The Challenge
Prior to incorporating ServiceNow as their business automation system of choice, this large computer and software manufacturer was relying on manual processes and tools to manage the lifecycle and inventory of their internal IT assets. The organization needed to implement a source of truth Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to house relevant information needed to support and maintain their Hardware Asset Management (HAM) and Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions.
The client’s overall goal was to sunset their existing manual processes and replace them with “zero-touch” end-user computing (EUC) systems. The GlideFast team was brought in to solve this by assisting with the foundational development and implementation of ServiceNow.
The Solution
GlideFast’s proposed solution focused on implementing a group of specific ServiceNow products:
Discovery
Identifying hardware/software assets and configuration items to input to CMDB
CMDB
Develop the foundation to support R1.0 SAM and HAM functionality, as well as a future round of functionality updates to include ITSM
HAMPro and SAMPro
Implementation through ServiceNow
Oracle and FileWave
Integrations with ServiceNow’s CMDB for additional data needed to support HAM and SAM
Additionally, the company wanted to work towards introducing new process documentation to support its existing asset management systems. GlideFast proposed HAMPro and SAMPro Process Guides to ensure that users have a reference point for their post-implementation questions. SAM and HAM process flows were also documented as a future source of information to define and explain existing processes. These guides were provided alongside tool and process demos prior to staff training and User Acceptance Training (UAT).
Results
GlideFast was able to meet the aggressive timeline for the implementation and delivery of the client’s new ServiceNow processes.
Over the course of 3.5 months, GlideFast provided its team with the formalized and documented SAM and HAM processes needed to drive consistency and accuracy across regions. Oracle’s internal database also provided the opportunity to leave their manual spreadsheet-based processes behind — the company is now able to sunset its existing manual processes and become fully automated through the use of CMDB.
The Discovery phase was completed across the company's United States- and China-based data centers, with additional discovery centered on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environments. Production is moving quickly and growing exponentially as GlideFast works towards expanding the customer’s processes:
-
Configuration Management Database (CMDB) — over 223,000 CIs in production
-
Hardware Asset Management (HAM) — over 6,000 hardware assets in production
As the project progressed, the client realized that many of their current manual tasks and tools could be eliminated via ServiceNow integration through the use of the system’s Oracle database, which ensured the ability to enable HAM and SAM automation. An R1.5 scope was defined to provide additional assistance, which included supplementary HAM and SAM functionality as well as integration of the Okta security cloud. The GlideFast team is preparing for the development of a R2.0 scope as well to include the incorporation of ITSM into their new processes.
The GlideFast team is looking forward to this continued partnership with the large manufacturer to develop a fully automated and high-functioning CMDB solution.
