Splitting ServiceNow Instance

trmiller0805 · ‎06-05-2014

I am faced with a company split and because of a lack of time we have cloned the current instance over the 'new' companies OOB production instance. We know we want to keep all records related to employees that are going to the new company but want to purge users and data from the old company. Apart from being time consuming I'm pretty sure that sorting records and deleting will be easy enough I'm just trying to consider what the future implications would be of deleting records. Was wondering if anyone might have some input or had been through a similar situation.

Thanks,

Tracy

Jason Stephens · ‎06-05-2014

HI All,

If I was faced with this situation, I think I would have to go with the idea of exporting all old data into a repository for safe keeping (just in case it's needed later), and then filtering (via list view) to the point of having the data I want to KEEP. Then you can manually delete table data one table at a time using the Tables and Columns "Delete All" functionality.

So:

1 - Export all tables (the entire table with no filters) you think you may need into an folder/repository for safekeeping

2 - Filter the list down to data you want to KEEP and perform another export - this will be imported back in later

3 - Delete all table data using the Delete All functionality under Tables & Columns

4 - Import the file you created in step #2 so that you have the needed data.

Obviously this will be messy and there are other considerations to think about, but this would be my basic plan of attack. It may be a good idea to keep one of your instances as-is just in case there's a need to go back (clone).

Good luck!!!

Jason

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amadosierra · ‎06-05-2014

Hi Tracy,

As you probably heard already, deleting records is not a good practice for multiple reasons. Not sure of the compliance, data retention, audit policies that apply to both companies but you should first consider other options like Domain Separation.

If you definitively need to get rid of the data, please make sure you know to what extent and consider the experience by other users (click here for more).

Regards,

/Amado Sierra

trmiller0805 · ‎06-05-2014

So, I know that deleting records is not recommended. Domain separation looks fairly complicated and I am concerned about implications to business rules. Would domain separation be the right option when really all i want to do is 'hide' one companies historical records.

amadosierra · ‎06-05-2014

Yes, that is its purpose. Create data isolation inside one instance of ServiceNow.

Jim Coyne · ‎06-05-2014

If the instance is just for one company now, you certainly do not want to be going down the road of domain separation if all you want is to "hide" the old data. You are just setting yourself up for more work down the road.

A few Before Query Business Rules (Scripting in Business Rules - ServiceNow Enterprise Wiki) on a few tables would probably do the trick for now until you clean things up.