Why do companies choose ServiceNow?

ServiceNow is one of the most powerful cloud solutions that help mid-to large-scale companies better organize and manage their start-to-end IT operations workflows. What makes ServiceNow so widely preferred for this is its multi-functionality. The IT solution combines service, business, and operations management.

ServiceNow easily integrates with different CRM, Cloud, ITOM, and ITSM systems, enabling the effortless management of internal projects and teams. Handling customer interactions happens easily and fast. Also, it's important to mention that with its comprehensive nature, ServiceNow users get a detailed overview of issues, track their root causes, and resolve them timely.

ServiceNow also enhances cross-team collaboration, resource sharing, and communication. You can check the all ServiceNow integrations ZigiOps supports.

Benefits of integrating ServiceNow into your IT infrastructure:

• Flexibility and scalability. One of the main reasons businesses lean toward the ServiceNow integration into their IT ecosystems is that the system embraces almost all their needs  HR, IT Ops management, Customer Service, and more.

• Enhanced optimization of internal IT processes. ServiceNows constantly evolving and growing list of functionalities enables IT teams to plan, organize and manage their internal operations. Due to its open infrastructure, different applications and plugins easily perform ServiceNow integrations without putting at risk the IT ecosystem.

• Full compatibility with other systems such as Jira, Azure DevOps, Micro Focus, Salesforce, Bitbucket, Splunk, BMC, and others.

• Sped up workflow processes. IT teams get detailed insights and a granular overview of critical chain operations and tasks. That allows for better decision-making and timely remediation of impending problems.

• Increased ROI. ServiceNows multi-functionality and compatibility with other systems help cut costs and optimize the company's budget. No need for additional tools, which saves resources.

• Enhanced task management. Thanks to its multi-instance nature, ServiceNow helps better track the progress of assigned tasks, minimizing the risk of errors and bottlenecks.

• Downtimes and outages are diminished as ServiceNows automation helps cut short any manual work. Service desk and dev teams align and sync, and their back-and-forth communication levels up.

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What is ServiceNow eBonding?

It's not uncommon for companies (especially large-scale ones) to have more than one ServiceNow instance. That allows them to pick and match only those of the systems and the functionalities of the system that fully cover their current needs.

The integration and synchronization of two or more ServiceNow instances and keeping them updated in real-time is called eBonding (e-Bonding) or bridging. The ServiceNow eBonding is a prerequisite for acquiring more relevant and easily accessible data at any given point. Separate teams help desk, management, and Development-consistently collaborate and communicate without any misunderstandings.

The slow and undoubtedly prone to errors process of manually transferring data is automated through the ServiceNow eBonding. The chances of data duplication, leaks, or bottlenecks along the way are canceled. Workflows are optimized. The team's efforts towards the common business goals become more efficient.

Much like any other successful integration, the ServiceNow eBonding allows the accumulation, extraction, and analysis of consistent information. The ServiceNow eBonding also brings different company departments closer despite their physical location. That streamlines the ongoing communication and leads to better and faster resolution of issues or client-related inquiries.

The ServiceNow eBonding is not limited to just within the premises of a single company. It is often used to bridge ServiceNow instances between an MSP and a client, for example. The result aims to diminish discrepancies between the sent and received data between the connected ServiceNow systems.

In this way, the customer's needs are met on time, which allows them to scale up their performance. The MSP and enterprise teams access the same information, accumulated by the ServiceNow instances from a distance.

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Benefits of the ServiceNow eBonding  

Benefits of the ServiceNow eBonding

• Full visibility and transparency on the accumulated data, accessible by the different ServiceNow teams. They work in full synchronization without encountering data discrepancies.
• The eBonding helps make the connection between the integrated ServiceNow systems more secure by eliminating unauthorized data access. The ServiceNow eBonding allows the two sides of the integrated systems to choose with whom the aggregated information is shared.
• With the ServiceNow eBonding, important repetitive tasks and activities (like data entry) are automated. Time and resources are saved while, at the same time, the accuracy of the data aggregated is ensured. That helps the responsible teams focus on achieving their goals.

