What is ServiceNow - Getting Started with the ServiceNow Platform

What is ServiceNow - Getting Started with the ServiceNow Platform What Is ServiceNow? A Cloud Solution For Your Enterprise Back Home Categories Online Courses Mock Interviews Webinars NEW Community Write for Us Categories Artificial Intelligence AI vs Machine Learning vs Deep LearningMachine Learning AlgorithmsArtificial Intelligence TutorialWhat is Deep LearningDeep Learning TutorialInstall TensorFlowDeep Learning with PythonBackpropagationTensorFlow TutorialConvolutional Neural Network TutorialVIEW ALL BI and Visualization What is TableauTableau TutorialTableau Interview QuestionsWhat is InformaticaInformatica Interview QuestionsPower BI TutorialPower BI Interview QuestionsOLTP vs OLAPQlikView TutorialAdvanced Excel Formulas TutorialVIEW ALL Big Data What is HadoopHadoop ArchitectureHadoop TutorialHadoop Interview QuestionsHadoop EcosystemData Science vs Big Data vs Data AnalyticsWhat is Big DataMapReduce TutorialPig TutorialSpark TutorialSpark Interview QuestionsBig Data TutorialHive TutorialVIEW ALL Blockchain Blockchain TutorialWhat is BlockchainHyperledger FabricWhat Is EthereumEthereum TutorialB lockchain ApplicationsSolidity TutorialBlockchain ProgrammingHow Blockchain WorksVIEW ALL Cloud Computing What is AWSAWS TutorialAWS CertificationAzure Interview QuestionsAzure TutorialWhat Is Cloud ComputingWhat Is SalesforceIoT TutorialSalesforce TutorialSalesforce Interview QuestionsVIEW ALL Cyber Security Cloud SecurityWhat is CryptographyNmap TutorialSQL Injection AttacksHow To Install Kali LinuxHow to become an Ethical Hacker?Footprinting in Ethical HackingNetwork Scanning for Ethical HackingARP SpoofingApplication SecurityVIEW ALL Data Science Python Pandas TutorialWhat is Machine LearningMachine Learning TutorialMachine Learning ProjectsMachine Learning Interview QuestionsWhat Is Data ScienceSAS TutorialR TutorialData Science ProjectsHow to become a data scientistData Science Interview QuestionsData Scientist SalaryVIEW ALL Data Warehousing and ETL What is Data WarehouseDimension Table in Data WarehousingData Warehousing Interview QuestionsData warehouse architectureTalend T utorialTalend ETL ToolTalend Interview QuestionsFact Table and its TypesInformatica TransformationsInformatica TutorialVIEW ALL Databases What is MySQLMySQL Data TypesSQL JoinsSQL Data TypesWhat is MongoDBMongoDB Interview QuestionsMySQL TutorialSQL Interview QuestionsSQL CommandsMySQL Interview QuestionsVIEW ALL DevOps What is DevOpsDevOps vs AgileDevOps ToolsDevOps TutorialHow To Become A DevOps EngineerDevOps Interview QuestionsWhat Is DockerDocker TutorialDocker Interview QuestionsWhat Is ChefWhat Is KubernetesKubernetes TutorialVIEW ALL Front End Web Development What is JavaScript â€" All You Need To Know About JavaScriptJavaScript TutorialJavaScript Interview QuestionsJavaScript FrameworksAngular TutorialAngular Interview QuestionsWhat is REST API?React TutorialReact vs AngularjQuery TutorialNode TutorialReact Interview QuestionsVIEW ALL Mobile Development Android TutorialAndroid Interview QuestionsAndroid ArchitectureAndroid SQLite DatabaseProgramming A ... Cloud Architect M asters Program (10 Blogs) Become a Certified Professional AWS Global Infrastructure Introduction to ServiceNow What Is ServiceNow? â€" A Cloud Solution For Your EnterpriseServiceNow ITSM Tools: Adding Social Flavour To ITSMServiceNow Tutorial: Getting Started With ServiceNow ServiceNow Development ServiceNow Developer Training â€" An Introduction To ServiceNow ScriptingHow To Get A ServiceNow Developer Instance? ServiceNow Interview Questions Top 50 ServiceNow Interview Questions You Must Prepare In 2020Cloud Computing Topics CoveredAWS Architect Certification Training (47 Blogs)AWS Development (10 Blogs)SFDC Administration Foundation (3 Blogs)Salesforce Admin and Dev Foundation (9 Blogs)SEE MORE What Is ServiceNow? A Cloud Solution For Your Enterprise Last updated on May 22,2019 37.6K Views Shivaprakash Shivaprakash is a Research analyst at Edureka. He has expertise on front... Shivaprakash is a Research analyst at Edureka. He has expertise on front end web technologi es like jQuery and React JS. He is also passionate...1 Comments Bookmark 1 / 3 Blog from Introduction to ServiceNow Become a Certified Professional The IT sector today aims to achieve optimal efficiency. However, this is not an easy task as they face many roadblocks on the way. Legacy systems are still in use, which can slow them down considerably. In this what is ServiceNow blog, Ill be going into how ServiceNow came into existence in the ITSM sector, as well as how its grown to become a full-fledgedenterprise cloud solution.We will discuss the following topics:Why ServiceNow? What Is ServiceNow? ServiceNow ArchitectureServiceNow Applications Creating A Personal Developer InstanceLet us begin this What is ServiceNow blog by first understanding why ServiceNow?Why ServiceNow?ServiceNow had its roots set in ITSM