CSDM 1.0 vs CSDM 5.0 what is the benefits

[kiran-ravin]

Hi All, 

We are currently in CSDM v1 which means we still use cmdb_ci_service table to track application, technical and Business services. There is a plan to migrate to CSDM v5 however need your help to clarify the below, 

1. What are the challenges if we stay in CSDM v1? The dependency mapping view remains same for both and we still use Services & CI linked to ITSM process. 

2. What are the benefits in moving to CSDM v5? What are the process that it could have an impact

3. If we stay in CSDM v1, can we still map Business applications in the same cmdb_ci_services table since some of the existing application services represents actual Business Apps. We can bring another dropdown named "Business Application"under Service classification field. Is this okay? 

4. What are the processes that the each services should be referred? Such as Application Services/Service Instance, Technical Management Service, capabilities, offerings, Business Application 

Your help is much appreciated. 

[CasperJT]

Hi Kiran,

Overall there are things besides services that have changed throughout the various versions of CSDM. Som relationships are different for example. You will primarily lose the benefits of new features that ServiceNow are bringing in, as well as granularity in terms of classifying your services.

1. While the dependency view will look the same your relationships will not align with ServiceNow's recommendations. You will also not be able to utilize functionality from the Service CI Associations (svc_ci_assoc) table for impact analysis.

One note here, you have not mentioned if you are using your "Business Application Services" as CI's or services, so the exact impact is difficult to quantify.

2. CSDM 5 is meant to tie the entire platform together. So ITSM benefits from understanding who is responsible for delivering what (Tech Mgmt services and offerings related to CI's), what is dependent on what (CI's to CI's and CI's to App Services and Business Services and Offerings) and who consumes what and on what terms (Business services and offerings and commitments). This all ties in to BCM and IRM, which can use the same entities to create BIA's or attach risks (and more). CSDM 5 also expand the data model in to other spaces with service instances trying to better support non-IT diciplines.

3. I would note that service instances / application services do not have different values in their service classification compared to the other services. As far as I know service classification is nearly obsolete. The only dependency on it of which I am aware is for Dynamic CI Groups (DCIG) to be able to inherit attributes from an offering the DCIG must be classified as a technology management service. Rather than adding a "business application" value you could consider using the "application service" value which is there out of the box.

4. All the services are meant to be used in the various processes (at least ITSM). You have three references to the CMDB on your form.

Service - references cmdb_ci_service, but is meant to show Business Services and Technology Management Services

Offering - references service_offering and should be limited so that only offerings related to the selected service can be chosen (you can also start from offering and limit your service, that is an implementation decision).

Configuration Item - references cmdb_ci. It is meant for any configuration item going from service instance / application service to application to vm to host to network.

The benefit of using business and tech services is the escalation path it provides as well as the business impact transparency. If you have a tech offering associated with every CI either directly or through a DCIG you can now manage your escalation path by defining a support group for each offering. Your first level can be the support group on the business offering, since.

Personally I see a lot of benefit in moving to CSDM 5, but it is also a big task. I would recommend looking in to the foundation, crawl, walk, run, fly method provided from ServiceNow to make it more manageable. 

See: Implement

Hope this helps.

//Casper

[Mathew Hillyard]

Hi @kiran-ravin 

Quite simply you are missing out on a large amount of platform and product functionality. CSDM v1 was a very basic version of the model and so much has changed since then you will struggle to move your platform forward.

CSDM5 is not platform-ready yet. It's released as a standard but the platform will still use and manage CSDM objects using v4, even if some of the modules have changed name (e.g. Service Instance instead of Application Service) and there are some new tables. Not sure if this will be remedied in Australia but this is the case with Zurich.

CSDM 4 will give you a proper Business and Technical service portfolios linked to a fully-populated service catalog and a full inventory of the applications that enable your organisations' business capabilities and business services, together with the infra that supports it - plus governance, ownership and accountability of services.

Point 3 is not even worth considering. Business Application is a baseline table. Use it.

CSDM impacts all ITSM processes plus the CMDB and anything else that consumes either CIs or Services. You might be surprised (or horrified) when you locate all the dependencies. Have a read of this article I posted about migrating from custom to CSDM: https://www.servicenow.com/community/developer-blog/csdm-migration-from-custom-service-management/ba...

You're not in this situation exactly but it gives you a pointer to some of the potential challenges.

Your best bet is to have a good look at the CSDM 4 (and 5) white papers to fully digest the potential impact to your organisation. It's not something you I can articulate in a single post - more like lived experience.

I hope this helps!
Mat