One of the most common questions I hear in every CMDB or CSDM conversation is:
“Should this go in Business Application, or should it be created as a Business Service and Service Offering?”
This confusion happens everywhere — ITSM teams, application owners, architects, and even ServiceNow admins.
The good news? The answer is actually very simple once you understand the core idea.
Let’s break it down.
Business Application ≠ Business Service
A Business Application (BA) is NOT the same thing as a Business Service (BS) or a Service Offering (BSO).
They may sound similar, but they serve very different purposes in the CMDB and CSDM.
1. What is a Business Application?
A Business Application represents an enterprise software system that:
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Supports a business capability
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Has an owner
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Has an application admin team
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Has infrastructure behind it (servers, databases, integrations, or a SaaS backend)
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Requires lifecycle management
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Has architectural relevance
Think of it as: The “system” used to run business functions.
✔️ True examples of Business Applications
All of these depend on application services, have support teams, and are tied to business processes.
2. What is NOT a Business Application?
The biggest misunderstanding is around desktop software.
Software that is installed locally on a laptop or PC is NOT a business application.
Why?
Because these tools:
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Do not run on enterprise-managed servers
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Do not have application services
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Do not need application admins
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Do not have architecture documentation
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Are simply utilities installed on personal devices
❌ Not Business Applications
These tools are part of the End-User Computing Service, not enterprise application architecture.
3. Then what are these desktop tools?
These should be modeled as:
Business Service: End-User Productivity
Service Offering:
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Adobe Reader
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Office Suite
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WinZip
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Chrome
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PDF Printers
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Text Editors
These are offerings provided to employees so they can do their daily tasks — not enterprise systems.
4. The right model: BA → App Service → BS → BSO
To simplify:
Business Application (Architecture Layer)
Describes what the application is.
Application Service (Technical Layer)
Describes how it runs — servers, SaaS backend, integrations.
Business Service (Service Management Layer)
Describes what we provide to users.
Service Offering (Service Catalog Layer)
Describes the individual offerings of that service.
5. Practical Example: Workday
| Layer |
Record |
| Business Application |
Workday |
| Application Service |
Workday SaaS Subscription |
| Business Service |
HR Management Service |
| Service Offering |
Workday HR Operations |
→ When creating Incidents, users select Service, Service Offering, or CI, not the Business Application.
6. Practical Example: Adobe Reader
| Layer |
Record |
| Business Application |
❌ None |
| Application Service |
❌ None |
| Business Service |
End-User Productivity |
| Service Offering |
Adobe Reader |
→ Adobe Reader is NOT a business application.
→ It's just an end-user software offering.
7. The rule of thumb (Keep this handy!)
✔️ If the software depends on enterprise servers, DBs, integrations, or SaaS →
Business Application + Business Service + Service Offering
❌ If the software is simply installed on a laptop →
Service Offering only
(NO Business Application)
8. Why this matters
Getting this wrong creates massive CMDB clutter:
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Hundreds of useless Business Applications
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No alignment with CSDM
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Incorrect Incident/Change routing
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Confusion during audits
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Misleading dashboards and metrics
When modeled correctly, however:
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Support teams know exactly what to pick in Incident forms
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Ownership is clear
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Architecture stays clean
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Dashboards show real insights
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CMDB remains healthy and easy to maintain
Final Thoughts
The distinction is simple:
Enterprise systems = Business Applications
Desktop tools = Service Offerings
Once teams understand this, CMDB modeling becomes clean, predictable, and CSDM-compliant.
If you are often asked this question (like I am!), feel free to share this blog with your teams.
It eliminates 90% of the confusion around BA vs BS/BSO almost instantly.
PS:
I’ve personally struggled with this distinction in the past, and I know how confusing it can get when you're trying to model CMDB correctly. I hope this post helps simplify the thinking and enables more teams to understand CSDM a little better. If it clears even a bit of the confusion around Business Applications vs Business Services/Service Offerings, then the purpose of this post is achieved.
Regards,
Pratiksha Khandelwal
