Best Practices around Plugin / Application Decommission / Uninstall

[Saurav]

Use case : Customer decides that he would not want to continue with license for SAM or SPM or GRC.. 

What is the best practice (prescribed) way to look at cleaning up.

There is data , governance and compliance which needs to be followed also some schema may be shared with existing components.

Any Best Practices (Documentation / KB's ) would be helpful.

I have gone through .. below - but need to hear about how other customers / folks have done this..

below says "you cannot uninstall" just make sure the access is removed so that it does not count towards licensing .. 

Its going to be a massive exercise if this plugin was used extensively in PROD and have to look at disabling all means to access these applications ( As some plugins like GRC as usage based ..)

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0716414

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-platform-administration/page/build/applications/task/t...

[kaushal_snow]

Hi @Saurav ,

I have a similar requirement with one of my customers these days , they have SAM Pro but no longer wish to use it.

1. Plugins Are Not Uninstallable After Activation

Once a plugin is activated, you cannot disable, deactivate, or uninstall it. ServiceNow doesn’t provide a supported method to reverse the installation. If needed, you can rollback a plugin, but only under specific conditions:

Applicable since London release, and only within a limited time window (default: 10 days) governed by the glide.rollback.expiration_days_plugin system property. Otherwise, removal is only possible via a full instance clone from a production copy that never had the plugin activated, typically only practical in non production environments.

2. Best Way to Clean Up: Hide and Restrict Access

Since you can’t simply remove a plugin, the recommended path involves disabling visibility and access:

Hide Application Menus: Set the plugin’s application menu record to inactive so it doesn’t appear in the navigation.

Restrict Access via Roles/ACLs: Remove plugin specific roles from users and check the ACLs to ensure no one can view or manipulate the plugin related functionality.

Cleanup Data (if needed): Carefully remove or archive records associated with the plugin to maintain compliance and reduce clutter preferably using scoped scripts, data policies, or admin workflows. Avoid manual deletions that could break dependencies.

3. For Audit: Document Record changes for compliance and governance purposes

Check below articles:

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0695388

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/yokohama-platform-administration/page/administer/table-admini...

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[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @Saurav 

ServiceNow always recommends understanding the purpose of any plugin before activating it. Also, if ServiceNow detects that a licensed plugin is installed, it will count toward licensing. In sub-prod, you can still uninstall or deactivate it, but once activated in production, it is not easy or feasible to remove, and the license will be applied there.

In your case, if it was not installed in production, then there’s nothing to worry about. In sub-prod, you can simply set the application or module to inactive. However, if it’s already in production, I strongly suggest involving your ServiceNow account manager and asking for their input, since the KB clearly states that while you can’t uninstall it, you can make it inactive.

[Ravi Gaurav]

Hi @Saurav 

You may Follow the article : https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0695388

And whatever suggested by @Dr Atul G- LNG like 

ServiceNow always says that before activating any plugin, you should clearly understand its purpose. If a licensed plugin is found active in your instance, it will be counted for licensing.

In a sub-production environment, you can deactivate or even uninstall a plugin. But once it’s activated in production, removing it is not really possible, and the license will automatically apply.

In your case, if the plugin was never installed in production, then there’s nothing to worry about. In sub-prod, just mark it inactive. But if it’s already active in production, the best step is to reach out to your ServiceNow account manager for advice. The KB also clearly mentions that while you cannot uninstall it, you can make it inactive.