Every day, our customers face difficulties mapping their organization's technology. But mapping new territory was never easy.
Growing up in the American Southwest, I admired John Wesley Powell, the trailblazer and Civil War amputee who charted the Colorado River’s course through the Grand Canyon. For Powell, every twist and turn of the river was a step into the unknown, with his maps helping future travelers navigate this rugged landscape. Thankfully, building a map of your organization’s digital infrastructure doesn’t need to be that daunting.
Let me take you through how the latest advancements in ServiceNow’s ITOM Visibility make mapping a technology environment easier than ever but just as vital.
Discovery admin workspace enhancements
Powell's working space was a chair strapped to the bottom of his wooden boat. At ServiceNow, we don't want our customers to feel like they are navigating through discovery by the seat of their pants. They need workspaces that are more intuitive, more powerful, and far more easy to use. The Discovery Admin Workspace has been a top priority.
Key Features:
- Visual scheduling and flow mapping: Much like tracing a river's branches, the new console lets you map out and daisy-chain discovery schedules. The visual flow helps teams coordinate multiple discovery tasks, making it easier to understand how different scans connect.
- Expanded toolkit for troubleshooting: Admins now have powerful support tools right in the console, from validating commands to checking for missing IPs. These tools reduce the need for "swivel-chair navigation," allowing admins to address challenges without switching contexts.
- Risk reduction with command validation: Before executing a command, admins can test it to ensure smooth sailing. This feature lowers the risk of errors, keeping your discovery journey as safe and efficient as possible.
With these major enhancements, Discovery Admins can confidently map out their network’s topology not unlike an explorer with a well-drawn chart.
Requirements:
- Washington Patch 5 or higher
- ITOM Discovery or higher
- Discovery Admin Workspace application
Start service mapping today with crowd-sourced application fingerprints
Good maps start with easily recognized landmarks. New innovations in Service Mapping Plus make it fast and easy to advance your service mapping journey by giving you the common landmarks that our customers and ServiceNow librarians are constantly working to characterize.
Key Features:
- Curated recognition: the ITOM Content Service draws on anonymous, untraceable process data across our customer base (for those who have chosen to opt in). ServiceNow librarians curate the data and feed machine learning algorithms that learn to “recognize” key applications and suggest where they fit into your service map. It’s like Powell's team marking significant landmarks along the river, making each addition to the map easier and more meaningful.
- Less noise, more clarity: Service Fingerprints help reduce the “background noise” in your service map, focusing only on what’s relevant. Admins can now interpret mapping results more quickly, getting straight to the most important applications.
- Accelerated mapping: Just as Powell’s maps enabled safer navigation, Service Fingerprinting minimizes obstacles, offering a more direct path to mapping out enterprise applications. The result? Easier implementation, faster time to value, and a more comprehensive understanding of your infrastructure. If you haven't looked at Service mapping in a while, now is the time to give it a second look.
Requirements:
- Washington Patch 5 or Xanadu
- ITOM Visibility or higher
- ITOM Content Service application v 1.4 or higher
- Service Mapping Plus application v1.4 or higher
Other Major Enhancements
We don't have room for every innovation, even those in the November store release. Here is a sample:
- Collect usage data of Oracle software to support license management. See the latest store application for Data Collection for Oracle Global Licensing and Advisory Services.
- More support for ACME Certificate Management. See the latest application on the store of the Certificate Inventory and Management.
On the Horizon
Powell's expedition didn't just pave the way for the Grand Canyon National Park. He anticipated the way that water would open vast areas of the desert Southwest to agriculture and settlement. You are also mapping your technology with one eye on the future. Here's what's coming:
Cloud License Estimator (CLE) -- Innovation Lab
Cloud licensing can sometimes feel like navigating an unpredictable river, with peaks and valleys in resource usage that are difficult to chart.
The Cloud License Estimator will help organizations approach this challenge with confidence, turning the murky waters of licensing into a manageable current. Give it a try in our store innovation labs.
- Quick and Accurate Resource Estimation: the CLE estimates both licensable and non-licensable cloud resources, giving you a snapshot of what lies ahead.
- Forecasting Needs Before the Journey Begins: Just as Powell would plan his provisions based on anticipated obstacles, the CLE allows IT teams to estimate Service Unit (SU) needs without actually running cloud discovery. This insight helps them budget and strategize effectively.
- Supporting Complex Environments: With support for both AWS Master Accounts and Azure Management Groups, the CLE provides flexibility to manage complex, multi-account environments. It’s a navigational tool that simplifies the often turbulent process of cloud licensing.
The CLE offers a way to anticipate the challenges of cloud resource licensing, helping IT teams “read the waters” of their cloud environment and make more informed decisions.
Requirements:
- Cloud License Estimator in the Innovation Lab
Working in IT is an adventure, never more so than today. ServiceNow customers are leading out, mapping new technologies, and guiding their organizations through landscapes (like complex service maps) that once seemed impassable. With the November release of ITOM Visibility features, ServiceNow gives you more tools to chart your organization’s digital terrain. The Discovery Admin Console enhancements, Service Fingerprinting, and Cloud License Estimator provide the tools and clarity to map your infrastructure with ease, turning the once-intimidating task of IT mapping into a straightforward journey.
