Difference between Performance and platform analytics

Stimson · ‎02-02-2024

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to ServiceNow, Can you help me understand the difference between performance and platform analytics?

Both seem to be alike

Pratiksha2 · ‎02-02-2024

Hello @Stimson ,

Performance Analytics: it is an in-platform process optimization solution to create management dashboards, reports on KPIs and metrics, and answer key business questions to help increase quality and reduce the costs of service delivery
- Focus: Performance analytics in ServiceNow typically refers to a specific module within the platform that focuses on analyzing and visualizing key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics related to ITSM and other business processes.
- Purpose: It is designed to help organizations monitor and improve their performance by providing insights into various aspects of their processes, such as incident management, change management, and service level agreements (SLAs).
- Features: Performance analytics in ServiceNow includes dashboards, scorecards, and reporting tools that allow users to track, analyze, and visualize data related to their key business metrics.
Platform Analytics: Experience provides an Analytics Center for managing all Next Experience analytics.
- Scope: Platform analytics, on the other hand, might encompass a broader range of analytical capabilities within the ServiceNow platform.
- Inclusion: This could include analytics related to the overall usage, health, and performance of the ServiceNow platform itself, beyond specific ITSM processes. It may involve monitoring platform utilization, system performance, and user activity.
- Customization: Platform analytics may offer customization options for organizations to create analytics and reports tailored to their specific needs across different ServiceNow modules.
  
  Here are some community links:
  1. https://www.servicenow.com/community/platform-analytics-articles/getting-started-with-platform-analy....
  2.https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do#!/learn/learning-plans/utah/servicenow_administrator/app_sto...
  
  Please Mark ✅Correct if this solves your query and also mark 👍Helpful if you find my response worthy based on the impact.
  
  Thanks,
  Pratiksha

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pausalpa · ‎09-24-2025

Posting this since maybe more people will come here after upgrading to Zurich and will have the same question as me:

I found this reply for an user in reddit and I think explains great the differences between the 2:
"

You’ve named two different modules.

Platform analytics is the new UI and updates method for creating reports and dashboards. Dashboards used to need a report being built to then be out into a widget. Platform analytics now makes this easier

It also has access to just reporting

Reporting and dashboards sent going anywhere , just a new UI to manage it. So do start with it as it’s good.

Performance analytics is a paid module for which you can set up tons of metrics as well as using prob ones. Where as reporting is pretty useful and powerful , performance analytics lets you setup metrics that basically tip away all the time collecting data and snapshots of the metric
"

So, essentially, Platform Analytics is a re-designed interface to do real-time reports, and it's free, since it comes with the core features of SN as Reporting and Dashboards do/did.
Meanwhile, Performance Analytics (I think making the names too similar just generates confusion and problems instead of a 'united branding' feeling LOL), is a paid module, that let's you build reports and trends with data across the time, not just current data as with the Platform Analytics or the Core Reporting module.

jeffrubinoff · 3 weeks ago

I would say that in a nutshell, Performance Analytics is now one of the features of Platform Analytics.
Prior to the introduction of Platform Analytics, there were a number of features around the presentation of data, and each had its own similar but separate front end. Pratiksha2's response mentioned "Performance analytics in ServiceNow includes dashboards, scorecards, and reporting tools that allow users to track, analyze, and visualize data related to their key business metrics." Performance Analytics indicator data was presented through Performance Analytics Widgets. Table data was presented through another set of visualizations called Reports (Reporting was an older feature, so it got the simpler name). Both Reports and PA Widgets could be included on dashboards, but you could not apply the same filters to them.

The key innovation of Platform Analytics is a unified front end for all data sources. Indicators are simply one more data source it presents, and Performance Analytics is reduced to the back end of those indicators.
I agree with Andii that you are probably best off migrating first to Platform Analytics before using Performance Analytics, as otherwise you would have to learn a deprecated front end and then migrate, as opposed to just creating Platform Analytics front end objects.