ServiceNow to ServiceNow Integration: Unifying Service Desks For A Seamless Experience

This article was written by Ugochukwu Ezenduka

When two teams work in separate ServiceNow instances, the only way to get them to share data is by implementing a ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration.?

This will improve the collaborative environment between both sides of the integration by giving them access to critical information and reducing the time and effort needed to share data.

In this article, I’ll help you understand how ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration works and why your business needs it.

Why Integrate Multiple ServiceNow Instances?

Companies sync ServiceNow instances for the following reasons:

• Consolidate data from both platforms to a centralized hub in order to make informed decisions.
• Increase workflow productivity by reducing the time spent on manual data requests and transfers.
• Save money by accessing only essential data without having to add extra instances to your stack.
• Improve the user experience by connecting service desks in order to decrease resolution time and increase customer satisfaction scores.
• Establish a transparent, trust-based collaborative environment for internal and external collaboration.
• Streamline intra-company and cross-company collaborations as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Who Needs ServiceNow to ServiceNow Integration?

Any business that uses ServiceNow for (IT service management) ITSM needs to integrate its instance with other teams.

For example, IT teams in one organization can connect their ServiceNow instance with the instance of a customer support team in another company. This will help them improve the quality of services they deliver to customers.

ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration is also applicable to collaborations between service providers, clients, vendors, and suppliers. It makes information readily available to stakeholders.

In general, any company looking to consolidate data between multiple ServiceNow systems needs a functional integration solution.

What Are the Common ServiceNow Integration Solutions?

For ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration, you need a solution that connects with the API to fetch and transform payloads in near real-time. It could be a native solution or a third-party integration tool.?

Integration Hub

Integration Hub is a framework that allows users to connect their ServiceNow instances with other ServiceNow and third-party systems. It supports the development, testing, and maintenance of multiple integration solutions.

Integration Hub also relies on Steps, Actions, and Spokes to call APIs in order to interact with other systems. The Flow Designer allows users to create custom Actions and pre-built Spokes.

Other available Integration Hub features include:

• Spoke Generator
• Flow Templates
• Remote Tables
• Rest API Trigger
• Stream Connect for Apache Kafka

Third-party Applications

Although Integration Hub is native to ServiceNow, it might not be the perfect solution for your problems.?

For instance, your company’s use case might exceed the scope of available functionality—or you don’t feel like paying for features you don’t need.

In such a scenario, you’d need a third-party solution like Exalate for a better fit.

Exalate supports bidirectional ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration, which you can use to sync any entity. The scripting engine uses Groovy language to configure connections to your specific use case.

Exalate also supports automated integration triggers, which you can use to control syncs independently.??

What makes Exalate the standout option for ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration is that it has an Integration as a Service (IaaS) package—which covers your business’s integration needs from conception to full-scale maintenance.

How to Sync Two ServiceNow Instances Using Exalate

Here is a step-by-step ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration guide.

Step 1 – Install Exalate?

You need to install Exalate on both ServiceNow instances. First, request an instance node from Exalate. Once you have your Exalate node, create a proxy user with the correct permissions.

Then, accept the EULA and enter your proxy account details to proceed.?

For a visual guide to the installation process, read this step-by-step documentation.

Step 2 – Connect Your ServiceNow Instances

First, you need to generate an invitation code on one end and paste it into the other.

Click the “Initiate connection”. Enter the URL of the instance you want to connect to. You’ll see the option to proceed using the Basic or Script mode.

The Basic mode is free and configures everything automatically. The Script mode gives you customization capabilities to specify the fields to be shared and the mapping conditions.

Start with the Basic mode by clicking “Basic” and “Next.”

Then click “Yes, I have admin access” to verify your access to the destination instance. Otherwise, click “No, I don’t have admin access.”

Click “Copy invitation code” to save the code to your clipboard. Then click “Go to remote” to access the other instance.?

On the connections screen, click “Accept invitation”. Paste the invitation code in the textbox and click “Next”. After a brief wait, Exalate will establish the connection.?

Now let’s try setting up a connection in Script mode.?

Initiate a connection using the green button as before, but on the mode selection screen, choose the Script mode.

Enter names and descriptions for both instances. Click “Initiate” when you’re ready and wait for Exalate to set up the connection.?

Your connection is ready. Now you can click on “Configure Sync” to start writing the mapping and configuration rules.

Step 3 – Configure Your Connection to Share the Right Data

When you click “Configure Sync”, you’ll see four tabs: Rules, Triggers, Statistics, Info. Go to the “Rules” tab to adjust the script for the connection.

When you’ve made changes, click “Publish” to save them. You can return to this screen any time by finding your connection in the list and clicking the “Edit connection” button.

The “outgoing sync” textbox contains the sync rules for data going out of your system, while the “incoming sync” textbox specifies the rules for information coming into the system.?

Each line corresponds to a field. For example, in the outgoing sync, you can see the following line:

replica.description = entity.description

This means the description will be copied from items on this node to the corresponding items on the other node. For more sync rules for ServiceNow to ServiceNow connection, check out Exalate’s documentation.

Step 4 – Create Automated Synchronization Triggers

To create a trigger, you must define a condition using the ServiceNow search syntax. Once any new item meets the trigger conditions, it will be synced automatically.

To get started, go to the “Triggers” tab and click “Create trigger”. On the dialog box, you can choose the type of entity the trigger applies to using the dropdown box.

There’s also a field where you can enter the sync condition. Entities that meet this condition will be synchronized.

The suggested example is urgency = 1, so any items that have their urgency attribute set to one will be exchanged with the other side.?

Finally, tick the “Activate trigger” checkbox. When you’re done, click “Add” to create the trigger.

You can also click the (...) dots on the right and select “Bulk Exalate” which will tell you if any items match the query and synchronize them for you. That’s a great way to test if your triggers are working as expected.

Step 5 – Start Task Synchronization

Now your instances are connected and will automatically exchange information at regular intervals. Why not in real time? Because this could lead to performance issues when the sync queue gets clogged up.?

If the sync doesn’t happen within an hour or so, check that there are items matching the conditions you have set. You can also go to the “Errors” tab to see what went wrong. Make your changes and click “Resolve and Retry”.

Once it works, you can sit back and let Exalate do the hard work of synchronizing your data. Enjoy!

Key Takeaways

• ServiceNow to ServiceNow integration allows teams and organizations to connect their instances in order to share data seamlessly and close to real-time.
• You can connect your company’s ServiceNow instance with external systems using Integration Hub or other third-party solutions.
• Exalate provides an IaaS package that businesses can use to connect their systems and make sure they deliver optimum performance throughout their lifecycle.

Want to bridge the gap between ServiceNow instances? Book a demo with our experts and let’s get rolling.