means real costs: buying software and hardware that the company already owns, surcharges after license audits, and longer downtime during outages. It is hard to give one universal number - the scale depends on company size and process maturity.
Example: consider a company with an IT budget of 500,000 PLN per year. Even a few-percent reduction in redundant purchases and better license control means savings counted in tens of thousands of PLN annually.
A CMDB also shortens incident resolution because the technician immediately sees the device configuration and its dependencies - no rebuilding from memory.
A license audit is a real financial risk for companies without ITAM - vendors can demand purchases of missing licenses with penalty fees. An up-to-date CMDB lets you control compliance continuously. If you are analyzing how different licensing models compare in ERP systems, read also our article on Comarch ERP subscription vs perpetual license.
Minimum CMDB for a 50-500 employee company
You will not start with a full CMDB immediately. Start with the minimum that delivers immediate value:
Layer 1 - Hardware (weeks 1-2)
- Desktops and laptops - name, model, serial, CPU, RAM, disk, OS, purchase date, assigned user
- Servers - name, model, serial, IP, role, purchase date
- Network devices - switches, routers, wifi APs
- Network-connected peripherals - printers
Layer 2 - Software (weeks 3-4)
- Installed operating systems and versions
- Licensed applications - name, vendor, license count, expiry date
- OEM vs stand-alone license applications
Layer 3 - Relationships and dependencies (weeks 5-6)
- Assignment: user - device
- Dependency: server - application - users
- Physical location (room, floor, building)
How to migrate from Excel to ManageEngine over a weekend
Step 1 - Export from Excel to CSV
Prepare a CSV file with columns: name, type, IP/serial, model, user, location, purchase date. These fields are enough for import and deliver immediate value.
Step 2 - Automatic network scan in ManageEngine
Before manual import, run a network scan. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus / AssetExplorer scans the network and automatically discovers every connected device. Compare results against the Excel - this exposes "ghosts" (devices on the network missing from Excel) and "zombies" (entries in Excel that no longer exist).
Step 3 - CSV import
ManageEngine has a built-in CSV import with field mapping. Importing 200-300 records takes about 30 minutes. The system automatically links records with devices discovered by the network scan.
Step 4 - User assignment
Active Directory sync - ManageEngine pulls users from AD and lets you assign devices in bulk.
Step 5 - Verification
Review reports: unidentified devices (in the network but not in the CMDB), unassigned devices (no user), expired warranties. Manually fix the edge cases.
Realistic time from zero to a working CMDB in a 200-employee company: 2-3 working days including manual verification.
AssetExplorer vs the CMDB module in ServiceDesk Plus
| Criterion | SDP Asset Management | AssetExplorer |
|---|---|---|
| Target | 50-500 employee companies | 500+ asset estates |
| Help desk integration | Native, full | Via API |
| Network scan | Yes | Yes |
| AD import | Yes | Yes |
| License management | Basic | Advanced (SAM) |
| Purchase orders | No | Yes |
| Non-IT assets | No | Yes (furniture, vehicles) |
| Extra cost | Built into SDP Pro | Separate license |
Recommendation: start with the module in SDP. Consider AssetExplorer once you have 500+ assets and need advanced ITAM with full asset lifecycle and procurement management. For manufacturing companies, also read our article on CMDB for a manufacturing plant, which covers managing OT assets (PLC controllers, HMI, CNC machines) in one database with IT.
FAQ
Does a CMDB make sense for a 50-employee company?
Yes, if you have more than 30-40 devices to manage. Reasons: license audits, employee onboarding and offboarding, and for companies in NIS2-covered sectors (50+ employees or 10M EUR turnover in energy, transport, IT, critical manufacturing, etc.), regulatory requirements. For smaller companies outside those sectors the minimal Asset Management module in SDP Standard is sufficient and costs a fraction of a potential license penalty.
How do you keep the CMDB up to date?
ManageEngine runs scheduled network scans (for example, every night). New devices discovered by the scan appear as "unassigned" for the IT manager to approve. Automatic discovery covers networked devices. For assets outside the network (remote laptops), Endpoint Central with an agent is used. Non-networked devices (monitors, USB printers, per-user licenses) require manual entry or import.
What about devices outside the office network - remote work?
ManageEngine Endpoint Central (agent installed on the device) reports device status outside the office network as well. Ideal for companies with remote employees. The agent sends data to the central system over the internet, regardless of the employee's location.
How much does a CMDB implementation in ManageEngine cost?
The Asset Management module is built into ServiceDesk Plus Professional and Enterprise - no extra cost if you already have SDP. ManageEngine AssetExplorer as a dedicated ITAM tool: a few thousand PLN per year for 200 assets. By comparison, the cost of surcharges after an unfavorable license audit can be many times the cost of a CMDB implementation.
Find out how many unknown IT assets you have
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