Searching Email in global search or other suggestions?

[tinayang15]

We have Legal Service Delivery implemented. We have a separate legal counsel global search for them to use that searches legal requests and knowledge articles. They're looking to add email but as we know, sys_email table is a log and should not be used for global searches due to performance issues. Has anyone found a way to make it searchable or another way to do a one stop shop for searching legal requests, knowledge articles and emails in one place?

If not, we just have a workaround for them to search in 2 separate places. One in Legal Counsel global search - Legal request/articles and one in a list view of emails with an applied filter.

[Najmuddin Mohd]

Hello @tinayang15 ,

An alternative is, probably all the emails are associated with legal requests. Create a Related list to the Legal request record and associate all the emails associated to it.

They can see all the emails associated to a particular record.

If the above information helps you, Kindly mark it as Helpful and Accept the solution.
Regards,
Najmuddin.

[tinayang15]

Thank you for the response, but we actually want them to be able to search email logs so this will not work.

[tinayang15]

In case anyone is wondering what we may have done or will do:

We have decided to integrate SharePoint and have all legal emails be copied to a SharePoint library that has limited access. Employee Center Pro offers global search access to SharePoint which we may explore.

[John Martin2]

Maybe there is another way to solve your challenge?

DTech Apps certified ServiceNow store application DocIntegrator can significantly contribute to solving this legal counsel global search challenge, especially in conjunction with your plan to integrate SharePoint for email storage. Here's how:

DocIntegrator's Role in Creating a "One-Stop Shop":

1. Seamless SharePoint Integration: DocIntegrator excels at securely connecting ServiceNow to SharePoint Online. This is the foundational step for your plan to store legal emails in a dedicated SharePoint library.

2. Contextual Linking, Not Just Replication: Instead of trying to directly index and search the raw email content within ServiceNow (which is problematic with sys_email), DocIntegrator facilitates linking relevant ServiceNow Legal Request records to the corresponding emails stored in SharePoint.

3. Enhanced Search Capabilities via Employee Center Pro (with DocIntegrator): You've correctly identified Employee Center Pro's ability to index and search SharePoint content. DocIntegrator enhances this by:

   • Ensuring Secure Access: DocIntegrator maintains the limited access permissions you've set on the legal email SharePoint library, so only authorized legal counsel can view these documents through the Employee Center Pro search results.
   • Providing Rich Previews (Potentially): Depending on DocIntegrator's features and configuration, it might enable richer previews of the linked SharePoint emails directly within the search results or the Legal Request records in ServiceNow.
   • Facilitating Navigation: DocIntegrator can create direct links from the Legal Request records in ServiceNow to the corresponding email documents in SharePoint, making it easy for legal counsel to jump to the full email content when needed.

How DocIntegrator Improves Upon the Workaround:

• Centralized Access (Indirectly): While not directly searching the sys_email table, DocIntegrator helps create a more integrated experience. Legal counsel can search within their familiar Legal Counsel global search in ServiceNow for requests and articles. When relevant emails exist (linked via DocIntegrator to the request), they can easily access them in SharePoint through the provided links.
• Leveraging SharePoint's Search: By centralizing emails in a searchable SharePoint library (indexed by Employee Center Pro), you are utilizing SharePoint's robust search capabilities for email content.
• Maintaining Data Integrity and Performance: You avoid the performance issues associated with searching the sys_email table.

Proposed Solution using DocIntegrator and Employee Center Pro:

1. Implement DocIntegrator: Establish a secure connection between your ServiceNow instance and the dedicated SharePoint library for legal emails using DocIntegrator.
2. Automate Email Copying: Implement a process (potentially using Flow Designer, a custom script, or a third-party tool) to automatically copy relevant legal emails to the designated SharePoint library. Ensure appropriate metadata (e.g., Request ID, subject, sender, recipient) is included as SharePoint columns for better searchability.
3. Link Legal Requests to SharePoint Emails: Within your Legal Request form in ServiceNow, use DocIntegrator's features to create a mechanism to link the Legal Request record to the corresponding email(s) in the SharePoint library. This could involve a related list displaying linked SharePoint documents or a specific field to reference the email.
4. Utilize Employee Center Pro Search: Configure Employee Center Pro to index the content of your legal email SharePoint library. Ensure that the search results respect the library's limited access permissions.
5. Educate Legal Counsel: Train legal counsel on how to use the Legal Counsel global search in ServiceNow for requests and articles, and how to access linked emails in SharePoint when necessary. They would essentially perform their primary search in ServiceNow and then seamlessly access related email context in SharePoint.

Benefits of this Approach:

• Improved Search Experience: Provides a more integrated flow for accessing all relevant information.
• Performance Preservation: Avoids searching the sys_email table.
• Leverages Existing Investments: Utilizes Employee Center Pro's search capabilities for SharePoint.
• Maintains Security: Respects the limited access permissions on the legal email library.
• Scalability: SharePoint is designed to handle large volumes of data.

By using DTech Apps DocIntegrator as the bridge to SharePoint, you can create a more effective and user-friendly "one-stop shop" for your legal counsel to access legal requests, knowledge articles, and relevant emails without compromising ServiceNow performance or data security.