ZenDesk to ServiceNow Migration approach

[Learner-in-Prog]

Looking for some insight on the ZenDesk to ServiceNow Migration approach - use cases and approach consideration.

please do share the deatils if available. Thanks in Advance.

[Akash4]

Hi Rishi,

I have some views in a recent Migration project I worked. These are some considerations, although not exactly resembling Zendesk to SN.

1. As first step data mapping is essential since both have different data models. The below are few to name of (Zen to SN)

Tickets → Incidents, Requests, or Cases
Organizations → Companies
Users → Users
*Fields → Fields (fields for each table)
Tags → Labels or Categories

2. Also consider not migrating some unattended data like - Closed tickets older than a specific date, inactive users etc.

3. Attachments are always hectic but we cannot deny moving them, we faced huge time while migrating from older SN to newer.

4. SLAs to be restructured based on Zendesk configs, as they differ from SN ones

5. Process mapping: This may be the important one as it decides how far or close we are from SN OOB & SN Best practices. Use relevant Business rules or Flows, Notifications for processes like

Ticket routing rules, Auto-assignment workflows, Escalation rules if exists, Notification rules etc.

6. You may need to consider on Integrations if source is configured so (like Slack, Jira etc). SN provides REST/SOAP Messages with CRUD operations, not to forget use of Integration Hub, a powerful tool.

7. UI can be adjusted at the end, form views with fields, list layouts, client scripts/ui policies to adjust validations as necessary. Use of Portals is highly recommended, esply ESC incase the target instance is going to include multi domains (like HR, Legal etc)

Migration:

To migrate SN provides Import Set concept, IRE engine and ETL tool for CMDB/CSDM imports. An important factor is training users in right way (which we did in less time & faced after effects)

Wishing you the best, I do not have use cases right away but can provide integration step by step links if it helps in a while.

[Tetiana Belevsk]

Hi, 

When planning a Zendesk to ServiceNow migration, the right approach depends on what you need to move—tickets, users, knowledge base content, or all of it. Your use case will also influence whether you go with a manual process, native tools, or a third-party solution.

To prepare your ServiceNow instance:

• Set up the security_admin role
  User menu → Elevate Roles → security_admin → OK
  
  
• Enable “can create” permissions
  System Definition → Tables → select table → Access Controls → New → set to Create → define table key → Submit
  
  
• Create custom fields
  Any form → Configure → Form Layout → add new field → Save
  
  
• Set up user profiles
  User Administration → Users → New → fill in details → Submit
  
  
• Create groups
  User Administration → Groups → New → fill in info → unlock → assign application role → Save

If you use a third-party migration tool like Help Desk Migration, you’ll need to configure your ServiceNow instance to accept the incoming data.