Data Catalog release notes
Summarize
Summary of Data Catalog release notes
The ServiceNow® Data Catalog application, introduced in the Australia release, is a self-service discovery layer within the Workflow Data Fabric application. It enables organizations to find, understand, and govern data assets across their enterprise through a unified interface. Data Catalog enhances data management by providing detailed asset information, a business glossary, metadata synchronization, and organizational tools like tags and domains.
Show less
Data Catalog is available through the ServiceNow Store and is installed as part of the Workflow Data Fabric application.
Key Features
- Search and Discovery: Users can locate data assets via keyword search, filters, and faceted browsing. Assets can be browsed by type, domain, tag, or owner, with schema previews and sample data accessible directly from search results.
- Asset Details and Relationships: Provides comprehensive metadata including schema, field descriptions, ownership, data classifications, and lineage to understand data context and relationships.
- Business Glossary: Facilitates the definition and management of standardized business terms that link to data assets, promoting a shared vocabulary between business and technical teams.
- Metadata Collectors: Automates metadata collection and synchronization from over 14 external platforms such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Tableau, Power BI, and more. Collection schedules can be automated or triggered on demand to keep data current.
- Tags and Domains: Enables classification and organization of data assets to align with organizational structure and governance policies. Tags can be applied individually or in bulk, and domains help control visibility and stewardship delegation.
New Enhancements in Australia Release
- Clone Metadata Collector Connections: Streamlines creating new data source connections by cloning existing ones, copying settings but excluding sensitive information.
- Data Quality for Data Assets: Displays data quality metrics including rule status, counts, and badges at table and column levels. External tools can submit results via the Data Quality API.
- Azure Data Factory Collector: Adds support for automatic metadata collection from Azure Data Factory.
- ServiceNow Metadata Collector Updates: Allows control over metadata harvesting volume with API size limits and filtering options.
Activation and Plugin Information
To activate Data Catalog, request installation from the ServiceNow Store. The solution consists of several new plugins that provide UI, core logic, metadata collection, connectivity services, and integration hubs essential for catalog functionality and external data source management.
Related Applications and Components
- Workflow Data Fabric: The foundational platform for managing data interfaces and products; Data Catalog is installed as part of this application.
- Data Products: Enables defining and publishing governed data products discoverable via Data Catalog.
- MID Server: Facilitates secure communication between ServiceNow instances and external on-premises or private cloud data sources, supporting metadata collection.
This release equips ServiceNow customers with a comprehensive toolset for enterprise-wide data asset discovery, governance, and quality monitoring, improving data understanding, compliance, and collaboration across teams.
The ServiceNow® Data Catalog application is the self-service discovery layer within the Workflow Data Fabric application that enables teams to find, understand, and govern data assets across your organization. Data Catalog is a new application in the Australia release.
Data Catalog highlights for the Australia release
- Discover and search for data assets across your organization using a unified self-service interface.
- View asset details including schema, descriptions, and data lineage across connected systems.
- Define and maintain a business glossary to standardize data terminology across teams.
- Collect and synchronize metadata from 14 or more external platforms using automated collectors.
- Organize assets with tags and domains to improve discoverability and governance.
See Explore Data Catalog for more information.
Data Catalog features
- Search and discovery
- Find data assets across your organization using keyword search, filters, and faceted browsing in a unified self-service interface. Browse assets by type, domain, tag, or owner, and preview schema and sample data directly from search results to evaluate assets without opening each record.
- Asset details and relationships
- View comprehensive details for each data asset including schema, field descriptions, ownership, data classifications, and data relationships, including lineage.
- Business glossary
- Define and manage business terms and associate them with data assets to establish a shared vocabulary across teams. Link glossary terms to catalog assets so that business and technical users understand the meaning and context of data using consistent, organization-approved definitions.
- Metadata collectors
- Automatically collect and synchronize metadata from external data platforms using metadata collectors. Collectors support 14+ platforms including Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, dbt Cloud, Tableau, Power BI, and Fivetran. Schedule collection runs or trigger them on demand to keep catalog content current as source systems evolve.
- Tags and domains
- Organize and classify data assets using tags and domains to reflect your organization's structure and governance policies. Apply tags to individual assets or in bulk. Group assets into domains to control visibility and delegate stewardship to responsible teams.
New in the release
- Clone metadata collector connections
- Clone an existing metadata collector connection to create data source connection faster. When you clone a connection, the system copies the connection type, collection settings, filters, and advanced parameters to a new connection record with an auto-generated name. Sensitive information is not carried over. Update credentials and any other environment-specific details before activating the new connection.
- Data quality for data assets
- Review data quality information for table and column assets, including the overall data quality status, the total number of rules, the number of passed rules, and any quality badges awarded to the resource. View each rule with its source, asset type, asset name, category, status, and last run time, and filter or search to locate a specific rule. External data quality tools submit rule results through the Data Quality API.
- Azure Data Factory metadata collector
- Automatically collect and synchronize metadata from Azure Data Factory using metadata collectors.
Changed in the release
- ServiceNow metadata collector
- Control how the collector harvests metadata. Enable an API size limit to cap the volume of data retrieved per request, exclude Glide artifacts from harvesting, and harvest Platform Analytics artifacts.
Activation information
Install Data Catalog by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store 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.
Plugin information
- New plugins
-
The following plugins are new in Australia:
- Data Catalog UI (sn_dcg_ui): Provides the self-service search and discovery interface for browsing and viewing data assets in the catalog.
- Data Catalog Core (sn_dcg_core): Provides the core data model and business logic for catalog asset management, classifications, and lineage.
- Metadata Collectors (sn_meta_collectors): Enables automated metadata collection from external data platforms to populate and synchronize catalog content.
- Metadata Collectors Core (sn_dcg_cc): Provides connectivity services for integrating Data Catalog with external data sources and platforms.
- Workflow Data Fabric Connect Hub (sn_wdf_connect_hub): Provides the central hub for managing external data source connections used by Workflow Data Fabric and Data Catalog.