The DCM Blog

CSDM 4.0 Webinar Companion

By Pekka Korpi

November 30, 2021
Data Driven Portals

Now Available On-Demand

Originally presented on November 30th, 2021

Length: 30 minutes

(This page updated on December 8th, 2021 with Q&A section and additional resources)

Venni Mäkäräinen

Venni Mäkäräinen

Senior Platform Architect at ServiceNow

Mikko Juola

Mikko Juola

Chief Product Officer for Data Content Manager

If you did not have a chance to join us live, no problem: the webinar is now available on-demand. Click below to register and view it whenever it is convenient for you!

We’ve gathered the questions & answers from the webinar and some additional resources here to help you dive deeper into the topic.

Use DCM to Accelerate your CSDM Transition

Your Questions, Our Answers

Will slides be available after the presentation?

Yes, we are sharing the slides on request. So please get in touch if you would like to get them!

What is the medium-term target for a dedicated "Application Service" table… Use the existing "Application Service (discovered) class, or will another be created? If so, when?

Application Service (cmdb_ci_service_auto) already includes extended classes for different use cases. And ServiceNow has provided some guidance on using each of them.

  • Here is one great article on ServiceNow Community on how to use them: LINK
  • And another one: LINK 
  • And finally the ServiceNow Product Documentation page about Application Services that describes, for example, the different types of application services.
  • In case you are creating app services manually, here are some instructions related to that.
When do you use a Blueprint and when the Content Planner?

A Blueprint is a visual representation of a data model. It includes tables, their relationships, and filters and conditions that define what kind of data we should use.

The Content Planner is a data management tool within DCM to maintain data on top of a Blueprint. In the Content Planner, you work with the data, while a Blueprint defines the data model that you are supposed to use. The Content Planner overlays real data on top of the Blueprint so that data can be updated with a visual tool, minimizing the possibility for errors.

Please view a short introduction video on our product page that explains all DCM modules briefly.

What does DCM cost, and what is the basis for licensing? Users, CI's, Tasks?

Licensing is based on the number of active blueprints. There are no limits on users, tasks, or data being audited or maintained with DCM. Get in touch with us to discuss what it would cost you.

We have an on-premise installation of ServiceNow. Can DCM be used in an on-premise instance?

Yes. By default, all ServiceNow store apps can be installed into on-premise instances.  (More info about this here)

Venni's example and the following "data models" included subscribers and catalog items. Are those also part of the CSDM?

Yes, “Service Offering Subscribers” has been defined as part of Extended CSDM in the CSDM Process Guide.

For more info: Search for “CSDM Process Guide” after following this link.

We have a mixture of everything in our (Business) Services table at the moment. How should we transform those into Business Applications, Application Services, Offerings, and Services?

This is a very typical scenario. Depending on the exact situation (including organizational structures, data volumes, available resources etc.), there are also several ways to address this.

With DCM, you can define simple models for each of the required classes and start auditing and guiding users on populating the missing records. By categorizing or grouping the existing Services, you can manage the transition and identify if a record is still to be processed or already a real Service,  as defined by CSDM.

Tags or taxonomy nodes can be used over the transition without creating extra attributes.

This approach aims to ensure that all new records created into Business App, App Service, and Offering tables are aligned with CSDM from the beginning. The original “Service records” act as a to-do list.

Auditing all of these models continuously will give you proper metrics to follow up on the progress and identify deviations against the plans.

Before starting a trial, I'd like to try DCM in my personal development instance. Is that possible?

Yes, you can install DCM (and any other store app) into a PDI, but we need to set up entitlements related to your PDI. Get in touch with us, and we will set this up with you.

Learn More about Data Content Manager

Book a meeting with us and we will show you  how DCM will help you reach your CSDM targets. You can accelerate your CSDM journey with DCM regardless of your maturity level. 

Resources from ServiceNow

ServiceNow has a lot of useful content available regarding CSDM. We think it’s sometimes a little hard to find, so we curated a list here. Some of these resources may require you to log in with your ServiceNow credentials.

