Data sources for data visualizations

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Data sources for data visualizations

    Each workspace data visualization in ServiceNow references a specific data source that defines the data shown. Selecting the right data source is essential for accurately representing and analyzing your data within visualizations.

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    Data Sources Available

    • Table (Base system): Represents a collection of database records with rows as records and columns as fields. You configure visualizations by selecting tables and fields, and can apply filters using predefined report sources.
    • Indicator (Base system): Also known as KPIs, indicators track changes in table data over time using aggregations and conditions. They help identify trends and forecast, with breakdowns available for filtering by qualitative properties like priority or category.
    • Usage Insights (Activated by default): Requires the Usage Insights in PAR Integration application from the ServiceNow Store. It provides dashboards for monitoring usage analytics across web, Virtual Agent, mobile, and portal applications, enabling understanding of user interactions to improve user experience.
    • MetricBase (Subscription required): Stores time-series data sampled at regular intervals, useful for IoT applications and large volumes of machine-generated data. Supports graphing and triggering flows based on data. Activation requires ServiceNow personnel.
    • Health Log Analytics (Subscription required): Helps prevent IT issues by enabling root cause analysis through log triaging and raw data analytics. Visualizations for Health Log Analytics can only be created and edited in UI Builder, not in the standard visualization designer or dashboards.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    Understanding these data sources enables you to choose the most appropriate source for your visualization needs, whether you want current state data, trend analysis, user behavior insights, time-series monitoring, or log analytics. Some sources require additional applications or subscriptions, so plan accordingly based on your use case and licensing. Leveraging these sources effectively helps you create meaningful visualizations that support better decision-making and operational efficiency.

    Each workspace data visualization references a specific data source.

    Data source Available in Description
    Table Base system A Table data source is a collection of database records that together constitute the current state of your data. The rows of the table correspond to records and the columns correspond to fields. You often choose both table and field, or you group data by fields, when you configure a data visualization. Configured report sources appear in the Predefined conditions list when you choose to filter table data.
    Indicator Base system An indicator, also called a key performance indicator (KPI), is a record of the changes to your table data over a period of time. You use indicators to determine trends and forecast the future. Indicators apply an aggregation and conditions to the data. For example, the indicator Number of open incidents applies the Count aggregation to the Incident table, resulting in a number of incidents. It also applies the conditions that the State of the incidents must not be Closed or Canceled, and the Active field must be True.

    Indicators often have breakdowns applied. A breakdown is a qualitative property for filtering the indicator scores. For example, for incident data, the priority, category, and assignment group for the incident are all commonly applied breakdowns.

    For more information, see Performance Analytics indicators.
    Usage Insights Activated by default. However, to include Usage Insights data sources in your visualizations, you need the Usage Insights in PAR Integration application from the ServiceNow® Store. The ServiceNow® Usage Insights application provides dashboard views for monitoring usage analytics of your web applications as well as Virtual Agent, ServiceNow mobile, and Service Portal applications. Visualize metrics and interactions to better understand the user experience, and create more intuitive journeys for your users.

    For more general information about Usage Insights, see User Experience Analytics. For more information specific to data visualizations, see User Experience Analytics data sources for data visualizations.
    MetricBase Requires a separate subscription and must be activated by ServiceNow personnel. The MetricBase application stores time-series data, which is data that is sampled at regular intervals. You can graph the stored data or use it with triggers to execute Flow Designer flows. MetricBase helps developers working with IoT-based applications that monitor or act on large amounts of machine-generated data. For more information, see MetricBase.
    Health Log Analytics Requires a separate subscription and must be activated by ServiceNow personnel.

    The Health Log Analytics application helps prevent IT issues before your users are affected. It helps you identify the root cause of an issue by enabling you to triage related logs and analyze the raw data. For more information, see Health Log Analytics.

    Note:
    You can create and edit data visualizations for Health Log Analytics only in the UI Builder, not in the Platform Analytics Visualization Designer or in dashboards.