Combined Business Continuity Management release notes for upgrades from Washington DC to Xanadu

How to use this page

To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Business Continuity Management release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Washington DC to Xanadu.

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 Business Continuity Management to Xanadu

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


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	After upgrading to the Washington DC release, you must note the following important information for the existing business impact analyses, business continuity plans, and events: For business impact analyses, the Source column in the dependency assessment is renamed to Primary source and the BCM source is renamed to Manual for manually added dependencies following an upgrade. When you select the Update dependencies button, the system adds the CMDB dependencies. For business continuity plans, the Source column is renamed to Primary source following an upgrade. When you select the Update dependencies button, the system adds the CMDB and BIA dependencies. To maintain compatibility with the previous releases, the BCM administrator can configure the sources and keep only the BIA upstream dependency and BIA downstream dependencies as the sources in the updated configuration. For events and exercises, when you select the Update dependencies button, the system adds the CMDB, BIA, and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) dependencies after an upgrade. To maintain compatibility with the previous releases, the BCM administrator can configure the sources and keep only the BIA upstream dependency and BIA downstream dependencies as the sources in the updated configuration.
Xanadu	The relationship tables introduced in the plan records are generated by the Update BCP dependencies snapshot scheduled job. After upgrading to the Xanadu release, you can view these tables only after the scheduled job has run or by manually selecting the Update dependencies button.

New features

Between your current release family and Xanadu, new features were introduced for Business Continuity Management.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	Configuring the Dictionary, UI policy, element variables, and UI view Configure new fields in the dependency assessment with the admin role and mark them as required or optional using the UI policy. In addition to UI policy configuration, you can also customize the UI view and UX view rules for the BIA dependency and BIA dependency groups. It offers you the flexibility to modify the display and functionality of the dependency assessment based on your specific requirements. In previous releases, the Required Recovery Timeframe validation was required for all impact categories. However, starting with version 6.1.x of the BCM application, it's now required only for the Applications impact category. This change is controlled by the UI policy. Automate the recovery task in the plan Automate the recovery tasks to streamline the recovery process in both business continuity plans and exercises. By classifying a task as automated and attaching an automated flow to it, the recovery process can be streamlined. When a business continuity plan is activated as part of an exercise or an actual event, the associated automated flow gets triggered. However, if an error or failure occurs during the execution of the automated flow, the user with edit access to the event record can manually retrigger the task as a backup. Therefore, the recovery process can proceed seamlessly, even if the automated flow encounters any issues. Add a task to the crisis event Manage multiple recovery tasks by editing various fields, including State, Actual start, Actual end, Assigned to, and Assigned group at the same time in the recovery tasks list. It helps the event task users update multiple tasks simultaneously, saving time and effort. If a task was closed by mistake, the event task users with edit access to the event record can reopen it for editing and make necessary corrections, maintaining accuracy and completeness in the recovery process. Additionally, the Closed failed task state has been implemented on the Event task form. When a task is transitioned to the Closed failed state, the entire exercise is paused until the user with edit access to the event record unblocks the task and changes its state to Closed complete. The event task users can then resolve any issues or failures before continuing with the exercise. Schedule an auto-update of the dependencies Update the CMDB assets and dependencies in the business impact analysis. BCM administrators can configure the Impact analysis dependency update configuration module to start an auto-update or to trigger a manual review process. Administrators can enable the scheduled job to monitor the dependencies continuously and send email notifications. Schedule an auto-update of the related assets Update the CMDB assets and dependencies in the business continuity plan. BCM administrators can configure the Planning dependency update configuration module to start an auto-update or to trigger a manual review process. Dependencies are fetched from different sources such as a BIA upstream dependency, BIA downstream dependencies, and the CMDB. Administrators can enable the scheduled job to monitor the dependencies continuously and send the email notifications. Adding the dependencies of the impacted assets Update the CMDB assets and dependencies in an event. BCM administrators can configure the Event dependency source configuration module to start an auto-update or to trigger a manual review process. Dependencies are fetched from different sources such as a BIA upstream dependency, BIA downstream dependencies, CMDB, Plan primary assets, and Plan related assets.
Xanadu	Create a business impact analysis Analyze the business impact of an asset's dependencies by using the latest updates from the most recent Business Impact Analysis (BIA) record. You can also determine the recovery time frame and data backup needs for the asset. Create a business continuity plan Access the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) record from the BIA column in the plan asset form. This column has been updated from a document ID type to a reference type so that you can update the BIA information and navigate to the plan record. Identify the assets that are affected when a primary scope is operationally down by marking an asset as a primary scope and identifying its related assets. This way, you get a clear view of the relationships between assets. Add asset and scope to the BCP Identify the discrepancies between the primary and related assets by using the hierarchical view in the plan record. This way, you can address the gaps in the Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Point Objective (RPO), or Recovery Tier (RT) values. Dependency Configuration records Access up-to-date information on the dependencies that are related to the BIA, plans, or events. You can analyze how these dependencies affect your business. Add recovery tasks Calculate the time that it takes to recover each event asset by tagging the assets to the recovery tasks. Create New Recovery task form Preview the execution order of the recovery tasks by their dependencies during an exercise or an actual event. You can identify any cyclic dependencies in the recovery tasks that might trigger error notifications and stop further actions on that recovery task. You can also record the estimated time that is required for a recovery task directly on the recovery task form. Create an exercise Assess the time and effort for an activated plan and the recovery of the impacted assets. You can track the status of an open activated plan and monitor the progress during an actual event. Format PDF templates for BIAs, BCPs, and events Improve the content in PDFs of BIAs, plans, and events by implementing a new layout: Arrange the various event tasks in a table format. Include the details of the asset owner and the description from the Business Impact Analysis. Display a table that outlines the dependencies of the plan assets. Mark the date of the PDF creation on the front page.

