Integrating ServiceNow with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Integrating ServiceNow with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365

    This guide explains how to set up your ServiceNow instance to integrate with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 applications. From specified versions onward, ServiceNow for Microsoft Teams has been upgraded to ServiceNow for Microsoft 365, reflecting expanded capabilities. Integration enables seamless connections between your ServiceNow environment and Microsoft Office 365 tenant, improving employee experience and IT service management.

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    To authorize and connect applications, you must have both the externalappinstalladmin role in ServiceNow and the application administrator role in Microsoft Office 365. Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) manages users and apps within tenants, which is fundamental to configuring integration.

    Key Features

    • Two integration app configurations:
      • Pre-published app: Provided by ServiceNow, requires moderate Azure expertise, no need to create your own Azure app, suitable for single Microsoft tenant to single ServiceNow instance integration.
      • Self-configured app: Requires creating your own app in the Microsoft Azure portal, demands proficiency with Azure portal, provides full ownership and control of the Azure app, suitable for single tenant to multiple ServiceNow instances or multiple tenants to a single ServiceNow instance.
    • Admin consent: Necessary to authorize the app usage and create a Service Principal representing the Azure app in your tenant.
    • Tenant models:
      • Single Microsoft Teams tenant connected to multiple ServiceNow instances (self-configured app recommended).
      • Single Microsoft Teams tenant connected to a single ServiceNow instance (pre-published app recommended but self-configured allowed).

    Practical Guidance for Customers

    • Assess your integration scenario (number of tenants and ServiceNow instances) to choose the appropriate app configuration.
    • Ensure you have the required roles to authorize integration in both ServiceNow and Microsoft 365.
    • For self-configured apps, prepare to create and manage Azure apps, including handling app ID and client ID values.
    • Plan your installation carefully according to your organization's needs before setting up the integration.

    Related Information

    This integration ties closely with specific use cases such as Government Community Cloud (GCC-H or DoD) environments and employee experience enhancements via Microsoft 365 applications.

    Set up your ServiceNow instance to integrate Microsoft Teams or Microsoft 365 applications.

    Important:

    For upgrading existing Microsoft Teams capabilities to Microsoft 365 applications, see Integrating ServiceNow with Microsoft 365 applications for Employee Experience.

    To connect your ServiceNow instance to your Microsoft Office 365 tenant and to authorize applications, you must have both the external_app_install_admin role and the application administrator role in Microsoft Office 365. For more information on Microsoft roles, see the Microsoft documentation on Azure AD built-in roles.

    Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) organizes objects like users and apps into groups called tenants.

    Self-configured apps (previously referred to as single-tenant) are available only in the tenant they were registered in, also known as their home tenant. Here, a single Microsoft Teams tenant is connected to multiple ServiceNow instances.

    Pre-published apps (previously referred to as multi-tenant) are available to users in both their home tenants and other tenants. Here, a single Microsoft Teams tenant is connected to a single ServiceNow instance.

    Table 1. Choose between a self-configured app and a pre-published app configuration
    Pre-published app Self-configured app

    • The relevant Microsoft Azure app is provided by ServiceNow so you don’t need to create your own.

      No need to create an app in the Microsoft Azure portal. Moderate Microsoft Azure expertise is required.

    • Once the administrator consents, ServiceNow automatically updates the Microsoft Azure app.
    • You must create your own app in the Microsoft Azure portal.

      Requires proficiency in Microsoft Azure portal.

    • Own and control the Microsoft Azure app.

    When you consent to the app to use the required permissions, a Service Principal (SP) is created representing the Microsoft Azure app. For more information about the admin consent, see Understand user and admin consent.

    In a self-configured app configuration, you must create an app in Microsoft Azure portal and use the app ID and the client ID values to connect to your ServiceNow instance.

    When to use Pre-published app or Self-configured app configuration

    Use the self-configured app or pre-published app configuration based on the following conditions:
    • In case of a single Microsoft tenant to multiple ServiceNow® instances integration, use the self-configured configuration setup.
    • In case of a single Microsoft tenant to single ServiceNow® instance integration, it is recommend to use the pre-published configuration setup. However, you can still use the self-configured configuration setup.
    • In case of a single ServiceNow® instance to multiple Microsoft tenant integration, use the Self-configured configuration setup.