Integrating ServiceNow and Key Systems to Modernize ITSM

Integrating ServiceNow and other key systems helps modernize organization’s ITSM strategies.

ITSM integration connects disparate ITSM products and key systems allowing data, processes and information to be passed between them.

Key systems supporting ITSM often include a combination of legacy and on-premise systems where data and workflows are siloed.

This makes many organizations reliant on manual processes to extract data and information from the systems and replicate it elsewhere, leading to poor customer and employee experience. 

When Are Integrations Necessary?

The following scenarios can all be improved by integrating ServiceNow:

• When multiple solutions support an organization’s ITSM strategy
• When data and insight relating to ITSM needs to be analyzed in context with the whole organization, and not limited to a single solution
• Where specialized teams (such as data and analytics teams) require access to ITSM data from within their preferred solution
• When business leaders and ITSM employees need insight into how open cases move through the ITSM infrastructure to identify bottlenecks, areas for optimization and monitor progress

Without proper integration, the complicated architecture of multiple technologies, systems, and applications hinders visibility into operations and performance reporting/analytics. 

This lack of transparency, agility, and accurate reporting fuels technical debt, and negatively impacts decision making, data availability, data quality and more.

See also: How ITSM Integration Helps Maximize Value

How Integrating ServiceNow Helps Modernization

A well-planned ITSM integration strategy creates the scope for:

• Improve reporting, analytics and insight: While ITSM solutions such as ServiceNow support some reporting capabilities, they are often limited and organizations prefer to make use of the purpose-built reporting and analytics solutions available to them. Integrations support the automated transfer of ITSM data to systems that can make better use of it. 
• Improved service delivery: By consolidating multiple service desks into a single, integrated service management structure, organizations can minimize IT costs and complexity while facilitating consistent service management processes throughout their IT stack. 
• Optimize workflows and services: ITSM integrations allow for processes to be connected across different solutions, meaning employees can work from the systems they are experienced in without having to manually extract information from other systems. This empowers organizations in delivering quality services faster, with greater accuracy and consistency.
• Improving SIAM: ITSM integrations can help managed service providers improve how they connect to and serve customer organizations.

4 Steps for Integrating ServiceNow

While planning ITSM modernization, it’s important to follow the four steps for successful implementation: 

Planning

Integration planning should be business-goals driven. Rather than limiting planning to deciding which systems need to be connected, organizations should include “why” they are being connected in the plan. 

Those responsible for implementation are not typically the end-user, so organizations cannot assume those implementing the integration will understand the goals of the project without formalizing what those goals are first. For example, the goal of “integrating systems to improve data availability” can be undermined by an integration that does not support the required throughput. 

Mapping out the ITSM integration plan also helps gain organization-wide buy-in while eliminating major pitfalls. Documenting key aspects of your current ITSM solution, including system components, workflows, and customizations, is crucial. 

Discovery

In this phase, organizations must thoroughly investigate their current obstacles and establish the main objectives for the integration, as they relate to existing infrastructure and the organization’s employees.

Identifying the core stakeholders, like project sponsors, managers, process owners, security & integration executives, etc., can drive the integration in the right direction and ensure the integration meets the organization’s and its user’s requirements. 

Implementation

After careful planning and defining requirements, integrations should be implemented by experienced professionals. Since ITSM typically supports critical operations, any faults in the integration implementation can have serious consequences.

Some organizations are confident that they can take on integration implementation in-house. But they should also be confident that they have enough resources to complete the integration in a timely manner, and without consuming considerable development resources that delay other work or prevent it from being completed.

For organizations with limited resources or experience in implementing integrations, integration service providers should be consulted.

Maintenance

Once implemented, integrations require maintenance to ensure they stay functional. Maintenance requirements occur due to a number of factors, including but not limited to platform upgrades that can make integrations non-functional.

As with the implementation phase, organizations that decide to do this in-house need to be confident they have the resources and experience required to maintain the integration effectively.

If there are any doubts, organizations should opt to work with integration service providers that undertake both implementation and maintenance on their behalf.

Modernize Your ITSM via Native, Push Technology-enabled Integration Solution 

To support ServiceNow users that require integrations, ServiceNow is partnered with Perspectium who provide ServiceNow-native integrations-as-a-service. 

Created by ServiceNow’s founding developer

Created specifically for the ServiceNow platform, and by the founding developer of ServiceNow, David Loo, Perspectium connects ServiceNow to a number of targets seamlessly, without hampering ServiceNow’s performance. 

ServiceNow integrations-as-a-service

As an integration service provider, Perspectium supports organizations through the 4 steps for seamless integration, taking the lead on both implementation and maintenance to free up internal resources to focus on their other duties.

Massive throughput supporting organizations with large data volumes

Perspectium’s integration technologies are capable of massive throughput – able to transfer over 1 billion records per month, without impacting performance – so organizations with large data volumes can have confidence in their integrations and data availability. 

ServiceNow-to-database integrations

Perspectium’s DataSync simplifies ServiceNow integration by extracting large volumes of ServiceNow data in bulk, and replicating it to an external database.

Organizations use DataSync for a range of use cases including data lake building, backup/disaster recovery and feeding ServiceNow data into other systems such as AI, BI and ML solutions. 

ServiceNow eBonding Integrations

Perspectium’s ebonding solution, ServiceBond, synchronizes ServiceNow with other complementary solutions including other ServiceNow instances, AWS, BMC Remedy, and Jira. 

The SIAM-enabling synchronization allows ServiceNow workflows to extend into other solutions dynamically, increasing the scope for automation between the platforms. 

Want to get started? Contact Perspectium’s ServiceNow integration experts.