Common Service Data Model

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Common Service Data Model

    The Common Service Data Model (CSDM) is the standardized data model that ServiceNow administrators should follow when configuring ServiceNow products and applications. It defines best practices for structuring configuration items (CIs) and their relationships within the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). By adhering to CSDM standards, customers ensure that their data is correctly organized in CMDB tables, which maximizes the value and effectiveness of ServiceNow AI Platform applications.

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    CSDM reflects the entire service lifecycle and serves as a shared foundation across all ServiceNow products using the CMDB. This shared model enables unified data access, consistent service modeling, and accurate service reporting. It supports multiple configuration strategies and provides guidelines on using base-system tables and relationships, enhancing the reliability and clarity of CMDB data.

    Key Features

    • Prescriptive Framework: Clear, direct guidelines for defining CIs and their relationships to ensure consistent data structure.
    • Shared Data Model: A unified data model used across ServiceNow AI Platform products to simplify collaboration and integration.
    • Support for Reporting and Analytics: Designed to promote consistent, accurate, and complete reports and analytics for effective digital environment management.
    • CSDM Assessment: Expert-led evaluation and guidance service for customers to improve their CSDM implementation and align it with ServiceNow best practices.
    • Configuration and Management: Tools and processes to activate, configure, and maintain the CSDM framework in your ServiceNow environment.
    • Comprehensive Documentation and Resources: Practical user guidance, reference materials on tables, properties, forms, and roles, plus educational videos to support adoption and ongoing use.

    Key Outcomes

    • Maximized Value from ServiceNow AI Platform: Properly structured CMDB data enables AI-driven applications to perform optimally.
    • Consistent and Accurate Reporting: Reliable service reporting and analytics that inform better decision-making and service management.
    • Improved Data Integrity and Governance: Using prescribed integration technologies and governance processes helps maintain truthful and valid data.
    • Accelerated Adoption and Upgrades: Automation and guidance provided in each release reduce implementation complexity and minimize upgrade issues.
    • Enhanced Collaboration: Shared data definitions and base-system tables promote alignment between product teams and streamline operations.

    The CSDM is the data model that admins should follow when they set up ServiceNow products and applications. The standards for defining configuration items (CIs) and relationships between CIs in the CMDB help to promote that your data resides in the appropriate CMDB tables. The result is maximum value from ServiceNow AI Platform applications.

    About the CSDM

    The CSDM data model reflects your service life cycle. The CSDM is the data model standard for all products that use the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
    • ServiceNow AI Platform products, apps, and features are “CSDM-conforming”. That is, they all share identical access to the underlying CSDM data model. This shared model significantly increases the power of your applications.
    • The CSDM guidelines support unified data access for ServiceNow AI Platform products.
    • The CSDM gives you clear direct prescriptive guidelines for service modeling within the CMDB.
    • CSDM terms and definitions support consistent and accurate service reporting.
    • The CSDM data model supports multiple configuration strategies and includes guidelines for using base-system tables and relationships.
    • You can use the CMDB query builder to create reports showing CMDB configuration items (CIs) and their relationships.

    Expert guidance to assess and improve your CSDM implementation — the CSDM Assessment

    The CSDM Assessment provides Impact Customers with leading practices and prescriptive guidance on the CSDM and how it supports processes on the ServiceNow AI Platform. To help your organization plan for and implement CSDM, the assessment includes interactions with ServiceNow CSDM experts and personalized content. See .

    CSDM documentation

    Key principles that guided the design and development of the CSDM framework

    The framework is intended to help you avoid errors in implementation and to promote that your ServiceNow AI Platform products generate accurate, complete, and consistent reports. The following principles guided the development of the CSDM framework.
    Use simplified concepts
    Represent concepts in a simple, direct manner to eliminate duplicates and confusion over data sources.
    Design for reporting and analytics
    A prime objective of CSDM is to support consistent analysis.
    Prescribe the data relationships
    Tell users in a clear direct way which relationships and references to use to link CSDM tables.
    Share the data model across products
    The CSDM identifies a data model that is shared across products to simplify concepts and collaboration. Collaborating with other product teams achieves the best shared design.
    Use clear definitions
    Use agreed-on CSDM definitions wherever a table, reference, or attribute is used.
    Share base-system tables
    zBoot must provide shared base-system CSDM tables by default.
    Consistent data integrations
    To improve data integrity, use prescribed technologies when integrating external data sources
    Speed adoption
    For each new release, provide automation and guidance for CSDM that accelerates upgrading and minimizes issues.
    Enable data governance and process
    The presence of data within the model provides little value without governance and effective process to manage the truth and validity of the data.
    Provide practical user documentation
    (The content that you’re viewing now) Each product team that references CSDM objects should provide documented guidance on use and value of the objects. Links to product guidance appear in Applying CSDM guidelines to your product — product views.

    Helpful resources

    Some ServiceNow resources that can provide you with helpful information are:
    Other CSDM resources
    See What is a CSDM? and CSDM in a nutshell.
    Video
    Watch Playlist of all CSDM videos.