Automating Software Product Roadmap into ITAM

MarMalo
Giga Contributor

10 hours ago

Hello Community - trying to help my client plan for an implementation of ITAM.  One thing that they have struggled with is getting focus and discipline in updating their asset registry with product releases. The strategic goal is to maintain a portfolio that is N-2.    Is there automated ingestion of product roadmaps and lifecycles?

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pr8172510
Tera Guru

an hour ago

Hey @MarMalo,

ServiceNow has a specific feature designed to automate exactly this: the Content Library.

 yes, ServiceNow provides automated ingestion of product lifecycles, but it is dependent on the Content Library and its Machine Learning Normalization capabilities .

 

Instead of manually typing end-of-life (EOL) dates, the platform automates this through two main components:

1. The Content Library (The Data Source)
The Content Library is ServiceNow’s centralized repository of product intelligence. It contains lifecycle dates for millions of software and hardware products, including:

  • General Availability Date

  • End of Life (EOL) Date

  • End of Support Date

  • End of Extended Support Date 

2. Normalization & Matching (The Automation)
When discovery finds software or a hardware model, SAM Pro/HAM Pro tries to match it to the Content Library. Once matched (normalized), the product automatically inherits the lifecycle dates from the library .

 This automation depends entirely on normalization. If a product is not normalized (e.g., listed as "WinWord.exe" instead of "Microsoft Word"), it cannot link to the library.

 

To maintain a portfolio that is N-2, you need to move from a "manual lookup" to an "automated exception" process.

1. Activate the Content Service (Prerequisite)
Ensure the Normalization Data Services plugin is active. Opt into the Content Service to download weekly updates of lifecycle dates from ServiceNow .

2. Prioritize Critical Vendors
Focus on your "Crown Jewel" publishers first (e.g., Microsoft, Adobe, Red Hat). The Content Library has the most robust lifecycle data for major vendors . If a niche product isn't in the library, you will have to add it manually, but for 80% of your environment, the automation should cover it.

3. Automate the Refresh (The "Set it and Forget it")
ServiceNow sends weekly Content Library updates automatically . You do not need to schedule a manual import. The platform will automatically pull new EOL dates for existing products.

4. Build the "N-2" Compliance Dashboard
To enforce the N-2 goal, you do not need to manually update the asset registry. Instead, build a report on the Software Model (cmdb_software_product_model) table.

  • Filter: Add a condition for End of Support <= (Current Date - 2 years).

  • Action: This report instantly shows you all products that are past N-2.

 

 

  • Do not edit the registry manually: The "Asset Registry" (the cmdb_sam_sw_install table) is automatically populated by discovery . If teams are editing this manually, stop immediately—it is a "losing game."

  • Fix Normalization, not Dates: If a product has the wrong lifecycle date, do not edit the date. Instead, check the Software Model mapping and ensure the product is normalized correctly. Fixing the root model fixes all associated assets .

  • Treat Lifecycle as a Trigger: Use the automated dates to trigger Actionable Workflows. For example, a Flow can be designed to trigger when a CI's End of Life date is 6 months away, automatically notifying the IT team to plan the refresh.

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