I don't know if you're aware, but configuration management is not a new concept. CFEngine was started in '93. CFEngine2 which is popular among many sysadmins came out in '98. While configuration management has definitely had some improvements it's not THAT far from what we've been using for decades now.
Cannot stress this enough! There is a sea change happening and sysadmins run the risk of being swept away unless they learn about automation (puppet/chef) software and cloud infrastructure services (openstack/aws). My new years resolution is to release screencasts on these very subjects. I have already released one on Learning Puppet with Vagrant @ http://sysadmincasts.com/episodes/8-learning-puppet-with-vag... if anyone is interested.