We primarily use ServiceNow for asset management. We feed our on-prem and cloud inventory into ServiceNow CMDB. We also use it for event management together with Micro Focus Operations Bridge Manager.
Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It helps us automate lots of tasks
Pros and Cons
- "One important element is automation. We can back up and manage multiple configurations. It also enables password self-service."
- "We have various service levels and SLAs for our customers like platinum, gold, etc. Each SLA has an associated hardware and computing configuration. We cannot define that in ServiceNow for each customer. For example, a customer with 100 servers might be in the platinum category while a client with 25 would be in gold."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
One important element is automation. We can back up and manage multiple configurations. It also enables password self-service.
What needs improvement?
We have various service levels and SLAs for our customers like platinum, gold, etc. Each SLA has an associated hardware and computing configuration. We cannot define that in ServiceNow for each customer. For example, a customer with 100 servers might be in the platinum category while a client with 25 would be in gold.
We use Terraform for infrastructure automation on the cloud. The logical mapping in ServiceNow needs to be improved. The logical mapping is limited to the OS layer. I installed a database and one application on top of that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used ServiceNow CMDB for five years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate ServiceNow eight out of 10 for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
ServiceNow CMDB is easy to scale. We have options. About 700 customers use it.
How are customer service and support?
I rate ServiceNow support five out of 10. We need to contact them when we want to customize the product for our customers. That takes a little time. Under our support agreement, we get a fast response if we have other issues, but the customization requests take longer.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
Setting up ServiceNow CMDB is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate ServiceNow eight out of 10 for affordability. The pricing is optimal.
What other advice do I have?
I rate ServiceNow CMDB nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Cloud Migration & Imp Senior Analyst at Accenture
Is stable and scalable, and has multiple plugins and integrations that help build a custom environment
Pros and Cons
- "We chose ServiceNow because it has more functionalities. It takes at least one week to be trained on ServiceNow, and it is easy to learn."
- "Integration is complicated and requires advance scripting and customization to complete it. It would be good to have the ability to customize the UI."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for network and server discovery, and storage.
What is most valuable?
I like ServiceNow's credential-based discovery.
What needs improvement?
Integration is complicated and requires advance scripting and customization to complete it.
It would be good to have the ability to customize the UI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using ServiceNow CMDB for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate ServiceNow's scalability at eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support staff take two to three days to respond to queries. Therefore, I would give them a five out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy, and all functions are built-in. It took about a week to set up.
What other advice do I have?
We chose ServiceNow because it has more functionalities. It takes at least one week to be trained on ServiceNow, and it is easy to learn.
There are multiple plugins and integrations available in ServiceNow CMDB, and we can build the environment that we want. Therefore, I would rate this solution at eight on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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ServiceNow CMDB
December 2024
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IT Consultant at Aon Corporation
Offers a customizable user interface to meet the requirements of users
Pros and Cons
- "The product's initial setup phase was simple."
- "If you select any CI, the associated applications with that CI should also be made available for users since, currently, the tool lacks such a feature."
What is our primary use case?
I use ServiceNow CMDB in my company to deal with areas like incidents, problems, and change management.
I use ServiceNow CMDB in my company to deal with all the equipment inventories and our infrastructure, along with all the CIs attached to the different things, like maybe if you are involved in the area revolving around incidents, service requests, or change requests.
What is most valuable?
With ServiceNow CMDB, the properties of the servers and CIs are important as you use them in our organization, and if any changes happen, then we need to update that immediately, and then we can recall whatever changes are made on CIs and track them. The aforementioned details consist of the feature my company uses the most in ServiceNow CMDB.
What needs improvement?
I don't currently see any problems with ServiceNow CMDB since everything works fine.
If I click on some particular CIs at the moment, all the information related to that CI appears by default. Right now, if there is something in our company we need to generate with the report, we can click on any of the searches for CI options, and all the relevant and recent incidents, changes, or anything that has happened should come on to at the bottom of the list displayed by the tool, which would be nice. If you select any CI, the associated applications with that CI should also be made available for users since, currently, the tool lacks such a feature.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have five to six years of experience with ServiceNow CMDB.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten.
There are around 10,000 users of the solution in my company.
How are customer service and support?
My company already has a technical team to solve our problems related to the solution. Maybe the technical team in our company will reach out to ServiceNow's technical support team for help.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was simple.
The solution is deployed on the cloud.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product price falls on the higher side of the spectrum.
What other advice do I have?
The user interface of ServiceNow CMDB is fine since you can customize it depending on your needs.
I recommend the product to others who plan to use it, as the solution's prices are okay.
