Setting up a remote table integration

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 23, 2024
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Setting up a remote table integration

    This guide outlines how agents at financial institutions can access consumer and transaction data stored in external systems via ServiceNow's remote table integration. It enables efficient retrieval of data without storing it in ServiceNow, enhancing the agent's ability to resolve customer inquiries effectively.

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    Key Features

    • Consumer Data Access: Agents can look up individual consumer information while on a call, retrieving records from an external CRM.
    • Filtered Account Information: The system filters deposit accounts based on the selected consumer, allowing agents to view only relevant accounts.
    • Related Transactions: Agents can access related transactions for bank accounts stored in external systems, streamlining the resolution process.
    • UI Actions: A UI action allows agents to create cases from interaction records, pre-populating relevant consumer and account information.

    High-level setup procedure

    To implement remote table integration, follow these steps:

    • Activate Remote Tables Plugin: Enable the remote tables plugin in ServiceNow.
    • Inspect Source Data: Determine the external data to be displayed based on your architectural layout.
    • Create Remote Tables: Set up remote tables with necessary external primary keys and data elements for display.
    • Create Outbound REST Messages: Set up requests to fetch data from the external system.
    • Create Remote Table Definitions: Define scripts and actions for invoking REST API calls and map fields appropriately.
    • Create Entity Relationships: Map external primary keys to establish relationships between remote tables.
    • Configure Related Lists: Enable viewing of related records in the consumer data context.
    • Update Interaction Records: Add custom fields referencing remote tables for data retrieval.
    • Add Reference Qualifiers: Filter lists to show only relevant external accounts or policies.
    • Create UI Action: Enable populating remote data into cases or workflows.
    • Utilize FSO Lookup Client Action: Integrate this action for enhanced data retrieval within the user interface.
    • Display Remote Transactions: Keep frequently changing information in remote tables while storing stable data locally.

    Key Outcomes

    By following this integration setup, ServiceNow customers can expect:

    • Enhanced customer service through timely access to accurate consumer and transactional information.
    • Streamlined case creation and resolution processes for financial service interactions.
    • Improved data management by leveraging external systems while maintaining a local ServiceNow interface.

    This use case illustrates how an agent at a financial institution can access individual consumer, bank account, and transactional data that resides in a third-party external system. This integration methodology can apply across industries, such as integrating to a policy administration system in insurance.

    Scenario

    A consumer of the financial institution calls in to get more information about a recent transaction on their savings account. The agent at the financial institution creates an interaction record while on the phone with the consumer. The agent wants to review recent transactional activity, so they populate the consumer's details within the Consumer field and save.

    The Consumer field is referencing a remote table, which means the consumer’s record is being retrieved from the financial institution’s CRM tool without being stored in ServiceNow.

    Once the agent selects the consumer in the Consumer field, they can see all of their related savings accounts in a separate field, labeled Deposit Account. This field is referencing account information from an external system. The list of bank accounts is filtered to the consumer’s using a reference qualifier.

    Once the agent opens the consumer’s record, they can see the related bank accounts and related transactions that reside in the external system. The agent can easily find the transaction the consumer is calling about and move forward in the resolution process.

    The agent creates a case from the interaction record through a UI action. The remote data from the interaction is retrieved and pre-populated on the case form.

    Objectives

    This use case achieves the following:
    • Look up an individual Customer (Consumer) from an interaction which is stored in an external system
    • Filter the list of available deposit accounts on the interaction record based on the consumer selected
    • After opening the Consumer detail page, provide a related list titled 'Bank accounts', which pulls in any Bank accounts stored in an external system for that Consumer record
    • After selecting a 'Bank account' record, provide a related list titled 'Transactions', which pulls in any Transactions stored in an external system for that Bank account
    • Leverage a UI policy to create a financial services case from the interaction record and pre-populate the consumer and bank account information populated by the agent on the interaction record

    High-level setup procedure

    The following table shows the steps to set up a remote table integration and display the data in the user interface.

    Table 1. High-level setup procedure
    Step Description
    Activate the remote tables plugin The remote tables plugin must be enabled for the ServiceNow instance to support remote tables. For more information, see Activate the remote tables plugin.
    Inspect the source data Based on the approach you plan to take, you should determine what external data is shown in the system. The endpoints and queried source data will vary depending on your individual architectural layout.
    Create the required remote tables Create the required remote tables so you can see the proper data retrieved from the external source.

    A remote table needs an external primary key to relate its temporary data to the data stored in the external source.

    You should identify the data elements you want to pull from the external sources and display in your workspace. For example, when pulling Consumer information, in addition to the external primary key, you may want to include full name, country code, city, and so on.
    Create outbound REST messages Set up the outbound REST message requests to perform proper GET calls to the external system where the information is stored. Navigate to All > System Web Services > Outbound > REST Messages to do so.
    Create consumer remote table definition Create the proper definitions where you define the script and tell ServiceNow what actions to perform when invoking each REST API call.

    In this step, you’ll align the values you want to display in your remote table to the values that are specified in your external system.

    You also must map the sys_id field to the designated external primary key in the external system.
    Create entity relationships through remote tables When making other remote tables, create relationships between them by mapping the unique external primary key to the sys_id field of your remote table.

    For example, to relate a bank account or insurance policy to its consumer, the external primary key must be mapped to the sys_id field in the Consumer remote table definition.

    Configure the Related Lists for the consumer to view the related records. This can be done by opening the context menu of consumer record, then navigating to Configure > Related Lists.
    Update fields on the interaction record to reference remote tables This step gives an agent the ability to search for the remote data when needed.

    Create custom fields that reference your remote tables in an interaction. This can be done by opening the context menu of the interaction record, then navigating to Configure > Form Layout.
    Add reference qualifiers on fields This step enables filtering of the list so it only shows, for example, accounts or policies within the external system that are related to the selected consumer.

    For more information, see Reference qualifiers.
    Create a UI action to populate remote data Create a UI action to populate remote data from the interaction into the case, or the respective objects in your workflow.

    For more information, see Create a UI action.
    Utilize the FSO Lookup client action The Lookup UXF Client action, included in the Financial Services Remote Tables plugin, is essential for setting up the FSO Lookup Client action.

    This action integrates the Action Payload Definition and is used within a field decorator as a UXF Client action.

    It’s available as part of the Remote table lookup application but requires integration with a field decorator or a declarative action.

    For more information on the FSO Look Up Client action, see FSO Look Up Client action.
    Display remote transactions for locally stored financial account You can choose to keep information that changes frequently in remote tables (such as transactions) while storing other data that doesn't change in local tables.

    For instance, you can display transactions for a persisted bank account as a related list where all transactional data remains in an external system. For more information, see Create defined related lists.

    When creating the relationship, specify the remote table as the Queries from table value. Use a function in the Query with field to define the relationship between the transactions and account.

    For more information on the implementation walkthrough, see the FSO Remote Table setup guide.