Without a ServiceNow ServiceNow integration (ServiceNow eBonding) in place

Most times, the applications companies use are not connected in any way. That prevents the synchronization between their teams and their data. The data transfer between them is done manually, thus being very slow.

Miscommunications can also become an issue. It leads to misinterpretation of data on both sides of the instances and a significant drop in CSAT.

With a ServiceNow eBonding integration solution in place

Using an advanced integration solution for executing the ServiceNow eBonding has a lot of benefits. It acts like a bridge between the connected ServiceNow systems, thus allowing the responsible teams to freely share insightful data, which later serves as a basis for thorough analysis. Furthermore, a ServiceNow eBondingsolution that enables alignment helps with the real-time synchronization of the two connected systems and makes it possible for companies to remediate issues faster. An example of such an integration tool is ZigiOps.

How ZigiOps establishes a successful ServiceNow eBonding process

The ZigiOps connector is one of the most scalable and reliable no-code solutions on the market. Suitable for mid to large-scale companies, ZigiOps quickly manages to establish a solid bi-directional connection between the desired ServiceNow instances.

Advantages of the ZigiOps connector for a ServiceNow eBonding:

• ZigiOps is a fully no-code solution. It does not require any prior technical knowledge from its users to make the ServiceNow eBonding. In less than 10 minutes, ZigiOps users have their fully functional ServiceNow integration.
• 100% secure. ZigiOps complies with the latest requirements of data protection. Since the tool does not store any of the connected system's data, there is no ground for any possible data leaks or obstructions.
• The ZigiOps connector offers a list of comprehensive predetermined integration templates. Users simply pick up the one that fits their use case and start building the eBonding process. To help cover even the most sophisticated use case scenarios, integration templates can be built up from scratch.
• ZigiOps has an advanced filtering and retry mechanism, giving the users control over their information.
• ZigiOps offers easy bi-directional integration with other systems, apart from ServiceNow.

Common  ServiceNow eBondinguse case scenario

The most common reason for a ServiceNow eBonding (bridging) is to log incidents as problems from one ServiceNow instance to another.

Our help desk team receives a notification about a new incident in the ServiceNow queue. Upon investigation, the help desk team concludes that the development team must join in and handle the problem. If the two ServiceNow instances are not connected, the help desk must manually transfer the newly found incident to the other ServiceNow instance. There it will be logged in as a problem that awaits timely remediation. However, this manual work might take more than the expected time. Errors and silos will inevitably occur, which may lead to data obstruction. In the end, miscommunication between the two ServiceNow teams will occur and affect the end user.

When integrated with a tool like ZigiOps, both ServiceNow instances and their teams are aligned. ZigiOps automates the logging of the incident from one instance to the other, thus eliminating the possibility of human-related errors. Each time a new incident pops out in one ServiceNow system, ZigiOps will fetch it (along with all corresponding details) and send it to the other notifying its development team that their assistance is needed.

When the problem is solved, the help desk team receives a notification. ZigiOps bi-directional connection helps synchronize the two teams. That keeps them updated in real-time on the progress of problem resolution.

But let's have a look into the ServiceNow eBonding(ServiceNow bridging). For that, will use the ZigiOps no-code integration connector to handle our ServiceNow instances.‍

ServiceNow eBonding (using the ZigiOps connector)

Setting up the ServiceNow eBonding configuration

The configuration of the ServiceNow eBonding begins with ZigiOps installation. This is valid only for those ZigiOps users whore already using its on-prem version. In case ZigiOps is already installed, users can simply log in from the UI. Those initial steps of the ServiceNow bridging take only a few minutes.

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Initial ZigiOps log-in screen with credentials  description

The next step of the ServiceNow eBonding takes users to the ZigiOps Dashboard. The tool's dashboard gives detailed information on the already executed integrations such as their health status, licenses, troubleshooting, etc.

The actual process of connecting the ServiceNow instances starts with selecting the systems wed like to integrate. In the case of our eBonding, those systems would be the ServiceNow instances. The ZigiOps configuration panel requires users to choose which of the integrated systems is first (the source of the data that that to be transferred) and the second (the recipient of the data). In the case of the ServiceNow eBonding, system 1 and system 2 are ServiceNow instances. We also must define which system will be first and which second (the destination).