since 2012. However, with changing technology and the advent of cloud, it created its niche as a cross-departmental platform which functions as an enterprise cloud solutio n which is built on top of all other applications. Its ability to create workflows which automate the process of data extraction makes it a unique offering in todays cloud space.ServiceNow has a raving customer base which returns to its platform each year.Lets now look at the different cloud deployment models and where ServiceNow fits in.IaaS(Infrastructure as a service)In short, IaaS gives you aserver in the cloud(virtual machine) that you have complete control over.In Iaas, you are responsible for managing everything from the Operating System on up to the application you are running.PaaS(Platform as a Service)With PaaS, you have a combination of flexibility and simplicity.Flexible because it can be tailored to the applications needs.Simple as no need of OS maintenance, versions, patches.SaaS(Software as a Service)A software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications.Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet.Aut omatic updates reduce the burden on in-house IT staff.Where does ServiceNow fit in?ServiceNow which started off on a SaaS model catering to ITSM, has also ventured into PaaS cloud model, in which the entire organizations business processes can be managed by a single system of record. ServiceNow provides the infrastructure needed to perform data collection, storage, as well as application development all on a single platform. Although ServiceNow does not provide anin-house Iaas deployment model it does support integration to Microsoft Azure which is an IaaS model.It offers configuration management database (CMDB) along with service mapping which powers service-aware applications. Service mapping shows the dependencies amongst the organizations assets. This leads to much-needed visibility into the business environment.Great, now let us try to address the most essential question of this blog, what is ServiceNow?What Is ServiceNow?ServiceNow was founded in 2004 and stepped foot in the I TSM (Information Technology Service Management)field and provided competition to established players like IBM andHP. Today it is not just limited to ITSM, even though it still forms a major part of its revenue.Now, it is has diversified into 5 major services which includeIT, Security, HR Service Delivery, Customer Service and Business Applications. ServiceNow is an integrated cloud solution which combines all these services in a single system of record. ServiceNows Vice President Dominic Phillips, in one of his keynotes, pointed out that while we are witnessing so much disruptionin the consumer sector, there is a lack of efficiency in internal business workflows inside organizations.In todays digital era, the ease of access that Uber and Airbnb provide while booking a cab or reserving a tableis the kind of experienceServiceNow wants to provide to its customers within the enterprise.Let us now move forward to understand how ServiceNow works by looking at its architecture.ServiceNow A rchitectureThe majority of cloud service offerings today, run on the age-old Multi-tenant architecture like AWS, Azure, Salesforce, Oracle, etc. The Multi-tenant architecture creates a singleinstance which servesmultiple customers. This usually deals with complex databases which demand frequent maintenance, often leading to unavailability of resources to customers.This is why ServiceNow has adopted a Multi-instance architecture.Multi-instance architecture: A unique instance is created for each employee which maintains a separate resource stack. This gives us the freedom to deal with each users specific needs, enabling us to deal on a customer-customer basis.E.g. customer upgrades can be deployed with respect to compliance requirements as well as the enterprises current needs.In our diagram shown below, 3 customers have unique instances each with an isolated pool of resources.What this means is, while the hardware is shared, the software: Application, Middleware and Database are all separately maintained. Data Isolation is a huge advantage. This is why the performance of one customer is not influenced by another customers instance. Neat, isnt it?Figure:What Is ServiceNow Multi-Instance ArchitectureServiceNow ApplicationsIn this what is ServiceNow blog, lets get an overview of the ServiceNow Applications.IT Service DeskA report found that 15 hrs out of 45 hrs in a work weekarespent doing non-work related tasks. It was identified that this is due to the outdated ITSM software in use.In ServiceNow, employees are provided with a self-service portal where they can avail IT Services by messaging the concerned department staff.ServiceNow was able to bring the ease of use of social media apps to the ITSM sector which was still lagging behind with legacy systems.With ConnectChat, the staff can reply in real time. This can be seen as an