Should the price of a Catalog Item be obtained from alm_license and displayed?

[nagaryu]

For example, assuming a scenario in which "Microsoft 365 is requested in a Catalog Item and a license is granted to the applicant," what is the best practice for holding the amount?

Catalog Item has a Price field OOTB, so should the currency and amount be set here, or would it be better to add a Reference type field that links to the alm_license table and display the currency and amount set in the Unit cost field of the alm_license table there?

If it is preferable to obtain the amount from the alm_license table, can the currency and amount be obtained from a Reference type field? Or do I need to use some kind of script to handle this?

I need to output monthly assessment information such as "how much each department spent this month" in a report or view, and I am wondering how I should hold onto the original amounts, which is my question.

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P.S.

Sorry, after that, I investigated a little more myself and found an item called Publish to Software Catalog in Related Links at the bottom of the record in the cmdb_software_product_model table.

When I clicked on this, the Catalog Item was published to the pc_software_cat_item table.

I'm not sure whether the Cost specified in cmdb_software_product_model is reflected in the Catalog Item's Price, but it seemed that the amount specified in the Catalog Item's Price field was displayed in the Catalog Item.

Is it best practice to use Publish to Software Catalog in Related Links as shown above?

[dreinhardt · Accepted solution]

Hi @nagaryu,

I think using the entitlement price as a reference for the catalog item is a good idea, but in most cases it doesn't reflect reality, does it? In my experience, the ITAM team rarely passes on the prices 1:1 to the end customer; instead, there are additional costs that may have to be cross-financed per monthly additional service fees. (e.g., service fees, IT costs, infrastructure, etc.). Catalog item offers additional fields to include service fees if needed

The action "Publish to Software Catalog" will use the Software model - Tab General - Cost field to add the price and costs once to the catalog item. Changes to the cost field will apply only to the catalog item "Cost field" and not to the "Price field" which is ootb shown during catalog item check-out. Please keep this in mind.

Best, Dennis

[Dinesh Reddy By]

Hi @nagaryu 
I recommend using the "Publish to Software Catalog" feature if you have set up an asset management process in ServiceNow. When you publish a catalog item to the portal from a product model, and a user submits a request, it creates a sourcing task at the request level. The asset management team will then have access to the "Source Request" UI button, which provides an interface to assign, transfer, or procure assets.

If you're not using the integrated asset management features, you'll need to customize the request workflow to skip the creation of sourcing tasks when publishing a catalog item from a product model.

Thanks,

Dinesh
Please accept the solution and thumbs up if this helps you

[nagaryu]

Hi @Dinesh Reddy By ,

Thank you for your advice.

At the moment, I am still verifying with PDI, but I am using SAM Professional.

Also, I am still learning about SAM, so please forgive my lack of understanding.

In my environment, the "Source Request" UI button did not appear, but does this require a plugin such as Procurement?

Also, in the related list of the cmdb_software_product_model record, there is a Software Entitlements tab, which is related to alm_license. The alm_license record has an Allocations available field, and if the software is assigned to a user who applied for it in a Catalog Item, I think this number will decrease.

I imagine that to decrease the number, you would enter the user name in the Assigned to field of the alm_entitlement table, and the quantity applied for in the Catalog Item in Quantity, but will the above user assignment process proceed by using the "Source Request" UI button?

Also, if a plugin such as Procurement is required and it is not introduced, would the above be implemented using a custom script or Flow?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but if you know the answer please let me know.

[Dinesh Reddy By · Accepted solution]

Hi @nagaryu 

1. I think source request button is part of procurement process. Please check this doc: Link

2. Yes, When you allocate a license to user/device, Allocations available field value will be updated with remaining license count.

3. In SAMPro, we will allocate users or devices as shown below. This list can be populated from reconciliation workbench, source request UI page or manually.

4. I prefer to use OOTB features, as SAM Pro relies heavily on OOTB scripts and data from the content library. Modifying these records can disrupt expected functionality. Please prefer customization if it's critical for business.

Thanks,

Dinesh

Please accept the solution and thumbs up if this helps you

[nagaryu]

Hi @Dinesh Reddy By ,

When I installed and tried the Procurement plugin in PDI, an sc_task record was created in the related list of the sc_request record, not the sc_req_item record, and when I opened it, the "Source Request" UI Action button was displayed!

Then, when I assigned a user according to the instructions on the screen, the license was correctly consumed and the inventory was reduced!

By the way, I thought that the operation flow would be to link this sc_task record to the sc_req_item record, but is linking it to the sc_request OOTB behavior? It's easy to imagine that a customer requesting an implementation would require linking to a sc_req_item record...

Also, my purpose in installing the Procurement plugin is "just to assign licenses to users," but will installing this plugin increase the number of settings and tasks that are required in the SAM Pro flow (information collection via Discovery or Microsoft 365 integration, etc. → Software Model → alm_license/Catalog Item → assignment)?

If there are a lot of additional required settings and tasks, I thought it might be easier to set up a system where user assignment is done manually with alm_entitlement_user, or automatically with a script, etc., so that's why I asked the question.

I'm sorry for asking multiple times, but I would appreciate it if you could check.