Skip to content

About This Course

Why Graph Databases Are the Future of IT Management

This course was inspired by Charlie Betz's groundbreaking Forrester blog post: "CMDB Is Dead, Long Live the IT Management Graph!"

If you've ever struggled with a traditional CMDB (Configuration Management Database) that takes forever to query, can't keep up with real-time changes, or makes tracking dependencies feel like solving a puzzle blindfolded, then this course is for you.

Here's the exciting truth: Graph databases are the ideal fit for real-time IT infrastructure management. Period.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Learn Graph Technology

Think about it:

  • Your network is already a graph (routers connect to switches, which connect to servers, which run applications)
  • Your dependencies are graph relationships (when Service A fails, what else breaks?)
  • Your impact analysis is graph traversal (what happens if we take down this database?)

So why are we still trying to shove this naturally connected data into rigid relational tables that require 17 JOIN statements to answer a simple question like "What will break if I restart this server?"

The LLM Advantage

Here's where it gets even better: With the advent of Large Language Models, you can pick up graph skills faster than ever before!

Modern AI assistants can:

  • Help you write Cypher queries in minutes, not weeks
  • Explain graph concepts in plain English
  • Debug your queries and suggest optimizations
  • Generate graph schemas from your requirements
  • Transform your existing SQL knowledge into graph thinking

You no longer need to become a database expert before you can be productive. The learning curve has never been gentler.

Be Bold: Start a Pilot Project

We encourage you to be open-minded enough to try a pilot project using graph technology to:

  • Manage complex network configurations
  • Track deep dependencies across your infrastructure
  • Perform real-time impact analysis
  • Answer "what-if" questions in milliseconds, not minutes
  • Visualize your IT landscape in ways that make sense to both technical and business stakeholders

Start small. Pick one gnarly dependency problem that your current CMDB can't solve elegantly. Build a proof-of-concept with a graph database. Watch what happens when queries that used to take 30 seconds complete in 30 milliseconds.

You Will Have Fun (Seriously!)

Graph databases are genuinely fun to work with:

  • Queries read like natural language: MATCH (server)-[:RUNS]->(app) instead of cryptic SQL joins
  • Visualizations are built-in: See your infrastructure as an actual network diagram
  • Discovery is intuitive: Following relationships feels natural, not forced
  • Aha moments: When you realize you can answer questions you couldn't even ask before

You Will Impress Your Peers (and Your Boss!)

When you demo your graph-based solution, prepare for reactions like:

  • "Wait, you can answer that query in real-time?"
  • "We've been trying to track those dependencies for years!"
  • "Can we visualize the blast radius before we deploy?"
  • "This actually makes sense to the business side!"

Your boss will notice when you:

  • Reduce incident resolution time by accurately identifying root causes
  • Prevent outages by analyzing change impacts before deployment
  • Answer executive questions about service dependencies on the spot
  • Make data-driven decisions faster than ever before

What You'll Learn

This course takes you from traditional ITIL and CMDB concepts through modern graph database technologies. You'll understand:

  • Why CMDBs evolved the way they did (and why they're struggling now)
  • How graph theory provides a better mental model for IT infrastructure
  • Practical graph database skills (Neo4j, Cypher, data modeling)
  • Real-world patterns for dependency tracking, impact analysis, and observability
  • How to architect solutions that scale to enterprise complexity

The Bottom Line

The world of IT is already a graph. Your infrastructure is already connected. Your dependencies already flow through networks.

It's time to manage them like graphs, not like spreadsheets.

Join us on this journey. Try a pilot project. Have some fun. Impress your colleagues. And most importantly, solve problems that seemed unsolvable with traditional approaches.

The future of IT management is graph-shaped. Let's get you ready for it.

This course is designed for IT professionals, system administrators, DevOps engineers, and anyone responsible for managing complex IT infrastructure who is ready to explore modern approaches to configuration management and dependency tracking.