improvement over the traditional mailing system where messages had to be sent back and forth. This supports the sharing of files across departments. An employee can attach incident files as part of the conversation enabling technicians who can then directly look up the incident records and service the request. If a user is unsure which technician is on duty he can create a group with all technicians as members. Visual taskboards allow you to assign tasks to different departments with just a drag and drop gesture.Resolving Security ThreatsIn spite of having a sophisticated security management mechanism in place for threat detection, when there is a security breach, most companies face an uphill task of resolving the problem.ServiceNow usesstructured workflows which helps prioritize risks based on their severity and their impact on the organization.Threat research would normally take up to 45 minutesusing spreadsheets and manual processing.However, automated tools provide this information inside the platform which reduces the time involved to under 20 seconds.HR Service DeliveryEver wondered how HR spends most of its time doing repetitive tasks like employee onboarding when they should actually be focusing on strategic tasks instead?ServiceNow wants to do away with all that manual processing.These tasks span across different departments like IT, Facilities, Legal and Finance. ServiceNows single platform can be used to connect HR workflows with all these departments. Decision making is made easy with its tracking and trending tools. HR is now powered with consumer-like customizable forms to deliver satisfactory service to employees.Customer ServiceThe need of the hour is to provide uninterrupted quality service yet keeping the cost constraint in mind. ServiceNow is transforming Customer Service into a Team Sport. Unlike CRM(Customer Relationship Management)which is limited to customer engagement, ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM) operates by Connecting the right people, systems and workflows.Customer Service is not limited to just resolving customer tickets. Whenever a customer is fac ing an issue, we need to find its root cause. This will reduce case(tickets) volume in the long run. ServiceNow comes with Service Mapping which provides cross-functional information to discover the initial point where the error was first noticed.ServiceNow makes it easy to dispatch across different departments like engineering, field services, legal, etc. Take the example of the coffee maker thats not working. The field agent is notified of its possible problem even before he starts his conversation with the customer. The customer is notified proactively with real-time notifications ensuring customer satisfaction and resolving issues at lightspeed.Business ApplicationsServiceNow comes with a drag and drop approach which allows you to customize Business Apps without writing a single line of code. For the experienced developer, you will never have to start from scratch again as you can choose from reusable components, workflowsand link barriers across departments using information fr om the cloud.Lets now move ahead in this what is ServiceNow blog and understand what is a PDI.Personal Developer Instances (PDI)PDIs are meant for a walkthrough of the ServiceNow features. It can be used by developers, customers or even partners. The motive behind this instance is, it does not interfere with the production instance. Application ideas can be tested on PDIs however, it will not be added to the final application repository.Instances may be kept as long as there is regular activity. To be considered as active you need to either create applications or write scripts within 14 days. Now that we are aware of PDIs, lets move ahead and explore the ServiceNow Platform.Creating A Personal Developer Instance(PDI)To request a personal developer instance, the ServiceNow developer program provides you with a fully-functional instance, sized for single developer use. Lets explore the two options to request a personal developer instance.Step1: Log into the developer site at https://d eveloper.servicenow.com.Step2: Request a PDI by doing any of the following actions.From the dashboard homepage, click Request Instance.From any page on the developer site, navigate to Manage Instance and click Request Instance.On successful registration, you will get an instance copy as shown above.You can click on the URL and login with your credentials.The ServiceNow User Interface is as shown below. We are logged in as System Administrator.Its main screen consists of the following three elements:Banner: This contains the ServiceNow Logo on the left top corner. On the right, you will find the Global Search Engine, Connectchat, Help Menu and Settings.Application Navigator: We have a list of the business applications and modules. Content frame:It consists of different data formats like Forms, Lists, etc.The diagram below consists of the