ServiceNow supports domain-separated instances that allow admins and users working with a single instance to isolate their environments.
Data shared with one user will not be visible to other users within the same environment.
But this makes it tricky when you want to escalate an incident or problem to users working with a different ITSM solution such as Jira or Zendesk.
How do you keep updates private and restricted to a certain instance?
Domain-Separated Instance Sync: ServiceNow to Jira Use Case
Let’s say you have access to a ServiceNow from two domain-restricted accounts—one ACME account as the admin and one account restricted to the Cisco domain.
By default, never the twain shall meet so both users working within the same instance will be unable to access relevant data.
To bridge the gap, the first step is to install Exalate on both the ACME and Cisco domains.
So when you make comments or add information to either instance, the information will appear on another ITSM solution, such as Jira Service Management.
Also, when you create a JSM ticket, you can escalate it to a specific ServiceNow domain to make it private for only admins on that instance.
That way, either side will have only the necessary information.
How does this help your organization?
For starters, syncing domain-separated data helps both sides, using the ServiceNow instance the opportunity to decide what to keep private and what to share.
Also, the organization using Jira can centralize information from two different domains in a single issue for easy access.
Primary Requirements and Challenges
- Obtaining the right information from the API on both sides.
- Keeping the data separated when mapping fields from entities and objects.
- Assigning the right Jira custom field to the correct ServiceNow domain.
- Writing or generating the correct sync rules for both the incoming and outgoing data.
- Creating triggers to update the custom fields on Jira automatically.
How Exalate Syncs Jira and Domain-Separated ServiceNow Instances
Exalate supports one-way and two-way integration between Jira and ServiceNow, as well as Zendesk, Azure DevOps, Salesforce, GitHub, etc.
Exalate also provides an AI-powered chatbot for generating Groovy scripts, which you can use to customize advanced integration scenarios.
To automate integrations and manage bulk operations, you can rely on Exalate triggers on all sides of the connection.
To use Exalate, first install it on both Jira and both ServiceNow domains. You need to connect the Jira instance with both individual ServiceNow instances. Then, you can link both ServiceNow instances with each other.
Follow this step-by-step Getting Started guide to connect any two systems.
Since this use case often requires scripting, you need to choose the Exalate Script Mode when setting up the connection.
You have two options:
- Outgoing sync (on the ServiceNow side) refers to the data being sent over to Jira.
- Incoming sync (on the Jira side) refers to the data to be received from ServiceNow.
At this stage, you don’t need to write any mapping rules. Every configuration has to be done within the systems.
To get both instances in sync, copy the incident number from the first ServiceNow instance and Exalate it from the Jira issue. Then do the same thing for the other ServiceNow instance.
Now all three systems are in sync. You can start playing around with the configuration to see how things work and where to make possible tweaks.
Congratulations! You have successfully mapped the Jira Service Management issue to two domain-separated ServiceNow instances.
If you still have questions or want to see how Exalate is tailored to your specific use case, book a demo with one of our experts right away.
Have a different Jira ServiceNow integration scenario in mind? Check out more use cases and see what’s possible!
