Discovery / service mapping cert, valuable?

[devKz]

Hello there, 

I have the CSA and CAD Certification. I am really interested in learning Discovery, CMDB.

what would you guys recommend  

CIS-Discovery Certification or CIS- Service Mapping ?

I believe these are new certifications, are the certifications and knowledge highly valued by companies?  Is it worth the time?  If so, which cert is more valuable to obtain ?

Thank you!!

[User177031]

Hi Dev,

Go for both the Certifications as most of the Clients are looking for Discovery & Service Mapping experienced people. But going for ServiceNow Certification will cost you more. I think just for Dsicovery they charge $2000.

- Thank you.

[DaveHertel · Accepted solution]

Hello, there are multiple domains to learn here, Configuration Management processes + CMDB,  Discovery product, Servcie Mapping product.  There are worthwhile certifications for both Discovery and Service Mapping.   

Since it sounds like you are new to this space, I really recommend thinking of these 3 in tiers, where 1st is CMDB/Config mgmt, then 2nd is Discovery followed by the most advanced (and challenging) is Service Mapping. 

1. Work on the foundation CM/CMDB, architecture, integrations, best practices, etc. to establish a good understanding of the intricacies of professionally managing Config Mgmt processes and integrations w/external data sources (this is a common need.... federated data)
2. Then attend Discovery Fundamentals class and learn how to augment the CMDB to automatically populate it from a enterprise network.
3. Finally, Service Mapping has 2 classes:  Fundamentals and Implementation.   Fundamentals is exactly what it says and is a good place to start, AFTER you've attended Discovery.  It may provide the SM foundation you need, but if not you can always consider the advanced (SM Implementation) class.   I also do NOT recommend taking SM classes right away after Disco..  instead work with the CMDB and Disco for quite a while (months at least) before jumping into the advanced space of Service Mapping.

I'm a ServiceNow instructor and I always strongly advise students to think of these 3 domains in this way.  Focus on the foundational knowledge first, then expand into complimentary classes.   

Lastly, here is a hidden elephant in the room with the subject.  IT Operations is a HUGE domain, vastly complex and ever growing.   You need to know some of the core IT fundamentals of operations systems, Application software, various common IT infrastructure, network fundamentals, and some basic developer skills are helpful too.  Why all this?  Because all of the above is going to use & rely upon it.  Especially for the 2nd and 3rd subjects (Disco & SM), you need to have some foundational IT experience to best leverage these tools.

Does this help?  Hope so...

[GSK3]

Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for the information. I am planning to enroll your course on the SNOW Discovery fundamentals three days training but little concerned as I don't have good knowledge of CMDB, architecture, integrations, best practices, etc.

(just completed my CSA certification last week) and will be working SNOW Discovery so want to level up my skills please advise. 

Also If you can share some material/links to get information on CMDB, architecture, integrations, best practices it will be helpful. 

Regards

[DaveHertel]

Hello -- I offered the 3 tier approach as a general recommendation.  Many students coming into Discovery class haven't worked a lot with CMDB.   The class will introduce you to the basics of CMDB architecture, etc. but there is a lot more to learn.  A pre-req of the class is just system admin fundamentals.   I didn't mean to concern you -- but rather just set expectatons.   The class will cover the essentials of CMDB you need for the class, but just be aware there is a lot more time and detail to cover that you'll need to learn on your own.  I don't think there is a cmdb-specific class

The docs site for Configuration Management is your best resource for info.  There is also a CMDB book on Amazon that might be helpful (I have nothing to do with the book).     I recommend a test / develop instance and play around with the CMDB features to get more exposure (beyond what you'll get in class using very scripted labs, etc.)

Hope that helps and good luck in class