OT Asset Management licensing

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of OT Asset Management licensing

    The ServiceNow® OT Asset Management application uses a licensing model based on resource categories that group related Industrial and Hardware model categories. Licensing is calculated by counting assets under these model categories according to a Subscription unit ratio, which determines how many assets correspond to one subscription unit. This model supports both default and custom model categories associated with Industrial and Hardware resources.

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    Key Features

    • Resource Categories: Assets are grouped into predefined resource categories such as Industrial, OT Supervisory Systems, OT Control Systems, and various hardware categories like OT Servers, OT Network Gear, and OT Mobile Devices.
    • Subscription Unit Ratio: Each resource category has a specific ratio defining how many assets equal one subscription unit license. For example, 25 Industrial Consumable assets count as one subscription unit.
    • Custom Model Categories: Custom model categories inheriting from licensed Industrial or Hardware parents automatically associate with the parent's resource category and are licensed accordingly.
    • Hardware Asset Licensing: Only hardware assets flagged as OT (OT entity flag set to true) are licensed under OT Asset Management. Non-OT hardware assets are licensed under the Hardware Asset Management (HAM) model and do not use OT Asset Management workflows.
    • Coexistence with HAM: When both OT Asset Management and Hardware Asset Management applications are active, OT hardware assets are licensed and managed under OT Asset Management, while non-OT hardware assets fall under HAM licensing. OT workflows support only OT hardware assets, whereas HAM workflows support both OT and non-OT hardware assets.

    Key Outcomes

    • Accurate licensing costs based on asset categorization and subscription unit ratios help optimize license usage and budgeting.
    • Automatic inclusion of custom Industrial and Hardware model categories streamlines asset management and licensing alignment.
    • Clear separation between OT and non-OT hardware assets ensures proper workflow support and compliance with licensing terms.
    • Visibility into license consumption is available through the ITAM License Report for OT Asset Management, enabling informed license management decisions.

    The ServiceNow® platform uses a licensing method where your organization is charged for using the OT Asset Management application. In this licensing model, all assets of the Industrial and Hardware model categories are charged based on the Subscription unit ratio.

    The ServiceNow® OT Asset Management licensing is based on resource categories. A resource category is a group of related model categories. The OT Asset Management application supports some default resource categories. These resource categories enable assets of the Industrial and Hardware model categories to use the features and workflows of the OT Asset Management application. Any asset of the Industrial and Hardware model category is counted toward a Subscription Unit based on the predefined ratio of number of assets to subscription units.

    When you create a custom model category with a licensable Industrial or Hardware model category as its parent, the custom model category is automatically associated with the resource category of the parent model category. Based on the resource category, the assets of these custom model categories are licensed and counted toward a Subscription Unit.

    Note:
    When the OT Asset Management application is activated on your ServiceNow instance, all the OT Asset Management license resource categories are opted in by default.
    Table 1. OT Asset Management license resource categories
    Resource category Subscription unit ratio Model category
    Unclassed OT 1:1
    • Industrial
    • Industrial General
    OT Supervisory System 1:1
    • OT Supervisory
    • OT Supervisory EWS
    • OT Supervisory Historian
    • OT Supervisory HMI
    • OT Supervisory OPC
    • OT Supervisory SCADA
    OT Control System 3:1
    • OT Control
    • OT Control 3D Printer
    • OT Control CNC
    • OT Control DCS
    • OT Control DPU
    • OT Control IED
    • OT Control Module
    • OT Control PLC
    • OT Control RTU
    • OT Control SCADA
    • OT Control Server
    OT Field Devices 10:1
    • OT Field Actuator
    • OT Field Device
    • OT Field Drive
    • OT Field Robot
    • OT Field Sensor
    Industrial Consumable 25:1 Any consumable asset created using any of the preceding model categories.
    Operational Equipment 1:1 Not applicable
    Hardware resource categories
    OT Servers 1:1 Any model category which contains Server in the name and belongs to the alm_asset or alm_hardware class. Examples:
    • AIX Server
    • ESX Server
    • HPUX Server
    • Linux Server
    • Netware Server
    • OS/X Server
    • Solaris Server
    • UNIX Server
    • Windows Server
    OT Network Gear 5:1
    • IP Router
    • IP Switch
    • Network Gear
    OT Storage 3:1 Storage Device
    OT End User Computers 4:1 Computer
    OT Mobile Devices 10:1 Mobile Device
    OT Monitors 15:1 Monitor
    OT Printers 10:1 Printer
    OT Unclassified Hardware 1:1 Hardware

    The Subscription unit ratio is the ratio of the number of assets to the number of subscription units. For example, the subscription unit ratio of Industrial Consumable is 25:1, where 25 assets require a single unit of license. If 1 license costs $100, then 25 industrial consumable assets cost $100 and 50 industrial consumable assets cost $200.

    You can view the subscription details of your OT Asset Management application using the ITAM License Report. For more details, see View the license report for the OT Asset Management application.

    OT hardware assets in OT Asset Management licensing

    The OT Asset Management licensing model includes a few default hardware resource categories to license OT hardware assets.

    In the OT Asset Management licensing model, only hardware assets with the OT entity flag set to true are licensed and counted toward a Subscription unit under the hardware resource categories of OT Asset Management licensing. The OT Asset Management workflows support OT hardware assets.
    Note:
    Non-OT Hardware assets with the OT entity flag set to false can't use the features and workflows of the OT Asset Management application even if you have installed the application. The non-OT hardware assets aren't licensed under OT Asset Management.

    The Hardware Asset Management (HAM) licensing model includes default resource categories equivalent to the hardware resource categories of OT Asset Management.

    Table 2. Comparison of resource categories
    OTAM hardware resource category Equivalent HAM resource category
    OT Servers Servers
    OT Network Gear Network Gear
    OT Storage Storage
    OT End User Computers End User Computers
    OT Mobile Devices Mobile Devices
    OT Monitors Monitors
    OT Printers Printers
    OT Unclassified hardware Unclassified Hardware

    When both OT Asset Management and Hardware Asset Management applications or licensed HAM solutions are activated, and HAM resource categories are opted in, consider the following points:

    • OT hardware assets are licensed only under the hardware resource categories of OT Asset Management licensing.
    • Non-OT hardware assets are licensed only under the resource categories of HAM licensing.
    • OT Asset Management workflows support only OT hardware assets.
    • HAM workflows support both OT hardware assets and non-OT hardware assets.

    For more details on licensing hardware assets, see Licensing framework for Hardware Asset Management solutions.