The ServiceNow Common Service Data Model (CSDM) unlocks the full power of the ServiceNow platform by letting you manage the end-to-end lifecycle of your digital products and services. It’s a standardized data framework that connects IT assets to the services you deliver to your users. If you’re already defining CIs in your CMDB to represent your IT infrastructure, then you’re already familiar with parts of the CSDM. But the CSDM goes far beyond this. It’s the glue that lets ServiceNow products work seamlessly together across the service lifecycle, providing business and service context to how these digital services are built, deployed, managed, and consumed.

ServiceNow Impact gives you the key knowledge you need to take advantage of the CSDM across the service lifecycle. There are a number of Impact Accelerators that lead you through a CSDM maturity model, first establishing a data foundation and then learning how to crawl, walk, and run. There are four accelerators specifically designed for Impact Advanced customers, each of which is targeted at a different maturity level.

These include:

• CSDM Assessment - Foundation Data - Advanced. This gives you an assessment and guidance on how to assess and improve the Foundation Data you need to support the CSDM framework, such as organizational structures, locations, business processes, product models, and lifecycles.
• CSDM Assessment - Application Services (Crawl) - Advanced. This provides an assessment and guidance for the Crawl stage of CSDM maturity, including Application Services—the application stacks you used to deliver digital services—as well as the set of Business Applications—software packages—that are used in these stacks.
• CSDM Assessment - Technical Services (Walk) - Advanced. This provides an assessment and guidance for the Walk stage of CSDM maturity, including Technical Services—the IT infrastructure and other types of services that support your Application Services. It also addresses Technical Service Offerings, which are specific service levels offered with a Technical Service.
• CSDM Assessment - Business Services (Run) - Advanced. This provides an assessment and guidance for the Run stage of CSDM maturity. It covers Business Services, which are the services you offer to your users. These differ from Application Services, which are technology stacks. A Business Service may depend on multiple Application Services—for example, a single email Business Service may depend on multiple email application stacks. It also covers Business Service Offerings—different service levels offered with a Business Service, as well as the Request Catalog and other related concepts such as the Service Portfolio.

There is also CSDM Assessment - Total Accelerator specifically designed for Impact Total customers. Unlike the Advanced Accelerators, this does not assume a specific maturity level upfront. Instead, ServiceNow experts work hand-in-hand with you to determine your maturity level and tailor the assessment based on whether you are at a foundation, crawl, walk, run, or fly stage. This introduces you to the CSDM and its guiding principles, evaluates your CSDM priorities and roadmap, assesses your CSDM maturity level in your priority areas, and then carries out the appropriate assessment based on this maturity level.

Let’s look at each of these Accelerators in more detail.

CSDM Assessment - Foundation Data – Advanced

To successfully implement the CSDM, you need to get your Foundation Data right. This Accelerator is designed to help you do this. It’s the perfect starting point for Impact Advanced customers who are just beginning their CSDM journey or are struggling with the quality of their Foundation Data.

• You’ll have an initial 120-minute introductory session where ServiceNow experts will explain how the assessment works and review CDSM basics and CSDM Foundation Data basics with you. They’ll also request information from you for the assessment.
• After this, you’ll have a 120-minute working session with ServiceNow experts to discuss the current state of your Foundation Data and review leading practices.
• ServiceNow experts will then analyze the information that they have gathered about your foundation data and prepare recommendations. They’ll present these recommendations in a 120-minute recommendation session and discuss possible next steps with you.
• You can also request an optional 60-minute follow-up session for further Q&A and additional guidance on leading practices if required.

CSDM Assessment - Application Services (Crawl) – Advanced

This Accelerator is designed for Impact Advanced customers who have established solid CSDM Foundation Data and are now entering the crawl stage of their CSDM Journey. It covers both Application Services and Business Applications, providing a view of what application stacks are deployed without necessarily mapping these stacks to underlying infrastructure (this is covered in the subsequent Walk phase).

