The customer
An IT systems provider operating internationally in the fields of digital transformation, artificial intelligence and information security
The situation
Integrating new products into an existing ServiceNow system using the traditional, i.e. manual, method is a laborious and time-consuming task that often leads to incorrect or inadequate results. As part of the ongoing development of the ServiceNow platform, Digital Scout was tasked by this client with using ServiceNow as an automated interface to simplify and accelerate the product integration process.
The challenge was to integrate a total of twelve different products into various CMDB classes whilst fully complying with the requirements of the DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) and the Common Service Data Model (CSDM). The existing solution was characterised by a low level of standardisation and offered neither a uniform integration interface nor a robust data structure within the CMDB. This led to inadequate data quality, poor CSDM alignment and poor results in the CMDB Health Dashboard.
The implementation required in-depth knowledge of several technical areas, including ServiceNow CMDB, CMDB Workspace, Health Dashboard, Data Manager Policies, CI Class Manager, Discovery Patterns, Flow Designer, Data Streams, ETL processes, Integration Hub, Script Includes, and REST and OAuth integrations. The aim was to create a scalable and low-maintenance solution capable of efficiently integrating both current and future products.
Our plan
To address this challenge, a robust and extensible Digital Scout CMDB framework was developed and implemented. This framework enables the standardised populating of various CMDB classes, as well as the automated creation and maintenance of the associated relationships between configuration items (CIs).
At the heart of the solution is a configuration-driven approach that significantly simplifies the integration of new products. Standardised ETL processes and data streams enable data to be consistently imported, transformed and transferred to the CMDB. A generic mechanism for creating CMDB relationships ensures flexible and reusable modelling of cross-product dependencies. A dedicated script has been developed for each product to handle product-specific requirements. These include the maintenance of CSDM-relevant data records such as services, business service offerings and application services; the creation of relationships between product-specific CI classes; and compliance with DORA, CSDM and lifecycle management requirements. A centralised script execution system orchestrates all product-specific processes and ensures consistent management of all integrations.
The solution
The introduction of the Digital Scout CMDB Framework has led to a number of improvements:
- Standardised data configuration and data integration
- Simplified and accelerated onboarding of new products and services
- Flexible modelling of relationships between different CI classes
- Integrated lifecycle management
- Automated populating of DORA-relevant attributes via product-specific classes
- Standardised handling of product-specific exceptions
- Structured approach to missing CSDM Business Services through a gold, silver and bronze classification model
- Introduction of a framework agreement concept to improve governance
In addition, continuous real-time synchronisation of CMDB data has been implemented. This has led to a lasting improvement in data accuracy, consistency and transparency.
The added value
The new framework has fundamentally changed the way products are integrated. Whereas previously every integration involved a great deal of manual work, new products can now be integrated in a very short space of time. All that is required are product-specific configurations and the set-up of ETL processes and data streams. The amount of bespoke development work required has been reduced to a minimum.
Thanks to this standardised and scalable approach, the organisation now has a future-proof CMDB solution that complies with the regulatory requirements of DORA, significantly increases CSDM maturity and, at the same time, substantially enhances operational efficiency when launching new products and services. The Digital Scout CMDB Framework thus forms the basis for the sustainable, high-quality and audit-proof management of the entire service and product landscape.
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