ServiceNow Platform Overview

Now Platform Overview

Define the Now Platform
 The Now Platform from ServiceNow provides an Application Platform-as-a-
Service (aPaas)
o Meaning it is a cloud-based computing model which provides the
infrastructure needed to develop, run, and manage applications.
o It’s not limited to a specific department or function, but encompasses the
entire enterprise.
 The Now Platform provides a modern, easy-to-use, service management solution
in the cloud.
o Allows organizations to:
 Automate manual, repeatable processes
 Standardize service delivery
 Focus on your core business
o ServiceNow provides all of this from a configurable web-based user
interface built on top of a flexible table structure.
o Applications that run on the Now Platform use a single system of record
and a common data model to consolidate your organization’s business
processes.
 Another advantage to this single system is that it can be leverage
to build custom applications.
 Applications delivered by ServiceNow are divided into four different workflows:
o IT Workflows
o Employee Workflows
o Customer Workflows
o Creator Workflows
Now Platform Interfaces
Identify the different Now Platform Interfaces

 The three Now Platform Interfaces

o Next Experience Unified Navigation
o Now Mobile App
o Service Portal

Next Experience Unified Navigation

 Next Experience Unified Navigation is the primary way to interact with the
applications and information in a ServiceNow instance.
o Notable features:
 Landing pages
  Navigation menus designed with tabs for all
applications/modules, favorites, history, and workspaces.
 The Contextual app pill provides the context for where you are in
the system.
ServiceNow Mobile apps

 Two, persona-focused ServiceNow Mobile apps:

o ServiceNow Mobile Agent – Targeted to the role of fulfiller. It supports
the needs of those fulfilling requests for products and services across the
enterprise
o Now Mobile – Targeted to the needs of an employee. It includes
functionality such as reporting broken items and finding available
conference rooms.
 Top 10 reasons to use ServiceNow Mobile apps
o Persona-focuses for intuitive use
o Mobile first and completely native, using the device’s built-in features
o Codeless and rapid development of new applets
o Ability to submit, view, and update requests, issues, and tasks
o Global search to find people, service and items, and articles
o Offline access with Mobile Agent to enable fulfillers to complete work
while not connected
o Push notifications for access to important information instantly
o Access to Virtual Agent and knowledge articles
o Role-based access to customized information
o Manageable from an MDM (mobile device management) or an MAM
(mobile application management)
Service Portal

 The Service Portal provides a user-friendly self-service experience, by providing

access to specific features, using widgets. Users are able to:
o Search for articles, catalog items, records
o Submit requests
o Browse the corporate news feed
o And much more!
 The Service Portal homepage can be accessed by navigating to
https://<instancename>.service-now.com/sp
o <instancename> is the name of the specific ServiceNow instance you are
connecting to for use

Role-based access
Define the components of role-based access

 The Now Platform utilizes role-based access to ensure people have the info and
workflows they need to fulfill their roles
 Components:
o User – An individual that has been granted access to your ServiceNow
instance
o Group –Set of users who share a common purpose.
 Members of a group perform similar tasks or need access to
similar information for various purposes
 Users working in ServiceNow are typically assigned to one or
more groups.
o Role – Collection of permissions in the Now Platform used to:
 Grant access to applications and other parts of the platform
 Assign security rights
 A role can contain other roles
o Base System Roles
 System Administrator (admin): Provides almost all roles and
access to all Now Platform features, functions, and data (with
some exceptions such as HR and Security Operations constraints)
 GRANT THIS PRIVILEGE CAREFULLY
o Users holding the admin role can create and
modify user roles, as well as impersonate other
users
 Specialized Administrator (example: catalog_admin): Provides
users with specialized administrator roles to manage specific
functions or applications, such as knowledge base, human
resources, reports, and web services.
 Approvers (approver_user): Allows users to view or modify
approval records directed to them.
 ITIL: Can perform standard actions for an ITIL help desk
technician.
 Can open, update, close incidents, problems, changes,
configuration management items.
 By default, only users with the itil role can have tasks
assigned to them.
Assign role-based access

 Once a collection of permissions has been defined as a role, it can be assigned to

a group or users
 o All groups or users assigned to that role are granted the access allowed
by the role permissions

 By assigning a role containing other roles to a group, all users in the group are
granted access to the permissions of any contained roles. ONLY ASSIGN ROLES
TO THE GROUPS THAT NEED THEM.
 Self-service users – Users without any assigned role permissions
o They can still log in to ServiceNow and access common actions, such as
viewing a homepage, accessing the Service Catalog, viewing knowledge
articles, and taking surveys.
User Authentication

 First level of security applied when signing into ServiceNow

o It validates the identity of a user who accesses an instance. Then it
authorizes the user to access features that match the user’s roles or job
function.
 Different user authentication methods supported by the Now Platform:
o Local Database – Authenticates the user name and password stored in
their corresponding user record in the ServiceNow instance
o External Single Sign-on (SSO) – Authenticates the user name and
password configured in identity providers that have a matching user
account in the ServiceNow instance
o LDAP – Authenticates the user name and password in their LDAP
(Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) account that has a matching user
account in the ServiceNow instance
o OAuth 2.0 – Authenticates the username and password of OAuth identity
provider that has a matching user account in the ServiceNow instance
o Digest Token – Authenticates an encrypted digest of the username and
password stored in the user record
o Multi-factor – Authenticates the user name and password in the
ServiceNow instance and sends a passcode to the user’s mobile device
 where an authenticator supporting Time-based One-time Password
(TOTP) is installed, such as Google Authenticator
ServiceNow Platform Overview Knowledge Check
1. Which of the following is the primary way to interact with the applications and data in a
ServiceNow instance?
a. Service Portal
b. Now Mobile
c. Next Experience Unified Navigation
d. Workspace
2. A role is a:
a. Collection of permissions
b. Collection of tasks
c. Set of users who share a common purpose
d. Individual to whom you have granted access to your ServiceNow instance
e. Set of members to a subscription
3. A group is a:
a. Set of users who share a common purpose
b. Set of members to a subscription
c. Collection of permissions
d. Collection of tasks
4. The Now Platform is an example of which cloud computing model?
a. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
b. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
c. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
d. Application Platform-as-a-Service (aPaas)
5. Which of the following workflow types does the Now Platform provide? Select 3
Answers from the below options
a. Information Technology (IT)
b. Employee
c. Customer
d. End User