Well, I think that Configuration Management (rather than just Change Management) is what eases the pain of change - but there are various points of view on this.

What is important is that people understand the various positions and their implications. Doing nothing because implementing a mature, ITIL-based configuration management process looks impractical (or daunting) isn't a good choice. On the other hand, I believe that most, if not all, competent software developers (whether agile evangelists or not) implement at least a degree or informal version control and change management - but this may not be sufficient to ensure that changes in technology-based businesses are being managed effectively from the business' point of view.

I believe that this conference will enable a wider audience (not just configuration management specialists) to understand and evaluate the issues. To my mind, this is a prime requisite for good governance in technology-based business - and most businesses run on software these days.

The main Conference objectives are to share experiences in how Configuration Management supports and enables Change Management in software development and ITIL Service Management. Best practices in adopting an integrated approach, and communicating and selling this to the rest of the organisation are essential elements.

Noted ITIL 2011 Update Author, Anthony Orr (Director, Service Management for the CTO and member of the Thought Leadership council at BMC Software, Inc.) is the keynote speaker with Configuration Management; the heart of the ITIL Service Lifecycle. Mark Warren of Perforce will be talking about whether your organisation is ready to version everything, not just IT assets - see here.

The Conference is at the BCS HQ in London and registration is here.