Configuration management as condition for service innovation

As microprocessors keep entering into more and more devices around us, there is a growing potential for service innovation, comfort and individuality. In particular, context-based applications promise to intelligently follow the specific needs of the individual user. However, complexity around us is growing. Who will handle the many ways of configuration? Who will keep intruders, spam and malicious software away? Who will care for software updates in this environment? If there is a trend from personal computers to personal networks, it certainly demands new ways of configuration management in order to live up to its promise. Handling a mess of CD-ROMs, as with today's PCs, including individual downloads from the Internet and paper clips to follow up a variety of serial numbers, keys and passwords hardly seems to be a viable way into the future. Also, unlike a professional intranet, the costs of maintaining personal networks and home networks will only allow for a modest amount of manual administration. Such networks will need to be self-organising and will need to provide innovative means for maintenance and configuration management. This paper describes potential technologies to provide self organisation of networks, as well as potential solutions for configuration management. As a potential business model for the provisioning of configuration management, identity management may be provided as a service (for example, by a mobile network operator), as well as configuration management for specific classes of devices as a service of an ASP.