---
sourceDocument: Australia Asset Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-asset-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Asset Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itam

bundleId :

    - itam

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Unused resources

# Unused resources {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

The Unused resources feature analyzes usage data to identify resources that are wasting money because they aren't being used. You can schedule Unused resources jobs to power off or terminate the resources that you
specify.

## Recommendations {#um-cloudin__section_cnv_qws_vxb}

The Cloud Cost Management application generates or fetches recommendations based on the cloud provider. The following table summarizes the recommendation types and sources for each provider.  
{#um-cloudin__table_uwt_gnk_mjc__entry__4}

| Recommendation type | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|-|-|-|-|
| Database recommendations | Fetched from provider | Cloud Cost Management identifies idle databases and generates recommendations | Fetched from provider |
| Storage volume recommendations | AWS Elastic Block Store (EBS) | Azure Disk | Persistent Disk |
| Aged snapshot recommendations | Amazon EBS Snapshot | Azure Snapshot | GCP Snapshot |
[Table 1. Cloud provider recommendations]

{#um-cloudin__table_uwt_gnk_mjc}  
Cloud Cost Management uses an optimized process for each provider.

* [Unused resources analysis for AWS](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ASQxVKTOYeaSkEibThmLLg "Cloud Cost Management uses an optimized Unused resources process for each provider. For AWS, Cloud Cost Management compares the calculated potential costs to actual billed costs and then generates recommendations.")
* [Unused resources analysis for Microsoft Azure](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0DmdqFgwQGTlN84dJB5xyg "Cloud Cost Management uses an optimized Unused resources process for each provider.")
* [Unused resources analysis for Google Cloud](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/EzGyV~e1F_Fitt6slT38Xg "Cloud Cost Management uses an optimized Unused resources process for each provider.")
{#um-cloudin__ul_i3g_c2x_wlb}

## How the Unused resources feature works {#um-cloudin__section_ylv_hgs_4jb}

1. On the Unused resources recommendations page, review the recommendations generated for your cloud accounts.
2. Identify and select the resources you want to power off or terminate. For more information, see [Manage unused resources](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/m_ocszzCioK1FuQf1ltjfA "Reduce cost by identifying the unused resources and scheduling jobs to power-off or terminate the unused resources.").
3. Create an Unused resources job, or select an existing job.
4. Schedule the job by specifying the date and time for the job to run.
5. Confirm the action to take on the selected resources:
   * Power off the resource.
   * Terminate the resource.
   * Terminate the resource and delete storage. Only the root or primary storage is deleted.
   {#um-cloudin__ul_bw3_5kw_zkb}
6. Specify the type of approval required for the action. Unused resources operations are directly integrated with the ServiceNow Change Management feature.
   * Auto-approval: Generates a Standard Change request and the change request is auto-approved.
   * Manual approval: Generates a Normal Change request and the appropriate user approves the change request.
   {#um-cloudin__ul_g3t_klw_zkb}
7. Specify the Change template to use when generating the change requests.
8. Save the job.
{#um-cloudin__ol_vlq_vdd_s3b}The system immediately generates the change requests. Later, at the scheduled time, the system runs the job to power off or terminate all resources for which the changes are approved. The instance updates Unused resources reports with new recommendations and with approved, successful, pending, rejected, and failed changes. For resources that failed power off or termination, you can reschedule the resources into another job.
**Related tasks**   

* [Schedule unused resources to be powered off or terminated](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/yXeMfzy37sYAgf1RzXUh3Q "To terminate or power off an unused resource, add it to an Unused resources job, specify whether to terminate or power off, and specify when the job should run. You can also move resources from one scheduled job to a different job.")
* [Exclude a resource from all Cloud Cost Management reports](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Ew3Z9yFG_f3JJMCOX90Ngg "To ensure that cost data for a particular resource doesn’t appear in a report, you exclude the resource by adding it to the Excluded Resources list.")  
**Related topics**   

* [Change Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_ITILChangeManagement&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-service-management&ft:locale=en-US)