Business Application versus Application Product Model

Arno Reintjens · ‎08-24-2023

Hi all,

I am looking for what will be the future state for using the application model table together with the business application table.

Previously we got the advice (from ServiceNow) to refrain from using the application product model table. But if, as is documented, you want to refer a Service Offering CI to an application model you need to map the Business Applications (cmdb_cI_business_app) to the Application Product Model (cmdb_product_application), or vice versa. So has the advice changed, and do we need to start to sync the Application Product Model to the Business Application table? And is there a standard way/guidelines for doing?

Looking forward for your feedback,

Cheers,

Arno

CasperJT · ‎08-24-2023

Hi Arno,

I have not heard any recommendations against using the application models.

You can find additional information in this session with Mark and Scott: CSDM V4 Product and Lifecycle Discussion

//Casper

SteveMacWWT · ‎08-24-2023

Arno - I know that when CSDM 3 came out there was guidance that some of the new Product Models weren't required, but as Casper mentioned I haven't heard specific guidance against using application models. How long ago did SN tell you not to use them?

If it were me, I'd go ahead and do so, using the docs, the video Casper noted and this community for guidance. There are a lot of folks who have done this so take advantage of their knowledge to avoid any 'gotchas'.

SwarnadeepNandy · ‎08-24-2023

Hello @Arno Reintjens,

According to the servicenow documentation, the application model table (cmdb_product_application) is a CMDB table that stores information about the software products that are used by your organization, such as name, version, vendor, and license details. The business application table (cmdb_ci_business_app) is a new CMDB table that stores information about the software applications that are used by your business users to perform a business function, such as status, owner, cost, usage, and value.

The relationship between these two tables is that a business application can be associated with one or more application models, and an application model can be associated with one or more business applications. This means that you can have a many-to-many relationship between these two tables. For example, you can have a business application called “Salesforce CRM” that is associated with two application models: “Salesforce Lightning Platform” and “Salesforce Sales Cloud”. Conversely, you can have an application model called “Microsoft Office 365” that is associated with multiple business applications, such as “Outlook”, “Word”, “Excel”, and “PowerPoint”.

To create this relationship, you need to use the Application Model related list on the Business Application form, or the Business Application related list on the Application Model form. You can also use the Relationship Editor to visualize and edit the relationships between these two tables.

The benefit of creating this relationship is that you can leverage the data from both tables to perform various tasks in APM, such as:

Therefore, it is recommended that you use both tables in servicenow and create the appropriate relationships between them. This will help you to gain more visibility and control over your application portfolio and improve your IT-business alignment.

I hope this helps.

Kind Regards,

Swarnadeep Nandy

Arno Reintjens · ‎08-28-2023

Hi @SwarnadeepNandy ,

Thanks for your feedback, is really apricated.

I have a follow-up question, in your example, would you expect those models in the software model table instead op the application model table?

Regards,

Arno