That’s a wrap! We hope we got to see you at Knowledge this year—either on one of the Product Advisory Councils, in one of our customer-led sessions, or on the Expo floor. If you weren’t able to go, please see the on-demand content here.
As I personally chatted with customers in pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, government, and other industries, I was impressed that they shared similar challenges and concerns: just about everyone was facing constrained resources (especially labor) and just about everyone had too many tools and interfaces that didn’t integrate well. They needed trustworthy data on a single platform of action. They wanted interfaces that were well-designed and engaging so they could manage their caseload and operations with shrinking staff levels. They were ready for Gen AI but only if it was secure and transparent. They were wary of the hype.
Fortunately, I had some good news to share. Among the many new features and innovations to be released across the ServiceNow platform this summer, there were major developments in ITOM Health and AIOps that target problem-free interfaces, more efficient user experiences and secure Gen AI that actually live up to the hype. These innovations are dropping into the ServiceNow Store in May and June.
Cloud Observability Integration with Health Log Analytics | May
One of the standout features in the May release, available since May 9th, is the new out-of-the-box integration between Cloud Observability and Health Log Analytics (HLA). This integration establishes a seamless connection between the two solutions, enabling comprehensive log management and anomaly detection.
Licensed customers can leverage detailed, comprehensive, and context-rich logs from Cloud Observability by making them available to service and operations teams through the crisp Event management workflow of HLA. Setting up this integration is straightforward, requiring only basic credentials and the appropriate licensing for ITOM Enterprise and Cloud Observability.
Requirements:
- Update Health Log Analytics application to latest version
- Requires licenses for Cloud Observability and ITOM AIOps Enterprise
Alert Analysis (formerly Alert Simplification) | June
In the June release, coming out June 6, the Now Assist Gen AI skill previously known as alert simplification will be renamed to ‘Alert Analysis.’ This update is not just a name change, however. Alert Analysis introduces Gen AI intelligence to grouped alerts. Since alert groups often provide additional context that single alerts cannot, it’s important to understand:
- the full intelligence picture provided by all related alerts
- the logic behind their grouping which is often a key to their root cause
To get the full value of this deeper, wider context, we have configured Now Assist to leverage the CMDB and tags as context. Users will also notice improved UI elements, such as the new "Analyze" button, which replaces the "Summarize" button for triggering alert analysis. Ultimately all these changes make it easier for multiple teams, at varying levels of proficiency to understand and action those alerts.
Requirements:
- Available to customers with ITOM Professional Plus or AIOps Enterprise Plus (or Telecom equivalents)
- Update the Now Assist for ITOM store application
The June release also brings several enhancements to the Express List feature:
Express List Enhancements
- Free Text Search: Users can now perform free text searches across all active alerts, to quickly pinpoint needed information.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: These shortcuts make navigation faster and reduce the complexity of using Express List. They also give experienced users a fast lane to the heart of any potential issue.
- Alert Group Timeline: This new feature provides a visual timeline of alert changes, criticality, and remediation actions. It offers a clearer understanding of the context and progression of alerts within a group.
- Link View: Moving from the Innovation Lab to general availability, Link View offers a topological view of alert groups, helping users understand the blast radius and impacted services. This feature supports both tag-based and CMDB-based alert groups.
Requirements:
- Available to customers with ITOM Professional Plus or AIOps Enterprise Plus (or Telecom equivalents)
- Update to the latest version of AIOps Experience on the ServiceNow Store
Integration Launchpad
Another significant addition is the integration health feature within the Integration Launchpad. This feature uses recent event data to provide insights into integration performance, including metrics on alert compression, suppression, and CI binding.
These metrics help users understand how well their integrations are performing and offer suggestions for improvements.
Requirements:
- Available for customers with ITOM AIOps Enterprise
- Install the AIOps Experience store app
Alert Automation -- Webhook data or workflow to other systems | June
With the June 6th release of the "SOW - Alert Automation" app, customers can take advantage of a streamlined method to move data or workflow actions between ServiceNow and third-party systems. We're moving an outbound webhook from Innovation Lab to full availability.
This feature enables automated notifications and actions in third-party systems. Users can configure an outbound webhook with a destination URL and dynamically populated payload, streamlining the workflow of events and their analysis to third-party and external tools.
Requirements:
- ITOM Visibility Professional or AIOps Enterprise
- Update the Alert Automation store app to the latest version
Alert Automation | Innovation Lab
A Service Operations Workspace - Alert Automation feature available from the ServiceNow store Innovation Lab allows for:
- Simulation of alert grouping rules: Users can now simulate alert grouping rules directly in production without impacting real alerts. This allows for fine-tuning and iterative adjustments to grouping rules within the Service Operations Workspace.
Upcoming AIOps Workshops
To support these new features, several AIOps workshops are scheduled across the Americas and EMEA. These workshops will provide hands-on experience and direct interaction with ITOM specialists and product managers. Customers are encouraged to register for these workshops to learn more about the new capabilities and how they can be leveraged to enhance their operations.
For specific details and links to register, check out this blog entry published previously.
The upcoming releases for ITOM AIOps in May and June bring a host of new features and enhancements that promise to deliver powerful tools for log management, alert analysis, integration health, and automation. These updates are designed to help users achieve better operational efficiency and insights, ultimately enhancing their ServiceNow experience.
Taken together, I left convinced that these innovations would help give them the operational data they really want, with the trust and ease of use they absolutely need.
