One of the biggest challenges in managing a modern CMDB is figuring out where to put what. Is Microsoft Teams a Business Application? Is Kafka part of Infrastructure? Where do I track Intune, and how do I model a DNS service? The Common Service Data Model (CSDM5) gives us a structured way to think about this. But it only works if we clearly separate baselines, instances, and service instances. Here’s a breakdown that can help you classify things consistently. Software in CSDM5 Software [...]

For many organizations, IT is still structured around systems, platforms, or departments. While that might have worked in the past, it often results in fragmented ownership, blurred accountabilities, and difficulties aligning with business needs. A better way forward is to structure IT around six top-level services, derived from the six solution types in the TBM (Technology Business Management) 5 framework. This model creates clarity, aligns IT with business value, and allows enterprises to manage technology at the right level of abstraction. By structuring [...]

Populating and maintaining an accurate Configuration Management Database (CMDB), aligned with ServiceNow’s Common Service Data Model (CSDM), is a significant challenge for most enterprises. This guide outlines how to do it right, what types of items should (and should not) be registered in the CMDB, and the most effective methods to achieve high-quality data—both with today’s technology and in preparation for tomorrow’s needs. Core Philosophy Enterprises should manually define and maintain their portfolio baselines (e.g., services, offerings, applications). The instances of those baselines—the [...]

ServiceNow published a PowerPoint presentation with 132 slides with examples on how one could model the IT landscape accormodeoding to CSDM 5. Although I generally love CSDM, some appear to go overboard when modelling their IT landscape in ServiceNow. Let's take an example: How (not) to model the ServiceNow Platform in CSDM 5. The ServiceNow platform that is used for different types, sizes, maturities of companies, for different things, by different people, in different cultures, that often are using multiple process frameworks. The CSDM [...]

AI Support Agent Conversation Playbook – Multilingual IT Support via Microsoft Teams Overview This playbook provides 25 conversation examples for a multilingual AI agent that supports users via Microsoft Teams across the following IT domains: • End-User Devices • Identity & Access Management • Business Applications • Networking & Telecommunication • Collaboration Tools • Cloud Infrastructure • General Support & Universal Requests • Sensitive Security or Compliance Issues Each scenario includes a typical user question or issue, the AI agent’s diagnostic and response [...]

So, you have read the CSDM 5, and you have a general idea. However, there are numerous open questions and choices . This article describes the Practices that i recommend for what (not) to model in ServiceNow. Applying these recommendations avoid issues down the line. What to store in ServiceNow: In the Digital Products Portfolio (Baselines): All Digital Services that are formally offered as a Service to the Company, incl. Infrastructure, Applications, and AI Digital Assets (non versioned). [...]

Each IT management framework has its distinct definitions, glossaries, and fanbase. And guess what? These often don't align or match with each other. Initially people differentiated between software and hardware. With the advent of massive Outsourcing, Cloud Services, and APIs, people began to distinguish between applications and infrastructure that could both be offered/consumed "as a Service". This was working well until the emergence of Software-Defined-Networks, Microservice Architecture, Generative AI, and now Agentic AI. The only thing that these things nowadays have in common is [...]

Employees of an Enterprise typically consume Enterprise-wide capabilities that Fulfillers and AI Agents enable. The FullFillers and AI-Agents are platform-agnostic and consume data from Systems of Record (SoR), and interact with Systems of Engagement (SoE).Agentic AI itself does not employ a hard-coded process flow; instead, it reasons and determines its next steps/actions based on real-time triggers, responses, data, and events. This makes Agentic AI for the Enterprise less predictable but more flexible and capable than its predecessors (machine learning and hard-coded workflows). That said, [...]