I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Asset Manager for EUCOM at CACI International Inc.
It helps me do asset management more efficiently
Pros and Cons
- "I deal mostly with asset management, and ServiceNow helps me do my job more effectively."
- "I'm still learning about CMDB's capabilities, so I haven't seen anything that I want added yet."
What is our primary use case?
I use ServiceNow for tracking infrastructure procurement and all the configuration items on a particular network. It tracks the maintenance and everything related to configuration management. We have about 20,000 employees and a team of personnel that works with ServiceNow.
How has it helped my organization?
Everything is now in one system. Employees submit service and change requests. It all goes through ServiceNow.
What is most valuable?
I deal mostly with asset management, and ServiceNow helps me do my job more effectively.
What needs improvement?
I'm still learning about CMDB's capabilities, so I haven't seen anything that I want added yet.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with ServiceNow since January.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
ServiceNow is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don't have admin rights, so I can't do anything to affect a lot of change in the scalability. I only deal with the asset management part, and I haven't had any problems adding to the system. When assets come within my particular AO, my task is to add them to the configuration management database, and I haven't had any issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used CyrusOne for configuration management. We switched to ServiceNow, the platform of choice for our client, and they want everyone to be on the same page. At the same time, ServiceNow does everything we want to do and has room for growth.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up ServiceNow was straightforward. We had a smooth onboarding process, and they provided training for the system admins as part of the package for this system and implementation.
What other advice do I have?
I rate ServiceNow CMDB nine out of 10. I recommend ServiceNow because it meets all our configuration management needs. It gives us everything that we need to have based on our IT requirements.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Analyst at DXC Technology
An easy-to-use solution that can be used for incident management, request management, and service mapping
Pros and Cons
- "We can use ServiceNow CMDB to create more tables that can provide granular information."
- "ServiceNow CMDB may face performance issues if we try to make the solution too large by adding more CIs."
What is our primary use case?
ServiceNow CMDB is used for incident management, request management, service mapping, and discovery.
What is most valuable?
ServiceNow CMDB is a single data model where we can capture attributes. We can have a tree structure with ServiceNow CMDB, which makes it very powerful. We can use ServiceNow CMDB to create more tables that can provide granular information.
What needs improvement?
ServiceNow CMDB may face performance issues if we try to make the solution too large by adding more CIs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using ServiceNow CMDB for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
ServiceNow CMDB is very stable.
I rate ServiceNow CMDB a nine out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
ServiceNow CMDB is enormously scalable. You can store millions of CIs (Configuration Items) in ServiceNow CMDB.
I rate ServiceNow CMDB a nine out of ten for scalability.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is very simple.
I rate ServiceNow CMDB a nine out of ten for its ease of initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
ServiceNow CMDB's deployment time depends on the data, but it doesn't take much time. It's quite fast.
What other advice do I have?
ServiceNow CMDB is deployed on-cloud in our organization. I advise users to have a good conceptual understanding of CMDB (Configuration Management Database). First, you need to understand what your assets are, and on top of that, you can create your building.
It's quite easy to implement ServiceNow CMDB for any new project. The solution is quite easy to use and get reports from. It's quite easy to import data in ServiceNow CMDB.
Overall, I rate ServiceNow CMDB a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Data Analyst at Australian Federal Police
Has the best integration, can support enterprise-level organizations, and can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises
Pros and Cons
- "ServiceNow excels in integration and is considered the best tool in the market for this purpose."
- "The discovery process and service mapping could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
I am an SME specialist, and we primarily work with government customers who use ServiceNow systems. When they require a CMDB specialist, I am assigned to those sites.
We have customers who deploy the solution on-premises, while others use the ServiceNow cloud.
What is most valuable?
The issue with UCMDB is that it lacks integration with other solutions, particularly with service management components. On the other hand, ServiceNow excels in integration and is considered the best tool in the market for this purpose. Although it may not be as proficient in discovery as some other tools, its actual integration capabilities surpass all others.
What needs improvement?
The discovery process and service mapping could be improved. I prefer a more comprehensive approach to discovery and simplified service modeling.
Technical support has room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using ServiceNow CMDB for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. The discovery process with ServiceNow occasionally fails, and it is quite challenging to identify the cause. There are no clear indications, but restarting the mid servers usually resolves the issue. This problem may stem from pro servers, mixed servers, or various applications.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability as an eight out of ten. The only drawback is the performance issue we encounter when scaling up.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is not great.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complicated, but compared to other solutions, it is not more difficult. I would rate the deployment an eight out of ten.
