Frequently asked questions about Integrations with HRSD (Functional)

[Pramod Mukkamal]

Purpose of this article is to answer basic questions about HRSD Integrations. If you have any questions, not covered in this post – then please ask your question as a comment on this article

Q: What is Integration Hub and Spokes?

• A: Integration Hub enables execution of third-party APIs as a part of a flow when a specific event [trigger] occurs in ServiceNow. These integrations, referred to as ‘spokes’, are easy to configure and enable you to quickly add powerful actions without the need to write a script. More details can be found on the Integration Hub product page.

Q: Our company needs to expand ServiceNow across our HR business to leverage the benefits of Enterprise Service Management. How should we start preparing and organizing for HR Integrations?

• A: Refer to the following resources that can help to plan, prioritise, and prepare for future integrations:
  • HRSD -Customer Workshop preparation
  • HRSD Integration options

Q: What is a product integration app?

• A: ServiceNow provides pre-built configurations with different third-party systems as apps available through the ServiceNow store. You can leverage these apps to meet your HR Service Delivery integration needs.

Q: What is HRSD in-product integration?

• A: This is an older way of delivering integrations. In-product integrations were previously installed as part of family releases and were not based on the Integration Hub and Spoke architecture.  
• Going forward, product integrations will be delivered via the ServiceNow Store and will leverage Integration Hub and Spokes.

Q: How can I identify which Spoke an integration is based on?

• A: The integration app description on the ServiceNow Store will note Spoke dependencies. 

Q: Does ‘spoke’ dependency in integration app description mean that a spoke needs to be licensed always and installed as a pre-requisite?

• A: No. A dependent Spoke will be installed as part of the integration app. No separate license is needed.

Q: When do I need an additional Integration Hub license to use a Spoke? 

• A: If the customer has a use case requirement that is not addressed out-of-the-box by the integration app, they can build a custom integration using the Spoke to meet the use case. In that scenario, a proper Integration Hub subscription is required.
• Note: Speak with your ServiceNow account team if you have any questions about your subscription
   

Q: What is ‘Enterprise Service Management’ framework vs the ‘HR integration framework?

• A: HR Integrations framework is the common name for 'Enterprise Service Management’ (ESM) framework. Some earlier integrations (Accurate Background Check, First Advantage Background Check, Sterling Background Check, CIC Plus, and SuccessFactors Profile Sync) are built using this framework.
• ESM framework is a comprehensive and generic framework which is used for building integrations now. For more details, refer to the ‘Enterprise Service Management Integration Framework’ article.

[Rani B-Q]

@Pramod Mukkamala Thank you so much for this article. It's very helpful. If a customer is utilizing a product integration app, such as HRSD Integration with Workday, and they would like to add/remove fields on the delivered integration. They are not creating new use cases or integrations. Would this also require an additional iHub subscription?