CSDM implementation stage — Fly

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of CSDM implementation stage — Fly

    The Fly stage represents the completion of the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) implementation process. At this stage, you finalize the CSDM framework setup, enabling advanced management and rationalization of your business capabilities, services, and applications. This stage establishes a foundation for leveraging Application Portfolio Management (APM), Service Portfolio Management, and IT Service Management (ITSM) capabilities within ServiceNow.

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    Key Features

    • Application Portfolio Management (APM) Foundation: Use APM to analyze and optimize spending on business capabilities by determining whether current investments are appropriate or need adjustment for emerging capabilities.
    • Service Portfolio Management Integration: Combine APM with Service Portfolio Management to rationalize business services and offerings, assessing the appropriateness of service investments relative to business needs.
    • ITSM Enablement: Utilize the request catalog to link service offerings to catalog items, enhancing workflows to automate subscription management. Note that the request catalog is separate from the CMDB.
    • Business Service Management: Manage business services effectively by integrating configuration items (CIs) across CSDM domains.
    • Information Object Management: Identify and manage data types within business applications using the Information Object table, including sensitive data categories such as PII, PCI DSS, and HIPAA data.
    • Logical Configuration Items (CIs): Implement logical CIs that are not created through Discovery but should be associated with product models to support a product-centric management approach.

    Key Components and Tables

    • Business Capability [cmdbcibusinesscapability] Table: Captures high-level business capabilities supporting your organization’s mission and business model.
    • Information Object [cmdbciinformationobject] Table: Represents asset information linked to business applications, forming the information portfolio used for data governance and compliance.
    • Business Service Portfolio [serviceportfolio] Table: Manages portfolios of business services.
    • Business Service [cmdbciservicebusiness] Table: Tracks services classified specifically as business services.
    • Business Service Offering [serviceoffering] Table: Defines offerings classified as business services.
    • Request Catalog: Facilitates user requests for services, complementing ITSM processes; it is not part of the CMDB but closely related to service offerings.

    Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

    Reaching the Fly stage means you have largely completed your CSDM implementation and can now fully utilize ServiceNow’s capabilities to manage and optimize your business applications and services. By aligning logical CIs with product models, you support product-centric management, enhancing data accuracy and governance. The inclusion of sensitive data types in the Information Object table aids in compliance and risk management. Additionally, integrating business service portfolios with service offerings and request catalogs streamlines service delivery and user experience.

    Customers should evaluate their business requirements to determine the appropriate timing for implementing specific tables, such as Information Object, as this may vary. The Fly stage ensures your environment is ready to leverage APM, Service Portfolio Management, and ITSM to drive informed investment decisions and efficient service management.

    When you reach the Fly stage, you have accomplished all or most of the process of implementing the CSDM framework. The fly stage completes the process.

    Benefits of the operations that you perform in the Fly stage

    The Fly stage is a foundation for using APM capabilities
    You can use Application Portfolio Management (APM) capabilities to rationalize your business applications. Ask questions such as the following:
    • Are you spending too much on your business capabilities?
    • Are you spending too little on your business capabilities?
    • Should you increase the amount you spend on emerging business capabilities?
    The Fly stage is a foundation for using APM with Service Portfolio Management capabilities

    You can use APM with Service Portfolio Management capabilities to rationalize your business services and related offerings. Ask questions such as the following:

    • Are you spending too much or too little on services?
    • Are you spending too little or too little on services?
    • Are they the right services compared to emerging capabilities?
    The Fly stage is a foundation for using ITSM capabilities

    Use a request catalog to relate a service offering to a catalog item. You can also enhance the request workflow to automatically populate the “Subscribe by” table. Service catalogs are described in detail in Service Catalog.

    Note:
    The request catalog is not a CMDB table.
    The Fly stage can hep you to manage business services
    If your environment has a combination of CIs from each of the CSDM domains, this stage provides away to manage business services.
    The Fly stage is a way to identify the types of data that may be contained in or used by your business applications
    The information object table helps you see what's in your information portfolio.

    Tables that you work on during the Fly stage

    You reach the fly stage after you have accomplished all or most of the earlier stages.

    Tables that you work on during the Fly stage.

    Note:
    Some of the classes that you implement in this stage are logical CIs. Logical CIs aren’t created through Discovery, so their Model ID values might not refer to product model (application model, service model, or software model) records. To help you to migrate to a product-centric management paradigm, each instance of a logical CI should be associated with a product model. See Auto-generate product models for logical CIs.
    The fly stage completes the remaining aspects of CSDM framework:
    Business capability [cmdb_ci_business_capability] table

    A business capability is a high-level capability that supports a business model or fulfills a mission for your organization.

    Information object [cmdb_ci_information_object] table

    You capture asset information as information objects. You can connect the information objects to your business applications to create an application portfolio that you can use at any time.

    You can use the Information Object table to identify the types of data that a business application uses, including highly sensitive data such as:
    • Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
    • Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) data
    • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) data
    Information objects are part of the information portfolio. The information portfolio links to the following data:
    • Data Domains: Total number of records in the Data Domain[sn_apm_data_domain]. table
    • Information Objects: Total number of records in the Information Object [cmdb_ci_information_object] table.
    • Database Instances: Total number of records in the Database Instance [cmdb_ci_db_instance] table.
    • Database Catalogs: Total number of records in the Database Catalog [cmdb_ci_db_catalog] table.
    Important:
    You might implement the Information object [cmdb_ci_information_object] table as part of an earlier stage. Your business requirements determine the right stage for implementing the table.
    Request catalog

    Users request services through the request catalog. The request catalog is not a CMDB table. Catalogs are described in detail in Service Catalog.

    The fly stage includes these components:
    • Business service portfolio [service_portfolio] table
    • Business service [cmdb_ci_service_business] table; (service classified as a "business service")
    • Business service offering [service_offering] table; (service offering classified as a "business service")