The deployment process typically takes around three to four hours. The solution includes a built-in wizard to assist with the deployment, with the only challenging step being the mid-server phase.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate ServiceNow CMDB an eight out of ten. While it remains a strong product, there is still room for development in terms of discovery and service modeling to catch up to its competitors. Nonetheless, it is currently the best option available.
In some instances, our clients are medium-sized businesses, but the majority are at an enterprise level, with thousands of users.
Overall, ServiceNow CMDB is the best option in the market due to its seamless integration with other systems. However, it is not the best discovery tool. UCMDB is a superior discovery tool, but it lacks integration and does not work well with other parts.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Technical solution leader at Kyndryl
Is intuitive, not too difficult to configure, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "It's not too difficult to configure with regard to the UI. My experience working with ServiceNow CMDB has been a very comfortable one."
- "Definitely, the price needs to be lower because there are clients that I work with who cannot afford ServiceNow. I have to end up proposing alternate solutions to fit their budget."
What is our primary use case?
I've used it for managing client inventories and infrastructure to ensure that the relationship among various CIs is managed. I've also used it to troubleshoot quickly and handle change.
What is most valuable?
It's not too difficult to configure with regard to the UI. My experience working with ServiceNow CMDB has been a very comfortable one.
What needs improvement?
Definitely, the price needs to be lower because there are clients that I work with who cannot afford ServiceNow. I have to end up proposing alternate solutions to fit their budget.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've worked with this solution for about six years now.
It is mostly a cloud solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
When we needed help, they've always been available. We've not had issues though.
How was the initial setup?
You do need skilled people for the initial setup, but it's not too difficult to work with.
Typically, the deployment of ServiceNow for the various organizations that we have worked with has spanned between one to three months.
What about the implementation team?
We are integrators ourselves and implemented it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In comparison to the cost of other solutions, you get value for your money with ServiceNow CMDB. It could definitely be cheaper though.
What other advice do I have?
ServiceNow is very intuitive and is a market leader. I used to use BMC Remedy before, which had a traditional type of deployment. ServiceNow is quick to start up because it's on the cloud. It has ready-to-use use cases available for deployment. So, the deployment is much faster than it used to be on Remedy.
There's a whole lot of automation that comes with ServiceNow, so I'd definitely recommend it.
At present, I would rate ServiceNow at ten on a scale from one to ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Owner at PPC Tecnologia
It's a flexible platform for large, complex use cases, but you might not need something so complicated and expensive
Pros and Cons
- "ServiceNow CMDB is fully integrated and complete. ServiceNow has modules for everything an IT service company needs, and it's flexible."
- "While ServiceNow CMDB is flexible and comprehensive, it's also difficult to implement and requires a lot of customization. In order to fully leverage ServiceNow CMDB, you need ServiceNow Discovery and some other ServiceNow solutions. It's expensive to purchase all of these. We're negotiating with ServiceNow, but we're thinking about replacing it with another CMDB solution."
What is most valuable?
ServiceNow CMDB is fully integrated and complete. ServiceNow has modules for everything an IT service company needs, and it's flexible.
What needs improvement?
While ServiceNow CMDB is flexible and comprehensive, it's also difficult to implement and requires a lot of customization.
In order to fully leverage ServiceNow CMDB, you need ServiceNow Discovery and some other ServiceNow solutions. It's expensive to purchase all of these. We're negotiating with ServiceNow, but we're thinking about replacing it with another CMDB solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used ServiceNow CMDB for six years.
How was the initial setup?
I rate ServiceNow CMDB five out of 10 for ease of setup. The installation was complex in our organization because we are providing services to many other companies. The plain vanilla implementation should be easy. If you need to customize the solution, you must have people who understand how to do that. ts.
One manager and four data analysts oversee ServiceNow. Their job is to do customizations. When we onboard new clients, we have to customize ServiceNow to meet their requirements. We set up separate workflows on various instances for each client. It requires little maintenance if you aren't customizing it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate ServiceNow CMDB two out of 10 for affordability. The licensing model is complex. Due to contract restrictions, I'm unable to see how much we pay, but it's calculated based on the number of users, modules, and license types.
What other advice do I have?
I rate ServiceNow CMDB seven out of 10. It's a complete solution, and it's ideal if you have a complex environment. However, before implementing something as complicated and costly as ServiceNow, you should consider if you need it.
A simpler, less expensive solution might work fine for you. If you only need basic CMDB features, such as registering incidents and changes, other tools are much simpler than ServiceNow. A large organization with complex requirements will get the most value out of ServiceNow.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
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