Next, important for the ServiceNow integration   such as data collection, filtering, conditions, and field mappings must be defined. The entities that need to be sent from one ServiceNow instance to the other also must be configured.

ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration (ServiceNow eBonding): initial configuration of systems and entities  description

Connecting to our first ServiceNow instance

Upon deploying ZigiOps it's time, time to log into the tools. The credentials needed are simply a username and a password.

The next part of the configuration is to select the systems wed like to integrate. In the current ServiceNow eBonding scenario, system 1 and system 2 are the ServiceNow instances. The data needed to connect to the first ServiceNow instance is as follows:

• Server URLInput the URL of your instance. For example,https://example.service-now.com.
• Username Input the username of the ServiceNow user.
• Password Input the password for the above ServiceNow user.
• Proxy SettingsEnables the usage of a proxy server if needed

Since our integration use case revolves around connecting two instances of the same system (ServiceNow), the path of connecting to system 2 is the same.

ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration (ServiceNow eBonding) template in ZigiOps

The next step of executing the ServiceNow eBonding is connected to choosing the integration. ZigiOp offers its users the ability to choose between a large list of pre-built templates. Or, depending on the current integration needs, ZigiOps allows for a template to be built from scratch.

Configuring the ServiceNow eBonding (ServiceNow ServiceNow integration bi-directionally)

Once the proper ServiceNow integration template loads, there are a few things that we need to set:

Our first ServiceNow instance should be pointed source system (system 1)

The other ServiceNow instance that needs to be connected must be defined to ZigiOps as a second (destination) system

Entities must be defined, too  in this use case, these would be incidents and problems

newly created

Important functions like polling, trigger conditions, and expressions can be tailored to fit the integration scenario.

Correlations are also important for a successful ServiceNow eBonding (ServiceNow bridging).

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ZigiOps polling functionality is crucial for executing the proper ServiceNow eBonding.

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The interval in which ZigiOps collects the information from the ServiceNow instance can be tailed as:

• Seconds
• Minutes
• Hours
• Days
• Weeks

Fields, values, and conditional mappings can change to fit any use-case scenario.

The advanced mapping functionality of the ZigiOps connector allows users to set conditions, tied up to the actions taken in the first of the connected ServiceNow instances with these corresponding field names and send them directly to the other ServiceNow instance

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ServiceNow (system 1) Problem Update

The next logical step of the successful ServiceNow eBonding is to set the exact period the ZigiOps connector will look at and fetch new updates on the first ServiceNow instance. Whenever the integration platform notices a newly created update, it immediately collects it and sends it to the other connected ServiceNow instance.

Again, the polling can be set to seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc. The trigger condition field shows at what terms data will be pulled from the first ServiceNow system.

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Part of ZigiOp's advanced functionalities are the last-time expressions. They help ZigiOps users store the value of any date/time field and auto-increment on each action run.

• last time
• last attachment
• last comment

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Update ServiceNow incident

Because ZigiOps establishes a bi-directional ServiceNow-ServiceNow integration (ServiceNow eBonding), updating the ServiceNow incident is possible.

ZigiOpspolls data on a pre-defined interval which can be set to seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.

The trigger conditions can, too, be picked to fit the use case needs.

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Again, ZigiOps displays the expressions, which are: last time, last time comment, last attachment, and last workaround.

Update ServiceNow incident  mapping

The field mappings tell ZigiOps how to implement new updates/or information. If such appears, ZigiOps will collect them and send them to the other connected ServiceNow instance.

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Conclusion

In the current data-driven time, obtaining coherent and clear information from across the applications in the IT ecosystem is critical. This is especially valid when it comes to managing different internal IT tasks and operations related to development, project management, service desk, etc. That's why utilizing the right technology, which would not only back but enhance those activities is crucial.

When it comes to executing a comprehensive integration such as the ServiceNow to ServiceNow bi-directionally (also known as ServiceNow eBonding or ServiceNow bridging), using an evolved solution that would bring different teams together and align them, is mandatory. Security, flexibility, and more importantly, scalability are the characteristics the integration solution must possess.