 

Featured Posts

Can You Get A Whopping 1436% ROI by Improving CI Data Quality?

Can You Get A Whopping 1436% ROI by Improving CI Data Quality?

How do you calculate the Return On Investment (ROI) for Data Quality improvement? That’s a question we get asked almost every day. And every time, answering is painful since we’ve not come up with a magic formula that fits every scenario. Believe me, we’ve tried. So,...

5 Challenges to Address for Better CMDB Data Quality

5 Challenges to Address for Better CMDB Data Quality

Comprehending the impact of CMDB Data Quality, especially its absence, can be difficult. It is a big problem since poor data quality is often the main reason ITSM systems, like ServiceNow, don’t meet expectations. We are deeply involved with data quality daily. Our...

Video: Ensure You Can Do Root Cause Analysis

Video: Ensure You Can Do Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause & Impact Analysis in ServiceNow is essential, but it is sometimes not clear what you need to have in place to do it. This is especially true for Application Services since they are not self-evident for many ServiceNow users. Ensuring your Application...

How LapIT Improves CMDB Data Quality with DCM

How LapIT Improves CMDB Data Quality with DCM

LapIT designs and implements solutions for information and communication technology environment services in Northern Finland. Their customers are mainly municipal, public administration, and healthcare organizations. We interviewed Leena Broas, Development Manager at...

Video: How to Improve Foundation Data in ServiceNow and CSDM

Video: How to Improve Foundation Data in ServiceNow and CSDM

In this video, Pekka Korpi, CEO of Qualdatrix, and Mikko Juola, Product Owner of Data Content Manager, discuss the importance of Foundation data in ServiceNow and how it can be improved using Data Content Manager. Foundation Data in ServiceNow refers to the critical...

Build a Business Case for Data Quality Improvement

Build a Business Case for Data Quality Improvement

Accurate and reliable data is the backbone of any successful organization. Countless data quality improvement projects are started across organizations since poor data quality can lead to misinformed decisions, wasted resources, and lost opportunities. On the other...

How Metsä Group Improves Data Quality with DCM

How Metsä Group Improves Data Quality with DCM

Metsä Group uses Data Content Manager to improve data quality in their CMDB. We had a chance to interview Mika Lindström, the ICT Configuration Development Manager at Metsä Group. Thanks, Mika, for joining us. Metsä Group are an internationally operating frontrunner...

How to use CSDM to Improve Incident Management

How to use CSDM to Improve Incident Management

It’s been a while since this article was originally published, so I thought it would be time to update it to reflect changes to the CSDM model and our latest thinking. We published this article first in 2020 when ServiceNow’s Knowledge event included the first...

How to Get Started with CSDM in 5 Steps

How to Get Started with CSDM in 5 Steps

Getting started with CSDM is easier if you have a simple model for implementation. We think that the 5-Step Model we present here is helpful. It works well with any data model, and it works well with CSDM alignment and the CMDB. Maintaining high Data Quality in CMDB...

How CMDB Supports Regulatory Compliance at Danske Bank

How CMDB Supports Regulatory Compliance at Danske Bank

Data Content Manager improves data quality within an organization’s CMDB, reducing manual and disparate work for data quality maintenance. This increase in data transparency and ease of data management helps companies to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance,...

Get Started

Book a Call with us Now.

 

Explore how Data Content can enhance the quality of your data in ServiceNow. See how you can accelerate your CSDM journey and improve your CMDB or any data in your platform. All without the need for scripting, additional reports, or customizations.

 

Related Content You Might Like:

CSDM

The Recipe For Success eBook

Contents:
  • Establish Ownership & Roles
  • Manage Your Scope
  • Choose the Right Tools

We talk to people about CSDM alignment every day and constantly see organizations struggle with the same things over and over again. We wrote CSDM - The Recipe for Success to share our experiences.

It gives you hands-on guidance on some of the most important things you must address on your CSDM Journey, regardless of your maturity level.

CSDM The Recipe for Success eBook

Get Your Free eBook