Tags for cloud resources

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read

    • Tags categorize cloud resources to provide richer and more detailed tracking and billing report data.

    Create tags to enable Cloud Provisioning and Governance to automatically categorize cloud resources after they are provisioned. Each tag associates a specific key:value pair with a requested cloud resource, such as Application=HRMS.

    After the cloud resource is provisioned, the key:value information in tags become part of the resource's metadata and are saved along with all other parameters about the resource. Because a cloud resource can have multiple tags, you can view cost items from multiple perspectives.

    Tag definitions

    Tag definitions are records that associate a tag name with a value type. These value types are available:

    Value type Description
    Variable A value that user enters or selects from a choice list. This value is stored as a service catalog variable.

    If a table is associated with a variable tag, the values in the field marked as the Display field are displayed to the user when they request the instance. In most cases, this is the Name field. For example, the names of the business services in the Service table display to the user. If no table is specified in the tag definition, the user is presented with a text field.
    Script A script that obtains a value from the instance, such as the current time on the instance. The script must obtain the value via the base-system API and return the value to the answer variable. For example, to obtain the current time on the instance, the script would be:
    answer = new GlideDateTime().getValue();

    Default tags

    These tags are provided by default.
    Important:
    Do not deactivate the default tags, as this action will delete all the corresponding catalog item variables.
    Table 1. Default Cloud Tags
    Label Name Value type Table that provides choices
    Application application variable Application [cmdb_ci_appl]
    Business Service business_service variable Service [cmdb_ci_service]
    Cost Center cost_center variable Cost Center [cmn_cost_center]
    Project project variable n/a
    ServiceNow instance sn_instance script n/a
    Stack stack variable Stack [sn_cmp_stack]
    Time Provisioned time_provisioned script n/a
    User user order field User [sys_user]
    User Group user_group variable Group [sys_user_group]
    Cloud administrators can also create custom tags to suit the specific needs of the organization. For example, you can create a Location tag can to track the location of the resource.

    AWS tags

    Tags generated for Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources are sent to AWS and are also available from your AWS console.

    Create a custom tag for cloud resources

    Cloud Administrators can create custom tags in addition to the default tags to categorize cloud resources.

    Before you begin

    Role required: sn_cmp.cloud_admin

    About this task

    If a resource was provisioned prior to the existence of a particular tag, then that tag must be manually added to the record for that resource.

    Procedure

    1. In the Cloud Admin Portal, navigate to Analyze > Tag > Tag Management > Tag Definitions.
    2. Select New.
    3. On the form, fill in the fields.
      Field Description
      Label Name to display on screen for the cloud user.
      Name Name of the key. The name is stored in all tables, along with the value.
      Value type The type of value for this tag.
      Variable name The name of the variable. This option appears if you select the Variable value type.
      Table

      [optional]

      		 The table that provides the choices for the Variable value type field. Select a table from the system. If you do not select a table, cloud users are presented with an empty text field for the variable.
      Order field The field on the request form. Click the down arrow next to Click to select, and then select the field from the Orders [sn_cmp_order] table.
      Active An indicator that specifies if the tag is in use. Select this option to apply the tag to all new requests.

    Group billing data using custom tags from provisioned resources

    Configure user-defined tags to view and analyze billing data using custom tags existing on provisioned resources.

    Before you begin

    • Perform cloud discovery in Cloud Provisioning and Governance for provisioned resources.
    • Run a billing download job for the associated service account.
    Role required: Resource Policy Contributor role in Azure Service account and sn_cmp.cloud_admin in the instance.

    About this task

    Provisioned resources with existing tags are discovered as part of Cloud discovery. Existing tags are considered user-defined tags in Tag Management. By default, the imported (user-defined) tags are not displayed in the Billing dashboard, restricting you from filtering and analyzing billing data using imported (user-defined) tags.

    Important:
    Starting with the Rome release, billing and budgeting features are no longer supported for Cloud Provisioning and Governance running on a non-domain-separated instance. However, if you are using Cloud Provisioning and Governance on a domain-separated instance, there is no change in functionality for the billing and budgeting features.

    Procedure

    1. In the Cloud Admin portal, navigate to Analyze > Tag > Tag Management.

      The Tag Definitions list displays discovered resources provisioned with existing tags labeled as User-defined.

    2. Open a tag record of type User-defined.
    3. In the Tag Definition form, change the tag from User-defined to ServiceNow (Custom):
      1. In the Tag type field, select ServiceNow (Custom).
      2. Copy the Label field value to the Variable field.
      3. Select the Active and Visible check boxes.
      4. Select Update.
    4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for all the user-defined tags that you wish to enable in the Billing Dashboard.
    5. Perform Cloud Discovery again to view updated ServiceNow (Custom) tags.

      For more information, see Cloud Discovery.

    6. Run the Billing schedule.
      1. In the Cloud Admin Portal, navigate to Analyze > Billing > Billing Schedule.
      2. Create a schedule or open an existing schedule.
      3. Select Execute Now.
      4. On the Retrieve Billing Data dialog box that appears, select a date range and then click Download.
      The ServiceNow (Custom) tags now show up in the Tags field on the Billing Dashboard.

    What to do next

    View cloud costs on the Billing dashboard.