• You’ll have an initial 120-minute introductory session where ServiceNow experts will explain how the assessment works and provide a high-level review of the CSDM framework as well as Application Services and Business Applications. They’ll also request information from you for the assessment.
• After this, you’ll have a 120-minute working session with ServiceNow experts to discuss the current state of your Application Services and Business Applications, and to review leading practices.
• ServiceNow experts will then analyze the information that they have gathered and prepare recommendations about how to best configure your Application Services and Business Applications. They’ll present these recommendations in a 120-minute recommendation session and discuss possible next steps with you.
• You can also request an optional 60-minute follow-up session for further Q&A and additional guidance on leading practices if required.

CSDM Assessment - Technical Services (Walk) – Advanced

This Accelerator is designed for Impact Advanced customers who have already implemented Application Services and Business Applications and now want to connect these Application Services to underlying IT infrastructure and other supporting Technical Services. This infrastructure mapping is typically accomplished using ServiceNow ITOM Discovery and Service Mapping.

• You’ll have an initial 240-minute introductory session where ServiceNow experts will explain how the assessment works and provide a high-level review of the CSDM framework as well as Technical Services and Technical Service Offerings. They’ll also request information for you for the assessment.
• After this, you’ll have a 120-minute working session with ServiceNow experts to discuss the current state of your Technical Services and Technical Service Offerings, and to review leading practices.
• ServiceNow experts will then analyze the information that they have gathered and prepare recommendations about how to best configure your Technical Services and Technical Service Offerings. They’ll present these recommendations in a 120-minute recommendation session and discuss possible next steps with you.
• You can also request an optional 60-minute follow-up session for further Q&A and additional guidance on leading practices if required.

CSDM Assessment - Business Services (Run) – Advanced

This Accelerator is designed for Impact Advanced customers who have already implemented Application Services and now want to Implement Business Services and Business Service Offerings to represent the services they offer to the users. It also covers the Request Catalog and the Service Portfolio.

• You’ll have an initial 240-minute introductory session where ServiceNow experts will explain how the assessment works and provide a high-level review of the CSDM framework as well as Business Services, Business Service Offerings, Request Catalog Items, and the Service Portfolio. They’ll also request information for you for the assessment.
• After this, you’ll have a 180-minute working session with ServiceNow experts to discuss the current state of your Business Services, Business Service Offerings, Request Catalog Items, and Service Portfolio. They’ll also review leading practices.
• ServiceNow experts will then analyze the information that they have gathered and prepare recommendations about how to best configure your Business Services and other related elements. They’ll present these recommendations in a 120-minute recommendation session and discuss possible next steps with you.
• You can also request an optional 60-minute follow-up session for further Q&A and additional guidance on leading practices if required.

CSDM Assessment – Total

This Accelerator is designed for Impact Total customers. As mentioned previously, it doesn’t assume a specific maturity level. Instead, ServiceNow experts work with you to assess your maturity level and tailor the assessment based on this. Impact Total customers can request this Accelerator at multiple points in their CSDM maturity journey.

• You’ll have an initial 60-minute introductory session where ServiceNow experts will explain how the assessment works and request information from you for the assessment.
• After this, you’ll have a 120-minute kickoff working session where ServiceNow experts will review the information you provided, introduce you to the CDSM and its benefits, and discuss your objectives and challenges.
• In a second 90-minute working session, ServiceNow experts will work with you to characterize your current state, including discussing your roadmap, identifying your priority applications and services, and reviewing your current CSDM data model.
• This is followed by a third 90-minute working session to define the scope of the assessment based on your priority applications and maturity level. ServiceNow experts will then work with your platform owner and appropriate SMEs to carry out an in-depth assessment, including people, processes, and technology.
• ServiceNow will present the results of the CSDM assessment in a 120-minute review session, where you’ll also get CSDM implementation recommendations and discuss next steps.
• You can also request an optional 60-minute follow-up session for further Q&A and additional guidance on leading practices if required.

Get started today

The CSDM provides a comprehensive framework that gives business and service context to your IT infrastructure and lets ServiceNow products work seamlessly together. By leveraging these Accelerators, you can accelerate your CSDM maturity journey, achieve better results and more value by following expert recommendations and leading practices, and unlock the full potential and synergies of ServiceNow products across the entire digital service lifecycle.