E-bonding : Integrating ServiceNow Instances with OOTB Integration Hub Spoke & Flow Designer

[maheshchokkara]

Hello ServiceNow Community!

• In today's interconnected enterprise landscape, streamlining communication and data exchange between different systems is paramount. For many organizations, this extends to integrating with partner or vendor ServiceNow instances – a process often referred to as "e-bonding." E-bonding automates critical workflows, reduces manual effort, and improves overall efficiency.
• While custom scripting has traditionally been a go-to for such integrations, ServiceNow's Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) Integration Hub Spoke, combined with the intuitive Flow Designer, provides a powerful, low-code/no-code solution. This approach not only accelerates development but also enhances maintainability.

Why OOTB Integration Hub Spoke?

• Low-Code/No-Code: Minimize the need for custom scripts, making integrations accessible to a wider audience.

• Rapid Development: Leverage pre-built actions to quickly configure common integration patterns.

• Enhanced Maintainability: Visual flows are easier to understand, debug, and update compared to complex scripts.

• Robustness: Built-in error handling and comprehensive logging features.
  
  

  Prerequisites
  
  

  To follow along with this guide, ensure you have:

  1. Two ServiceNow Personal Developer Instances (PDIs):

     • Source Instance: https://dev313686.service-now.com 

     • Target Instance: https://dev313508.service-now.com 

  2. Integration Hub Plugin: Activated on your Source Instance.  

                                    Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

   

  
  Initial Setup
  
  

  Activate the Integration Hub Plugin:

  • On your Source Instance (https://dev313686.service-now.com)

  • Search for Integration Hub and activate the plugin if it's not already active. (This usually also activates the core "ServiceNow Spoke" - com.sn.servicenow_spoke).

                                                  

         Create an Integration User (Target Instance):

• On your Target Instance (https://dev313508.service-now.com), navigate to User Administration > Users and click New.

• Create a dedicated integration user (e.g., integration.user).

• Important Roles: itil (for Incident access) and web_service_admin (crucial for API access).

• Set Web service access only to true and establish a strong password. Record this password.                           

  

  Configure Credentials & Connection Alias (Source Instance):

  • On your Source Instance (https://dev313686.service-now.com), navigate to Connections & Credentials > Credentials.

  • Click New and select Basic Auth.

  • Name: Target Instance E-bonding Credential

  • User name: integration.user (from Target instance)

  • Password: The password you set same as target.

  • Click Submit.             

    

  • Next, navigate to Connections & Credentials

  • Under Connections, click New.

  • Name: Connect to Target Instance dev313508 

  • Connection URL: https://dev313508.service-now.com (Base URL only).

  • Credential Alias: sn_ebonding_ah.ServiceNow

  • Credential: Select the credential you just created (Target Instance E-bonding Credential). Click Submit.

    

                                       Flow Designer Implementation
    
    Use-case:
    
    

    creating a P1 Incident in the Target whenever a P1 Incident is created in the Source, and updating the Target Incident when the Source Incident is updated.

    Flow 1: Create Remote Incident
    
    

    This flow triggers when a P1 Incident is created on your Source Instance and creates a corresponding Incident on the Target Instance.

    1. Create a New Flow (Source Instance):

       • Navigate to Flow Designer > Designer.

       • Click New > Flow.

       • Name: Create Incident

       • Application: Global

    2. Trigger: Record Created on Incident table, with Condition: Priority is 1 - Critical. 

    3. Add an Action and select the ServiceNow eBonding spoke's. 

    4. Connection Alias: ServiceNow (the one pointing to your Target).

    5. Select the create remote Incident

    6.  Activate the Flow.

        

    

    Flow 2: Update Remote Incident

     

  • This flow triggers when a P1 Incident is created on your Source Instance and creates a corresponding Incident on the Target Instance.

    1. Create a New Flow (Source Instance):

       • Navigate to Flow Designer > Designer.

       • Click New > Flow.

       • Name: Update Incident

       • Application: Global

    2. Trigger: record Updated on Incident table for each unique change. 

    3. Add an Action and select the ServiceNow eBonding spoke's. 

    4. Connection Alias: ServiceNow (the one pointing to your Target).
    5. Select the Update remote Incident
    6. Activate the Flow
       
       
       

                                                                                 Test Result

       1.  Created an incident in source instance with description Create Incident and Caller Abel tuter

     2. Incident created same as Source in target

          
      3. Source instance description changed to Update Incident

4. Target Instance also updated same as source

Conclusion:

E-bonding between ServiceNow instances no longer needs to be a daunting task. By harnessing the power of Integration Hub's OOTB ServiceNow Spoke and the intuitive capabilities of Flow Designer, you can establish robust and maintainable bidirectional integrations with minimal coding. This approach empowers you to automate crucial cross-instance workflows, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and collaboration.

I hope this detailed guide proves helpful for anyone looking to implement e-bonding in their ServiceNow environments. Have you tried a similar setup, or do you have alternative approaches you prefer? Share your thoughts, experiences, and any questions in the comments below!