overview of the Administrator Homepage. Customization of UIMoving ahead in this what is ServiceNow blog let us see how we can customize the User In terface of our developer instance. A user with the admin role can make changes to the UI settings. By default, we use the UI 16 interface.Let me show you how to modify the caption text and add a Banner image. Step 1: Search for system properties. Look for basic configuration tab.This gives you access to the system Configuration settings.Step 2: You can now set the Pageheader caption and also update the Banner image.Below you will find the updated Banner image and header caption.Moving ahead, let us now learn how to create reports in ServiceNow.Creating A ReportStep 1: We can create reports from an existing table or data source. In our example, we will generate a report from the existing Incident table which holds all Incidents.Step 2:To display our reports, we can choose from bar graphs, pie charts and a host of other options. In our example, we will choose the bar graph option.Step 3: We group our report according to the state parameter. This distributes the Incidents into open, in progress, closed and resolved states.Step 4: We can customize the report according to our style requirements. Once generated, our report can be shared with other users and groups.Cool isnt it?Now let us break down another neat feature of ServiceNow. One that we have already mentioned which is workflows.WorkflowsWorkflows provide task progress. This can be seen in the stage field of the workflow.Workflows are used to assess each stage in a process and automate day to day tasks.This can be compared to Amazonorder fulfillment. ServiceNow capitalized the lack of a major player in the ITSM field. This is just one of the examples of consumer like appeal that they bring to the table in ITSM.The different stages of workflows in ServiceNow are as follows:Waiting for Approval, Fulfillment, Configuration, Delivery and Completed. Each stage denotes whether the task isIn progress, Pending or Completed state. An assignee is automatically sent a reminderhighlighting his tasks current progress.Fig ure:What Is ServiceNow WorkflowsThis brings us to the end of this what is ServiceNow blog. Hope this was informative and helpful to you. Happy Learning!!If you found this blog on What is ServiceNow?useful,check out the ServiceNow Admin Certification course by Edureka,a trusted online learning companywith a network of more than250,000satisfied learnersspread acrossthe globe. This course will give you a strong hold on the ServiceNow platform with a full depth coverage right from administrative functions as well automated workflows.Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section and we will get back to you.Recommended videos for you Building Scalable Application on Cloud Watch Now AWS Vs Azure Cloud Platform Comparison Watch Now Architecting in Cloud-II Watch Now Efficient Disaster Recovery with Cloud Computing Watch Now Power The Hadoop Cluster With AWS Cloud Watch Now AWS vs Google Cloud Cloud Platform Compared Watch Now Cloud Computing with AWS II Watch Now AWS Certifications All You Need To Know Watch Now Microsoft Azure Tutorial Step-By-Step Tutorial In Azure Watch Now AWS Tutorial A Complete Tutorial On Amazon Web Services Watch Now What Is Cloud Computing? A Beginners Guide To Understanding Cloud Watch Now Architecting in Cloud-III Watch Now What Is AWS Getting Started With AWS Watch NowRecommended blogs for you How to Launch an EC2 Instance From a Custom AMI? Read Article Everything You Need To Know About Azure Machine Learning Service Read Article Microservices Tutorial Learn all about Microservices with Example Read Article AWS EC2 Tutorial : Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud Read Article Amazon Elastic Block Store Tutorial: All You Need To Know Read Article What Is Cloud Computing? Read Article Amazon Route 53: All You Need To Know About Latency Based Routing Read Article Amazon DynamoDB Tutorial â€" A Complete Guide Read Article Spring Boot Microservices: Building Microservices Application Using Spring Boot Read Article Microsoft Azure Tutorial Cloud Computing With Azure Read Article Raspberry Pi Tutorial: Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Read Article What is AWS CLI and how to use it? Read Article AI and IoT in FIFA: Smart Sports Read Article Real World IoT Applications in Different Domains Read Article Big Data In AWS Smart Solution For Big Data Read Article Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn Microservices Read Article AWS Snowball and Snowmobile Tutorial Read Article Cloud Security: A Guide for Cloud Users Read Article Top 50 Azure Interview Questions You Must Prepare In 2020 Read Article ServiceNow Tutorial: Getting Started With ServiceNow Read Article Comments 1 Comment Trending Courses in Cloud Computing Microsoft Certified Expert: Azure Solutions A ...6k Enrolled LearnersWeekendLive Class Reviews 5 (2250)