Does an Application Service need a Business Application when it only supports a Service Offering?

[Keith Woods]

I would like a "test" to use that will help determine if a Business Application object is needed for an Application Service that is delivering a Technical Service Offering.  I understand the domains that each sit in, but I want to provide guidance to a medium-sized community on the type of object they should be asking for.   NOTE - we understand Application Services well, and are new to Technical Service Offerings.  To this point, everything in our world for the last 10+ years has been a Business Application with Application Services and technology stacks under them.

As an example, I've come up with the following "test".  What else would you suggest is part of this test?  Basically, if any of the following are true, it likely is a Business Application record as a parent to the Application Service:

1. It can run and be managed as a stand-alone entity.
   • It should have its own DR Test and BC Plan
   • Has a Batch component
2. Has any effect on regulatory/governance (CIAP, SOX, MAR, SOC1/SOC2 ratings)
3. It is SaaS or Third Party Managed
4. A business user knows it by name and that it is essential to delivering a business capability (vs just being a mechanism).
   • It should be tracked by Enterprise Architecture for currency and cost planning

[WayneOdom]

In our organization, the answer would be no you don't need a busienss application.    The business application is only used in our environment for design purposes to track the portfolio.   If the architects aren't worried about it, they don't track it.   A technical service, like your describing, may end up having a relationship to an application service, which ultimately rolls up to a business application.     Generally speaking, all of our services do appear to roll up to an application, one way or another. 

[SteveMacWWT]

The key part of it for me is the very last item you listed: 

• It should be tracked by Enterprise Architecture for currency and cost planning

For me, I remove the 'by Enterprise Architecture' caveat from the 'question'. 

Another test you could put against it is whether it could need to be tracked for security purposes. I believe IRM (primarily) uses the Bus App table, but I could be wrong on that. 

[Andreas Borell · Accepted solution]

I think the correct answer to this is both simpler and more generic, as it is another sequence of questions.

Question 1: Do you plan to use ServiceNow data objects OotB?

Question 2: Do you want to track any of the data elements normally stored on the objects of class "Business Application"?

Question 3: Do you plan to use any ServiceNow OotB functionality that rely on the OotB objects of class "Business Application"?

If you answer yes to either 1+2, or 3, then you need Business Application objects. If not, then no.

Business Application objects are, for instance, the OotB CSDM compliant right place to record if an application is COTS or Homebrew, and many other data points, that not OotB are stored or managed elsewhere.

https://docs.servicenow.com/csh?topicname=business-application-form.html&version=latest