Third-party data integration components

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Third-party data integration components

    This content explains the configuration and functionality of third-party data integration components in ServiceNow's Agent Workspace for Customer Service Management (CSM), specifically for the Yokohama release. These components enable seamless server-to-server API interactions and data retrieval from external third-party applications without user intervention.

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    OAuth 2.0 – JWT Bearer Grant Type

    The integration uses the OAuth 2.0 JWT Bearer grant type, which allows the ServiceNow instance to authenticate and communicate with third-party API providers by generating a JWT token. The third-party application administrator acts as the subject claim in the JWT, enabling ServiceNow to obtain an access token to fetch data via REST API calls.

    Credentials and Connections

    IntegrationHub manages external system credentials and connection information through aliases. This approach simplifies configuration by allowing a single alias to dynamically resolve the correct credentials and connection details across multiple environments during runtime, reducing administrative overhead.

    Remote Tables

    Remote tables represent external third-party application data within ServiceNow and are identified by a Remote Table flag in the Tables (sysdbobject) table. These tables map columns from third-party data sources, with definitions residing on the ServiceNow AI Platform. Data rows are fetched and cached in memory when viewed in Agent Workspace.

    When configuring remote tables for IntegrationHub, it is critical to set an appropriate caching interval. A shorter interval may cause excessive calls to the third-party system, while a longer interval risks displaying outdated data. Optimal caching depends on workflow needs and data volatility.

    Remote Table Script Definitions

    Script definitions control how remote table data is retrieved and cached by running scripts against external data sources. These definitions include settings such as name, active status, associated table, script content, cache time-to-live (TTL), domain, and domain path, ensuring precise control over data synchronization.

    These components require configuration by the system administrator to use third-party data integration with Agent Workspace for CSM.

    OAuth 2.0 –JWT Bearer grant type

    JWT Bearer is the OAuth 2.0 grant type supported for the third-party data integration feature. It allows server-to-server API interactions between the ServiceNow instance and external API providers without requiring any user intervention.

    The third-party application admin is used as the subject claim of the JWT that the ServiceNow instance creates and passes to the third-party application instance. This is done to get the access token which is used to make the REST API call to fetch records from the third-party application table.

    Credentials and connections

    IntegrationHub takes advantage of aliases to manage connection information and credentials when integrating with external systems. Using an alias eliminates the need to configure multiple credentials and connection information profiles when using multiple environments. IntegrationHub only requires an alias, which then resolves to use the correct credentials and connection information during runtime.

    For more information, see the following topics:

    Remote tables

    The Tables (sys_db_object) table contains a record for each table in the database, including remote tables. For remote table records, the Remote Table flag is checked on the record form.

    The columns in a remote table are mapped to the columns in a third-party application table from which the data is being pulled. The remote table script definition stores this information. Table definitions for remote tables reside on the ServiceNow AI Platform. The table rows, or external records, are stored in memory while a user views the data in a list or form.

    For more information about remote tables, see Create a remote table.

    When creating a remote table for use with IntegrationHub, pay special attention to the caching interval and choose an interval based on your workflow and the volatility of the third-party data. If the caching interval is too short, this can result in unnecessary connections to the third-party application. If the caching interval is too long, this can result in out-of-date third-party data being presented in Agent Workspace for CSM.

    Remote table script definitions

    Use a script definition to retrieve and cache data for a remote table by running the script against an external data source. Remote table script definitions store the following information:
    • Name
    • Active
    • Table
    • Script
    • Cache TTL
    • Domain
    • Domain path

    For more information about script definitions, see Create a script definition for a remote table.