The Common Service Data Model Framework
Service delivery, reimagined
The foundation of any successful application modernization effort begins with a clear, structured view of your entire IT landscape. ServiceNow’s Common Service Data Model (CSDM) is necessary to make that happen. It’s not just about organizing your data—it’s about empowering your team with a well-formed Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
True digital transformation begins with IT and business alignment. The CSDM provides a standardized approach for connecting business and technology perspectives. We help identify relationships between configuration items (CIs) within the CMDB and the services that support your business strategy.
A robust CMDB built into the CSDM framework unlocks the true value of the ServiceNow platform. It ensures you have easy access to the data needed to make strategic decisions. This setup empowers your team to innovate for the future and maintain operations for critical business services and applications.
The Challenges of Operating Without CSDM Alignment
When your CMDB isn’t aligned with the Common Service Data Model, it’s easy to fall into common traps—unstructured CMDB data, inefficient processes, and customized ServiceNow applications. Without a clear data model, your CMDB becomes challenging to maintain, and operations can suffer as a result, leading to:
- Unnecessary technical debt: Without a well-formed CMDB, organizations may turn to code-level customizations to satisfy policies, regulations, compliance, and reporting requirements. These customizations can lead to inefficient processes, complex business logic, and more frequent maintenance routines over time. Plus, it limits your ability to get more value out of the ServiceNow platform.
- Limited visibility: Without proper CI relationships mapped within the CMDB, planning and troubleshooting take up more time and resources. This can create blind spots if not all stakeholders are involved. As a result, resolution times may be longer, or increased costs due to rework.
It can also result in:
- Slowed ServiceNow adoption: Most likely, you are asked by leadership to get more value from the ServiceNow platform. A well-formed CMDB using the CSDM framework provides the essential data foundation. This data is crucial for adopting service delivery practices across all areas of the business. In the absence of a well-constructed CMDB, it becomes difficult for other areas of the business to see the value of the platform.
- Difficulty in calculating service cost and metrics: Many organizations understand the value of adopting a service delivery strategy. The challenge is executing the strategy. Defining the service can be challenging, as well as understanding how it supports the organization and the assets that support it. As a result, teams may struggle to optimize workflows, measure performance, and justify an increased budget.
These challenges don’t just limit your IT department—they impact your entire organization.
How Pathways Consulting Group elevates your CSDB using the CSDM framework
At Pathways, we take a hands-on approach. Our team works closely with your ServiceNow platform owners, IT leaders, and business stakeholders to ensure the ServiceNow Common Service Data Model framework fits your current needs and the CMDB becomes a reliable and trusted source.
Here's how we help:
Collaboration for CSDM alignment and adoption
We work with your teams to understand how they support the organization and the tools they use to deliver their services. We then use the CSDM framework to define a business and technology model that can be used to populate your CMDB. This helps your team get comfortable using the CSDM framework to define services and build CMDB relationships, making it easier to see the benefits of ServiceNow’s service delivery methodologies.
Improved visibility and reporting
We use the CSDM framework to make structuring your services within the CMDB more straightforward. By reducing the initial complexity, your data stays organized. This ensures consistency and accessibility of your data across all ServiceNow products. As a result, your CMDB becomes easier to maintain, easier to report on, and service performance is easier to measure. Plus, you will be able to report on the relationships of services, information, and applications to business capabilities. This gives leadership more visibility for their strategic analysis and planning needs.
Establish reliable and trusted sources
We work with you to leverage automated tools, like ServiceNow Discovery, to ensure the CMDB accurately reflects the current state of your infrastructure. This enables you to use the ServiceNow platform for service-level support, impact analysis, and compliance reporting. By leveraging the CSDM framework, we create relationships between business strategy and IT assets. This turns the ServiceNow platform into a reliable resource for leadership and enterprise architects. It enables them to perform application rationalization, gain visibility across architecture domains, and develop roadmaps for both business and IT transformations.
Ready to elevate your CMDB?
Aligning with CSDM means making a smart, strategic decision. Pathways Consulting Group delivers more than just the implementation framework; we provide digital transformation consulting services that position your business for flexible growth and development.
Take the next step in your IT transformation. Get in touch with Pathways Consulting Group today to learn how our CSDM services can unlock new opportunities and propel your business to new heights.