Changes

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some changes were made to existing Business Continuity Management features.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	Element definitions and variables You can now add a Windows server asset in the Windows server element definition or a Linux server asset in the Linux server element definition. However, you can’t add the Windows server asset or the Linux server asset in the filter of the Hardware element definition.

Removed

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Business Continuity Management features or functionality were removed.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Deprecations

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Business Continuity Management features or functionality were deprecated.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	The BCM Classic Workspace isn’t compatible with the new features and enhancements that were introduced with the Xanadu release. Any issues and errors encountered with its continued use aren't supported. To avoid any disruptions, transition to the BCM Configurable Workspace. Note: Although the BCM Classic Workspace is still available through the URLs after its deprecation, it doesn't appear in the navigation menu.

Activation information

Review information on how to activate Business Continuity Management.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	Install Business Continuity Management 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.
Xanadu	Install Business Continuity Management 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.

Additional requirements

If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Business Continuity Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Browser requirements

If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Business Continuity Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	Business Continuity Management requires the following browsers: Google Chrome Firefox and Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) Microsoft Edge Chromium Safari 12.0 and later versions

Accessibility information

Review details on accessibility information for Business Continuity Management, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	Accessibility improvements for the Business Continuity Workspace include the following updates. Screen reader support has been improved for the following features: Business impact analysis assessment Business impact analysis dashboard Contributors side panel Assets tab in the plans and events (Element picker)

Localization information

If there are specific localization considerations for Business Continuity Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Highlight information

If there are specific highlight considerations for Business Continuity Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Washington DC	Configure new fields in the dependency assessment and mark them as required or optional by configuring the UI policy with the admin role. Automate the recovery tasks for faster disaster recovery (DR). Schedule an auto-update of the dependencies in the business impact analysis (BIA) based on the source data and relationships in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). Get email notifications with the details of the BIA dependency updates from the application. Schedule an auto-update of the related assets in the plans based on the source data and relationships in the CMDB and BIA. Get email notifications with the details of the planning dependency updates from the application. Add the dependencies of the impacted assets manually in the events and exercises from the CMDB, BIA, and plans. See Business Continuity Management for more information.
Xanadu	Review the types, relationships, and sources of relationships for an asset through updated plan records. Access the most current information on the dependencies that are related to the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), plans, or events. Manage and assess the recovery tasks that are listed within your plan. You can organize the tasks by their dependencies. See Business Continuity Management for more information.