Example: Provider and subscriber with data flow directions

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated June 11, 2026
  • 1 minute to read

    • The provider and subscriber roles are independent of the data flow direction. The following example illustrates how the same provider and subscriber pairing can support both outgoing and incoming data flow directions.

    Use case: Provision employee data to create human case agents

    • Provider Business Application: Corporate repository, for example, Active Directory
    • Subscriber Business Application: ServiceNow platform

    This integration supports two data flow directions:

    Outgoing: Provider to Subscriber
    Active Directory runs a scheduled job and pushes the latest employee updates to the ServiceNow platform every four hours. The provider (Active Directory) initiates the connection, so the data flow direction is outgoing.
    Incoming: Subscriber to Provider
    The ServiceNow platform connects through a MID Server to the on-premises corporate repository, which exposes an LDAP interface, and pulls the latest changes every four hours. The subscriber (ServiceNow platform) initiates the connection, so the data flow direction is incoming.

    In both cases, Active Directory remains the provider because it owns the digital interface. The Data Flow Direction field reflects which application initiates the connection, not which application owns the data.