Exploring Data Management

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Data Management

    Data Management capabilities in the ServiceNow AI Platform help you control the growth of table data within your instance through configurable data management policies. These policies allow you to set rules for archiving and cleaning table data, helping to optimize storage use. You can visualize storage consumption and manage data effectively to prevent uncontrolled data growth.

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    Users

    The primary user of Data Management features is the instance admin, who is responsible for monitoring data growth and storage consumption, configuring policies to archive older records, and deleting unnecessary data to maintain optimal instance performance.

    Data Management Workflow

    • The instance admin monitors overall cloud storage usage via Subscription Management.
    • Upon noticing unexpected storage consumption, the admin investigates by reviewing the Data Management Console to identify which tables consume the most data.
    • For tables without existing policies, the admin creates data management policies to archive or clean data based on age or other criteria.
    • Archive rules move older records to an archive table, preserving data without consuming active storage.
    • Table cleaner rules delete outdated or unnecessary records periodically, freeing up space.
    • After executing archiving and cleaning jobs, the admin continues monitoring to verify reduced data consumption and track the top data-consuming tables.

    Benefits

    • Monitor data usage over time: Track storage consumption trends to identify and address data growth issues.
    • Archive older records: Move data to archive tables to optimize primary storage without losing information.
    • Automatically delete records: Use table cleaner policies to remove obsolete data and maintain storage hygiene.
    • Safe record updates and deletions: Preview changes to ensure data integrity before applying archival or deletion operations.

    Next Steps

    To maximize the value of Data Management, explore detailed guidance on:

    • Analyzing data usage on your instance
    • Managing data growth effectively
    • Updating records safely
    • Deleting records safely

    Learn about Data Management capabilities and how they help you manage table data in the ServiceNow AI Platform.

    Data Management overview

    The Data Management capabilities enable you to manage the growth of data in your instance using data management policies.
    • Define and access a set of data management rules for a table using a data management policy.
    • Visualize a summary of storage consumption on your instance.
    • Manage the growth of data on your instance by archiving and cleaning table data.

    Data Management users

    Table 1. Users
    User Description
    Instance admin The instance admin monitors growth and storage of data on the instance. The instance admin configures data management policies to archive and delete older records.

    Data Management workflow

    This infographic depicts how an administrator uses a data management policy to configure data management rules for a table and monitor data usage on an instance.

    Figure 1. Managing data on your instance
    Infographic depicting how an administrator uses a data management policy to configure data management rules for a table and monitor data usage. For details, refer to the following description.
    1. The instance admin monitors cloud storage entitlements and data usage at the account-level in Subscription Management.
    2. The instance admin finds that one instance is consuming a greater amount of storage than expected and decides to investigate.
    3. The instance admin logs in to the instance and analyzes which tables are consuming the most data by viewing the Data Management Console. The instance admin notices that two tables are consuming more data than expected.
    4. The instance admin reviews the data management policies for the tables in question. One of the tables has never been archived or cleaned before, so the instance admin creates a data management policy for this table.
    5. The instance admin determines that older records in one of the tables can be moved to an archive table. The instance admin creates multiple archive rules using different criteria to move data from the primary table to an archive table.
    6. The instance admin decides that older records in the other table aren't needed after a certain date. The admin adds a table cleaner rule to the data management policy that deletes records from the table periodically as the records age out.
    7. After the archive and table cleaner jobs are finished, the instance admin continues to monitor the Data Management Console to verify that data consumption is reduced and continues to monitor the top 10 tables.

    Data Management benefits

    Benefit Feature Users
    Monitor data usage on your instance over time Analyzing data usage on your instance Instance admin
    Archive older records Data archiving Instance admin
    Delete older or unwanted records automatically Table cleaner Instance admin
    Preview and update records safely Updating records safely Instance admin
    Preview and delete records safely Deleting records safely Instance admin

    What to explore next

    To learn more about using Data Management, see: