The ServiceNow Merger: Mash your instances into one

[Jeff Benedict]

Your company just made a major acquisition. Congratulations! Now comes the complex, yet critical, task of merging two organizations into one. This journey is a lot like getting married; it requires patience, communication, and, most importantly, compromise. Nowhere is this more apparent than when consolidating two separate ServiceNow instances. The challenge is to bring together two distinct platforms, each with its own history, processes, and data, into a single source of truth.

Don't Build Noah's Ark: The Goal is Unity, Not Duplication

The biggest temptation—and the biggest mistake—is to create a "Noah's Ark," keeping two of everything. Two service catalogs, two CMDBs, two sets of user roles, and two approval workflows. This approach doesn't create a unified entity; it creates a fragmented user experience, doubles the administrative overhead, and makes enterprise-wide reporting nearly impossible. A successful consolidation isn’t about docking two ships side-by-side; it’s about building a single, more powerful vessel that serves the entire, newly-formed organization. The goal must be one platform, one process, one team.

Tips for a Healthy Data Migration

Moving data from the legacy instance to the primary one is often the most daunting task. A clean and strategic migration is crucial for long-term platform health. To ensure a smooth transition, consider these tips:

• Declare a "Source of Truth": Formally designate one instance as the primary platform. This decision should be based on which platform has the more mature data model, cleaner configurations, and better alignment with your future business goals. All future efforts will be directed toward this instance.
• Clean House Before You Move: Before migrating a single record, perform a data quality assessment on both instances. This is your chance to retire technical debt. Archive unnecessary data (e.g., incidents older than two years), and remediate inconsistencies. As any ServiceNow expert will tell you, a healthy CMDB is the heart of a healthy platform. Use tools like the de-duplication wizard and Data Manager policies to ensure you're migrating clean, reliable data.
• Stage, Test, and Validate: Never migrate directly into your production environment. Use a sub-production instance as a staging ground to test your data migration scripts and transformation maps. Engage key stakeholders to validate the migrated data and ensure everything appears and functions as expected before the final cutover.  For a recent consolidation project we found using fix scripts to connect to the remote ServiceNow instance to pull the data we want worked well to retain sys_ids and links to related records.

One Name, One Organization: Staging the Instance Rename

The final step is often the most symbolic: retiring the legacy instance URL(s) and uniting under a single instance name. This isn't just a technical change; it's a powerful message to the entire organization that you are now one team. Staging this rename requires careful planning:

1. Communicate Early and Often: Prepare your user base for the change. Explain what is happening, why it's happening, and what they need to do, such as updating their bookmarks.
2. Coordinate with ServiceNow: The instance rename process is managed by ServiceNow support. Open a case well in advance to understand the prerequisites and schedule the activity during a low-impact window.
3. Plan for Post-Rename Hypercare: Have a dedicated team ready to test all critical integrations, inbound email actions, and custom URLs immediately after the rename. Provide heightened support to end-users during the first few days to address any issues quickly and maintain confidence in the new, unified platform.

Consolidating ServiceNow instances is a complex journey, but it's a powerful step towards true organizational synergy. By treating the process with open communication and a spirit of compromise, you can build a single platform that empowers your new, stronger organization.  I would love to hear about your battle scars in consolidating your ServiceNow instances.