CSDM implementation stages — Fly stage

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of CSDM implementation stages — Fly stage

    The Fly stage marks the final phase of implementing the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) framework in ServiceNow. At this stage, most or all foundational elements of CSDM are in place, enabling you to fully leverage Application Portfolio Management (APM), Service Portfolio Management, and IT Service Management (ITSM) capabilities. This stage facilitates effective management and rationalization of business applications, services, and related offerings by aligning them with strategic business needs and spending.

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    Key Features

    • APM Integration: Use APM to evaluate and rationalize business capabilities and applications, helping determine if spending aligns appropriately with current and emerging business needs.
    • Service Portfolio Management: Integrate APM with service portfolio management to assess and optimize spending on business services and offerings, ensuring they support emerging capabilities.
    • ITSM Enhancements: Utilize the request catalog to link service offerings to catalog items and automate request workflows, improving service request management. Note that the request catalog is not part of the CMDB but is integral to service delivery.
    • Business Service Management: Manage business services effectively by integrating Configuration Items (CIs) across all CSDM domains.
    • Information Object Table: Identify and manage the types of data used by business applications, including sensitive data such as PII, PCI DSS, and HIPAA-related information. This supports data governance and compliance.
    • Logical Configuration Items: The Fly stage involves implementing logical CIs, which are not discovered automatically but should be associated with product models to support a product-centric management approach.

    Key Components Implemented in the Fly Stage

    • Business Capability Table [cmdbcibusinesscapability]: Defines high-level capabilities that support the organization's business model or mission.
    • Information Object Table [cmdbciinformationobject]: Captures asset and data information linked to business applications, forming the information portfolio essential for data classification and compliance.
    • Business Service Portfolio Table [serviceportfolio]: Manages the overall portfolio of business services.
    • Business Service Table [cmdbciservicebusiness]: Contains services classified specifically as business services.
    • Business Service Offering Table [serviceoffering]: Contains service offerings classified as business services.

    Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

    Reaching the Fly stage means your CSDM implementation is mature, enabling you to use ServiceNow’s APM, service portfolio, and ITSM capabilities more effectively. This stage helps rationalize business capabilities and services to optimize spending and align IT investments with business priorities. You can also improve service request workflows and manage sensitive data within your applications for compliance purposes.

    Note that some elements, such as the Information Object table, may be implemented earlier depending on your specific business requirements. Logical CIs require manual association with product models to maintain consistency in your CMDB.

    When you reach the Fly stage, you've accomplished all or most of the process of implementing the CSDM framework. The fly stage completes the process.

    Benefits of the operations that you perform in the Fly stage

    The Fly stage is a foundation for using APM capabilities
    You can use APM capabilities to rationalize your business applications. Ask questions such as the following:
    • Are you spending too much on your business capabilities?
    • Are you spending too little on your business capabilities?
    • Should you increase the amount you spend on emerging business capabilities?
    The Fly stage is a foundation for using APM with Service Portfolio Management capabilities

    You can use APM with Service Portfolio Management capabilities to rationalize your business services and related offerings. Ask questions such as the following:

    • Are you spending too much or too little on services?
    • Are you spending too little or too little on services?
    • Are they the right services compared to emerging capabilities?
    The Fly stage is a foundation for using ITSM capabilities

    Use a request catalog to relate a service offering to a catalog item. You can also enhance the request workflow to automatically populate the “Subscribe by” table. Service catalogs are described in detail in Service Catalog.

    Note:
    The request catalog is not a CMDB table.
    The Fly stage can hep you to manage business services
    If your environment has a combination of CIs from each of the CSDM domains, this stage provides away to manage business services.
    The Fly stage is a way to identify the types of data that may be contained in or used by your business applications
    The information object table helps you see what's in your information portfolio.

    Tables that you work on during the Fly stage

    You reach the fly stage after you have accomplished all or most of the earlier stages.

    Tables that you work on during the Fly stage.

    Note:
    Some of the classes that you implement in this stage are logical CIs. Logical CIs aren’t created through Discovery, so their Model ID values might not refer to product model (application model, service model, or software model) records. To help you to migrate to a product-centric management paradigm, each instance of a logical CI should be associated with a product model. See Auto-generate product models for logical CIs.
    The fly stage completes the remaining aspects of CSDM framework:
    Business capability table [cmdb_ci_business_capability]

    A business capability is a high-level capability that supports a business model or fulfills a mission for your organization.

    Information object table [cmdb_ci_information_object]

    You capture asset information as information objects. You can connect the information objects to your business applications to create an application portfolio that you can use at any time.

    You can use the Information Object table to identify the types of data that a business application uses, including highly sensitive data such as:
    • Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
    • Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) data
    • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) data
    Information objects are part of the information portfolio. The information portfolio links to the following data:
    • Data Domains: Total number of records in the Data Domain table [sn_apm_data_domain].
    • Information Objects: Total number of records in the Information Object table [cmdb_ci_information_object].
    • Database Instances: Total number of records in the Database Instance table [cmdb_ci_db_instance].
    • Database Catalogs: Total number of records in the Database Catalog table [cmdb_ci_db_catalog].
    Important:
    You might need to implement the Information object table [cmdb_ci_information_object] as part of an earlier stage. Your business requirements determine the right stage for implementing the table.
    Request catalog

    Users request services through the request catalog. The request catalog is not a CMDB table. Catalogs are described in detail in Service Catalog.

    The fly stage includes these components:
    • Business service portfolio table [service_portfolio]
    • Business service table [cmdb_ci_service_business]; (service classified as a "business service")
    • Business service offering table [service_offering]; (service offering classified as a "business service")