Service Catalog and CSDM tables
Summarize
Summary of Service Catalog and CSDM tables
The Service Catalog in ServiceNow manages and utilizes tables defined in the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) to organize and deliver business and technical services. It primarily manages business services within the Sell/Consume domain and interfaces with technical services in the Operate domain, particularly Event Management. The core table managed by the Service Catalog is the Catalog Item table (sccatitem), which facilitates request creation and fulfillment workflows, including approvals and tasks.
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Key Features
- Catalog Item Management: Supports creation, automation, and workflow management of service requests through catalog items.
- Integration with Service Portfolio Management: Links configuration items (CIs) with service offerings, enabling tracking of request activities across multiple catalog items associated with a single offering.
- Support for Specialized Catalog Items: Includes PC Hardware Items (pchardwarecatitem) and PC Software Items (pcsoftwarecatitem) that integrate with Asset Management workflows, and Record Producers (sccatitemproducer) that generate requests or records outside of Request Management, such as HR Cases or Facilities Requests.
- Use of CSDM Tables: Utilizes various CSDM tables including Configuration Item tables (cmdbci), Service Offering (sccatitemsubscribe), Application Service (cmdbciservicediscovered), and Product Model (cmdbmodel).
- Updated Catalog Item Relationships: Replaces legacy CMDB relationship tables with User Criteria to manage access based on user, group, department, location, and company.
Products Benefiting from Service Catalog
- Service Portfolio Management: Enhances service offering visibility and simplifies catalog item creation and maintenance for service owners.
- Hardware and Software Asset Management: Enables asset ordering and service delivery tracking through the self-service catalog.
- Human Resources (HR): Integrates Record Producers for HR cases into self-service portals, mobile, and virtual agent interfaces.
- Customer Service Management (CSM): Incorporates Record Producers for customer service cases into relevant self-service channels.
Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers
ServiceNow customers can leverage the Service Catalog’s integration with CSDM tables to efficiently manage service requests and asset orders across multiple business domains. The catalog’s linkage to service offerings and CIs allows for comprehensive tracking and fulfillment automation, while its compatibility with HR and Customer Service Management streamlines case creation and visibility in self-service environments. Transitioning to user criteria for access control enhances security and maintainability. Overall, these capabilities enable organizations to deliver consistent, automated service experiences with clear service portfolio alignment.
Service Catalog manages and uses CSDM tables. Several ServiceNow products benefit from and add value to Service Catalog.
CSDM tables managed by the Service Catalog
The Service Catalog primarily manages business services in the Sell/Consume domain. Technical Services are also viewed from the Operate domain of Event Management.
The Service Catalog manages the Catalog Item table [sc_cat_item]. The Catalog Item table creates requests in Request Management. The requests usually have an automated, semi-automated, or business workflow for fulfilling the request, which can consist of approvals and tasks. When part of Service Portfolio Management, the CIs are associated with service offerings. When you link a catalog item, you can track request activity for all catalog items associated with a service offering. An offering can have multiple catalog items.
- PC Hardware Item (pc_hardware_cat_item): Submits hardware asset requests included in Asset Management workflows.
- PC Software Item (pc_software_cat_item): Submits software asset requests included in Asset Management workflows.
- Record Producer (sc_cat_item_producer): Submits requests or generates records other than Request Management tables for services that aren't serviced by Request Management (for example, HR Cases, Facilities Requests, or Legal Requests).
CSDM tables used by the Service Catalog
- Configuration Item tables [cmdb_ci*]
- Service Offering table [sc_cat_item_subscribe]
- Application Service table [cmdb_ci_service_discovered]
- Product Model tables [cmdb_model]Note:The following legacy CMDB relationships that once provided access to catalog items are no longer supported. To provide access, use the new relationships listed in the table.
Table 1. Relationship tables CMDB table Catalog item relationship table New relationship to use instead User (sys_user) sc_cat_item_user_mtom, sc_cat_item_user_no_mtom User criteria Group (sys_user_group) sc_cat_item_group_mtom, sc_cat_item_group_no_mtom User criteria Department (cmn_department) sc_cat_item_dept_mtom, sc_cat_item_dept_no_mtom User criteria Location (smn_location) sc_cat_item_location_mtom, sc_cat_item_location_no_mtom User criteria Company (core_company) sc_cat_item_company_mtom, sc_cat_item_company_no_mtom User criteria
Products that benefit from the Service Catalog
- Service Portfolio Management (Service Portfolio Management)
Ties catalog items to service offerings. Lets service owners create and maintain catalog items more easily, and gives more visibility into the service offerings.
- Hardware Asset Management and Software Asset Management
Self-service catalog lets you order an asset and track service delivery.
- Human Resources (HR)
Exposes the creator (Record Producer) of HR cases and displays the Record Producer in the relevant self-service catalogs (for example, Portal, Mobile, and Virtual Agent).
- Customer Service Management (CSM)
Exposes the creator (Record Producer) of customer service cases and displays the Record Producer in the relevant self-service catalogs (for example, Self-service Portal, Mobile, and Virtual Agent).