RECORD NOTES · THE RECORD DESK

Record notes: analysis on CMDB alternatives and record accuracy

SHORT ANSWER

Short analysis pieces from The Record Desk on what changes the CMDB alternatives decision: market moves, product features, pricing and what our own scores show. Every vendor fact is linked to its source.

By The Record Desk · CMDB Alternatives Compare · Published 2026-10-11

BUYING
Twelve questions to answer before the next CMDB clean-up project
Most CMDB clean-ups fix the records once and leave the causes in place. Answer these twelve questions first and the clean-up becomes a change in how the record is filled, not a one-time sweep.
4 min read · 2026-10-11
ANALYSIS
How the CMDB alternatives ranking moves when you change the weights
Weights are a judgment. We tested four alternatives to our default weighting to see which results hold and which flip. The top of the table holds; what changes is the gap, and the order below the leader.
4 min read · 2026-10-09
ANALYSIS
The ownership gap: few CMDB alternatives document who owns each asset
Ownership mapping is the criterion with the weakest evidence across the set. Only a few options document it fully on their own pages. Here is who does, who partly does, and how to fill the gap with data you already hold.
4 min read · 2026-10-08
ANALYSIS
Discovery, reconciliation or a better CMDB: what the scores say about each route
The nine options fall into three routes away from a hand-kept CMDB. Averaging their scores by route shows where each route is strong, where it is weak, and why the best answer for many teams combines two.
4 min read · 2026-10-07
PRICING
Service desks with a CMDB built in: what the pricing pages say
Freshservice, Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Halo all list asset or CMDB features on their pricing pages. Here is what each publishes, priced per agent or technician, and what the pages leave unsaid about discovery.
4 min read · 2026-10-05
PRODUCT
Axonius's CMDB Reconciliation Workspace, read closely
In July 2026 Axonius described a workspace that compares a CMDB such as ServiceNow against its correlated asset data. Here is what the announcement and docs say it does, what it leaves to other tools, and where Axonius still trails in our scores.
4 min read · 2026-10-02
MARKET
Dragos buys runZero: questions for teams that feed a CMDB with it
Dragos announced on 21 September 2026 that it acquired runZero and NetRise. runZero leads this site on effort to maintain. Here is what is known, what is not, and what to ask before renewing.
4 min read · 2026-09-30
MARKET
ServiceNow now owns Armis: what it changes for the CMDB record
ServiceNow completed its Armis acquisition on 20 April 2026. For teams that rely on the CMDB, the deal joins a passive device discovery platform to the system of record. It does not settle coverage of SaaS apps, identities or owners.
4 min read · 2026-09-28