Combined Service Observability release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 6 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Service Observability release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

    This document consolidates the release notes for ServiceNow's Service Observability feature from the Yokohama release through to Zurich. It is designed to assist ServiceNow customers in preparing for their upgrade by outlining new features, changes, and important upgrade information relevant to Service Observability.

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    Important Upgrade Information

    • Before upgrading to Zurich, complete the specified pre- and post-upgrade tasks.
    • Users with the sncsowsvcobs.manager role must belong to user groups of type srm in Zurich.

    New Features Introduced Since Yokohama

    • Mapping and Integration Enhancements:
      • Map services in the CMDB Workspace to APM data sources such as Dynatrace, New Relic, and starting from version 1.7.3, Datadog.
      • Map Business Services and Service Offerings to APM data (except in Xanadu).
      • In Zurich, new integrations added for SolarWinds on-premise, Amazon CloudWatch, Microsoft Azure Monitor, Splunk Observability, AppDynamics, Prometheus, and enhanced Dynatrace support.
    • Dashboard and Visualization Improvements:
      • View overall service health with RED metrics and correlated alerts, incidents, and change requests through the Overview tab.
      • Access extended health metrics and host/database metrics on the Observability tab when issues are detected.
      • Customize dashboard templates starting version 1.6.4.
      • In Zurich version 1.10, add ServiceNow AI Platform data such as problem and business app records, and Health Log Analytics (HLA) logs to dashboards scoped to the service.
      • Ability to recreate vendor time series charts with full queries and template variables, including importing selected AWS and Azure charts.
    • Data Mapping and Query Enhancements:
      • Support for using data mapping tags as variables in chart queries.
      • Map all service offering types to APM data, not limited to those with technical service parents.
      • Test data mappings before creating dashboards (from version 1.10).
      • Use any field on a service as a variable in data mapping queries, including custom CI fields.
      • Improved connection flow for creating APM data source connections directly within Service Observability.
    • Domain Separation: Enabled starting version 1.6.4 for running Service Observability in separate domains.

    Changes, Removed Features, and Deprecations

    No changes, removed features, or deprecations were noted between Yokohama and Zurich for Service Observability.

    Activation and Installation

    • Install Service Observability by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store for both Yokohama and Zurich releases.

    Additional Requirements and Compatibility

    • For optimal performance, an APM instance must be installed and configured with an API Key Credential on the ServiceNow platform. Supported APM vendors include Datadog, Dynatrace, and New Relic.
    • No new browser or localization requirements were introduced between these releases.

    Key Outcomes for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enhanced visibility into service health through deep integration with multiple APM vendors and comprehensive dashboard customization.
    • Improved agility and reliability by centralizing critical signals and connecting operators with subject matter experts using enriched data feeds including AI Platform metrics and logs.
    • Reduced mean time to resolution (MTTR) by calculating blast radius and correlating alerts with infrastructure and application changes.
    • Greater flexibility in data mapping and querying enables more precise and tailored observability dashboards, improving troubleshooting and monitoring effectiveness.
    • Streamlined upgrade process with clear role and group membership requirements, ensuring a smooth transition to the Zurich release.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Service Observability from Yokohama to Zurich.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Service Observability release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Yokohama to Zurich.

    Tip:
    If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

    Important information for upgrading Service Observability to Zurich

    Before you upgrade to Zurich, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    If you have the snc_sow_svcobs.manager role, you must belong to a user groups with a type of srm.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Zurich, new features were introduced for Service Observability.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Create and manage mappings
    Map services in the CMDB Workspace to the data from a connected application performance monitoring (APM) data source. Service Observability supports Dynatrace and New Relic. This mapping lets you view metrics from entities deep within your system, like a database or host, that might be affecting the health of a service.
    Starting in version 1.7.3, metrics from Datadog are supported.
    Starting in version 1.7.3, you can map Business Services and Service Offerings to APM data. Service Offerings are not available in Xanadu.
    View overall service health
    Use the Overview tab to view rate, error, and duration (RED) metrics from the APM related to a service. You can also view related open alerts, incidents, and change requests from the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to help identify possible causes and blast radius.
    View service health metrics
    View the extended health metrics for a service on the new Observability tab when issues are found on the Overview tab. In addition to the extended health metrics, you can view host and database metrics related to the service based on the configured data mappings.
    Customize dashboard templates
    Starting in version 1.6.4, customize the templates used to display dashboards in the Overview and Observability tabs.
    Domain separation
    Starting in version 1.6.4, Service Observability can be run in separate domains.

    Zurich

    New Service Observability integrations
    Integrate with more APM vendors to bring third-party data into Service Observability dashboards. New integrations for this release include:
    • SolarWinds on-premise
    • Amazon CloudWatch
    • Microsoft Azure Monitor
    • Splunk Observability
    • As of 1.10, AppDynamics
    • As of 1.10, Prometheus
    • As of 1.10, support for Dynatrace process and process groups
    Support for additional ServiceNow AI Platform data in Service Observability dashboards
    Add data from problem records and business app records to your dashboards. The data displayed is scoped to the service being investigated.
    Support for HLA data in Service Observability dashboards
    As of 1.10, add service-related log data to your dashboards.
    Support for full vendor queries
    Recreate any supported vendor time series chart in your Service Observability dashboard using full queries and template variables to represent entities and start and end times.As of 1.10, import selected charts from an existing AWS or Azure APM dashboard.
    Use data mapping tags as variables in a chart's query
    As of 1.10, key/tags used in a data mapping can also be used as a template variable in a chart's query.
    Additional service types
    Map all service offering types to APM data instead of just the types that have a technical service as a parent.
    Test your data mapping
    As of 1.10, you can test your data mapping before using it to create charts and dashboards.
    Use any field on a service as a variable in your data mapping query
    As of 1.10, when creating a data mapping, if your key represents a service, for convenience a drop down shows fields from the corresponding CI for the service, including custom fields, that can be used as a variable.
    Improved data source connection flow
    Create APM connections without leaving the SOW.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Service Observability features.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Service Observability features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Service Observability features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Service Observability.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Install Service Observability by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Zurich

    Install Service Observability by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Service Observability we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    For the best experience, an APM instance should be installed and an API Key Credential for that instance should be configured on the ServiceNow® platform. Service Observability supports Datadog, Dynatrace, or New Relic.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Service Observability we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Service Observability, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Service Observability we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Service Observability we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    • Connect operators with subject matter experts (SMEs) using critical signals from existing monitoring tools and the ServiceNow platform.
    • Centralize critical signals and bridge workflows to help increase agility and reliability.
    • Calculate the blast radius and help reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR) by viewing changes to your application and the underlying infrastructure.

    See Service Observability for more information.

    Zurich

    • Integrate with a number of new application performance management (APM) vendors.
    • Add service-scoped ServiceNow AI Platform charts to Service Observability dashboards, including charts from MetricBaseand as of 1.10, Health Log Analytics (HLA).
    • Customize your Service Observability dashboards to add more advanced charts using full vendor queries and template variables. As of 1.10, you can directly import charts from AWS and Azure.
    • Create dashboards for additional service types.
    • Connect to data sources efficiently with an improved flow.
    • As of 1.10, test your data mappings before using them to create charts and dashboards.
    • As of 1.10, use any field on a service as a tag key value in a data mapping and then use that tag as a variable in your chart queries.

    See Service Observability for more information.