---
sourceDocument: Zurich Security Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/security-management

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich Security Management

ft:clusterId :

    - security

bundleId :

    - security

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Tips for writing integrations

# Tips for writing integrations {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Zurich  
Updated July 31, 2025  
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## Summary of Tips for writing integrations

This guidance helps ServiceNow customers develop integrations efficiently and reliably within the Security Operations applications by leveraging existing platform capabilities and integration frameworks.
The goal is to avoid common pitfalls, reduce custom development effort, and ensure integrations perform well under realistic loads.
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## Key Features

* **Use ServiceNow platform functionality whenever possible:** Prefer built-in platform features like outbound web services (REST and SOAP) for communication with third-party systems, and data sources/import sets/transform maps for data processing and insertion into ServiceNow tables instead of creating custom integration logic.
* **Leverage Security Operations integration frameworks:** Utilize existing frameworks designed for common integration tasks such as handling paginated data, data transformation, and rate limiting. These frameworks reduce the need to rebuild basic integration functionality.
* **Extend existing frameworks as needed:** Most integration tables and scripts are designed to be extended to accommodate unique use cases. Customize these components rather than building from scratch to maintain compatibility and upgradeability.
* **Provide feedback to ServiceNow:** Report issues or limitations encountered during integration development or testing. This input helps ServiceNow improve future releases and the overall integration experience.
* **Test integrations under realistic load:** Ensure integrations handle expected data volumes and API call rates gracefully. Implement pagination or chunking of data to avoid long-running processes that the platform might terminate for system stability.

## Key Outcomes

* Efficient integration development by maximizing reuse of ServiceNow platform and Security Operations features.
* More stable and scalable integrations that handle production loads without failures due to platform constraints.
* Improved integration quality over time through feedback to ServiceNow.
* Reduced maintenance effort by extending existing frameworks rather than creating custom, unsupported integration code.  
Avoid some of the pitfalls you can encounter when writing your own integrations by
following these guidelines.

## Use ServiceNow platform functionality whenever possible

Mostly, the integration capabilities built into Security Operations applications (Security Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and Vulnerability Response) are intended to
enhance or streamline existing ServiceNow
platform integration functionality. When writing integrations, always make sure to use platform
functionality when it exists. Here are some common ServiceNow functionalities that can be used
rather than "rolling-your-own."

* Outbound web services -- for most interactions with third-party systems, communication are through web services. In those cases, utilize platform outbound web services (REST and SOAP are supported).
* A data sources/import sets/transform map -- for processing data and inserting into ServiceNow tables, the preferred mechanism is to use data sources and associated components.
{#c_BestPractisesIntegrations__ul_bhd_gc5_sv}

## Use Security Operations integration frameworks whenever possible

Because Security Operations integration
mechanisms have solved many common problems, it is not necessary to reimplement basic
functionalities for every integration. For example, the vulnerability data and threat source
frameworks support handling multiple pages and passing that data to data
sources/transforms/import sets. Similarly, the scan or lookup source framework provides
configurable rate limiting functionality. As a rule, when implementing a feature or set of
features, check to see if the existing Security Operations integration framework
covers your use case. If so, use that framework.

## Extend the existing Security Operations integration frameworks as needed

Most of the tables and scripts used by Security Operations integration
frameworks were intended to be extended to suit future needs. If a use case is encountered
while you are writing an integration, extend an integration table or script to better suit
that use case.

## Provide feedback to ServiceNow for issues encountered during integration

As an integration is being developed or tested, be sure to provide feedback when issues are
encountered. Even if a workaround is required, Customer Service and Support personnel can provide an
improvement in future releases that could alleviate the issue for future integrations.

## Test under reasonable load

A common issue with integrations is that they are not equipped to handle realistic loads.
Because each integration is a scoped application, there are more limitations imposed by the
platform to ensure system stability. These limitations may result in long running jobs or
API calls being terminated. You can ensure that long running processes or processes that
process lots of data are handled gracefully by reducing the time each call or process takes
(usually by providing a means of paginating API requests or chunking large sets of
data).
**Related concepts**   

* [Types of ServiceNow integrations provided](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/L2sADnwFgh_JuZxZ5P9Ynw "The Security Operations applications (Security Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and Vulnerability Response) can be seamlessly integrated with other ServiceNow applications to enhance their functionality.")
* [Security Operations Integration Configurations](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/awiXsWctX8OuPQdYxUEaHw "Many of the integrations included in the base system require little or no setup, and operate in the same way. Certain integrations, such as the Qualys Cloud Platform, however, require separate steps for setting up the integration. Others support different sets of scan and lookup types and different rate limits.")
* [Integration troubleshooting](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/7Ux2TT0bOY6myOn2Umrm5Q "These troubleshooting suggestions can help you resolve common issues you can encounter when setting up or running integrations.")