Exploring API Insights

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

    API Insights is a centralized workspace designed for enterprise architects, API administrators, and CMDB administrators to analyze, monitor, and manage an organization’s API inventory. It consolidates API data from various sources into the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) using Service Graph Connectors, providing a comprehensive view of APIs, their usage, ownership, relationships, and security status.

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    Key Features

    • Role-Based Access: Different roles have tailored access and capabilities:
      • Enterprise Architects can search, monitor, and enrich API data, track API activity, and manage API lifecycle elements.
      • Enterprise Architect Administrators can configure settings, evaluate API usage metrics, set ownership parameters, and connect APIs to business contexts and workflows.
      • CMDB Administrators manage API data ingestion through Service Graph Connectors, handle clustering recommendations, and adjust API data settings.
    • API Data Integration: Automated ingestion of API data from diverse sources into the CMDB ensures a unified, enterprise-wide API inventory.
    • API Management and Visibility: Users can view detailed API information, including ownership, deployment, consumer usage, security incidents, and alerts. The API relationship map helps visualize dependencies and ecosystem fit.
    • Workflow Support: Configurable workflows enable management of API access requests and mapping APIs to application services and business contexts.
    • Search and Interaction: A user-friendly interface allows efficient searching and interaction with the API inventory.

    Practical Workflow Example

    A typical workflow involves a CMDB administrator configuring connectors to import API data, an enterprise architect administrator adjusting ownership and settings, and an enterprise architect enriching API records by adding context and analyzing API details to maintain an accurate and actionable API inventory.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Centralized system of record for all enterprise APIs supports governance and lifecycle management.
    • Enhanced visibility across the API ecosystem enables better decision-making and risk management.
    • Integration with CMDB and ITSM/ITOM data facilitates alignment of APIs with business services and operational processes.
    • Role-based access and workflows streamline collaboration among architects, administrators, and operational teams.

    Next Steps

    Customers can deepen their understanding and operational use by exploring configuration, administration, data management, access control, clustering recommendations, and data connections related to API Insights within the ServiceNow platform.

    Learn about API Insights with a sample workflow and review the benefits it can provide for different users in your organization.

    API Insights overview

    API Insights is a centralized workspace for enterprise or software architects and Configuration Management Database (CMDB) administrators to analyze and take action on their organization's application programming interface (API) inventory.

    API Insights users

    Table 1. Users
    User Description
    Enterprise architect Users with the sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect role can access the API Insights workspace to search APIs, monitor team APIs, view managed APIs, track API activity, review API access requests, and manage API life cycle aspects, including APIs without interfaces, business applications, ownership, or product models.
    Enterprise architect administrator Users with the sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect_admin role can access the API Insights workspace to search APIs, evaluate metrics on API usage, set parameters for creating an API, connect APIs to a business context, specify the group attribute for ownership, and associate a workflow for granting access to APIs.
    CMDB administrator Users with the sn_cmdb_admin role can configure and manage the API-related Service Graph Connectors. They can accept or reject clustering recommendations, search for and compare APIs, and adjust settings related to API data management within the CMDB.
    Note:
    A CMDB administrator needs additional roles such as ml_report_user, platform_ml_read, and cmdb_inst_admin to access some of the features and data.

    Additionally, the CMDB administrator needs the following security roles to access specific widgets:

    • sn_si.basic or evt_mgmt_user – Required for Events and Critical alerts
    • sn_vul.vulnerability_read – Required for Active vulnerability items
    • sn_msi.msi_incident_read – Required for Security incidents
    • sn_si.read – Required for Incidents

    API Insights example workflow

    Figure 1. Example workflow for the API Insights users
    Workflow describing various tasks a user with the sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect_admin, sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect, or sn_cmdb_admin role can perform in API Insights.
    1. A CMDB administrator with the sn_cmdb_admin role logs in to API Insights and configures the API Service Graph Connectors to import API data from various sources. Also, reviews and resolves any connection errors to ensure a smooth data import process.
    2. An enterprise architect administrator with the sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect_admin role accesses the settings page and adjusts the ownership settings according to their preferences.
    3. An enterprise architect with the sn_api_insights_ws.api_mgmt_architect role navigates to the APIs missing data section to enrich API records by adding relationships and references. This includes associating business context, assigning ownership groups, linking product models, and defining API designs.
    4. The enterprise architect explores the API page, which provides a centralized view of all APIs and views all APIs in one place. They drill down into specific APIs to analyze details such as ownership, deployment locations, consumer usage, security incidents, and alerts. Additionally, they assess how each API fits within the broader ecosystem, identifying key relationships and dependencies in the API relationship map.

    API Insights benefits

    Benefit Feature Users
    Implement a system of record for enterprise-wide APIs. Workspace to view and interact with API inventory API Insights administrator
    Achieve enterprise-wide visibility of APIs. Automated discovery and ingestion of API data from various sources into Configuration Management Database (CMDB) API Insights administrator
    Map APIs to application services and business context. Workflow for mapping APIs to relevant application services and business context API Insights administrator
    Integrate API data from a broad ecosystem of sources into the CMDB via Service Graph Connectors. API data ingestion using API Service Graph Connectors into CMDB CMDB administrator
    Search for relevant APIs. API search functionality with a user-friendly interface API Insights administrator
    Enable workflow configurations for API access requests. Customization of API access request workflows API Insights administrator
    View the usage, security, and service mapping of each API and its components. Detailed view of API inventory, requests according to minute, unique consumers, security data, IT Operations Management (ITOM) and IT Service Management (ITSM) data, and relationship mapping API Insights architect

    API Insights administrator

    CMDB administrator

    What to explore next

    To learn more about configuring and using API Insights, see: