ServiceNow’s latest Washington DC release introduces a series of enhancements aimed at simplifying and improving IT service management. This update is a game-changer for administrators, developers, and implementers, offering new features and functionalities that streamline operations, enhance integrations, and empower users with advanced AI capabilities.
This article explores the updates that make the Washington DC release a milestone in ServiceNow’s evolution.
Low code and Generative AI
In line with current trends in the IT industry, ServiceNow has also updated its tool using low-code and Generative AI solutions.
Workflow Studio and Workflow Automations
Among the changes and innovations worth mentioning are:
- Workflow Studio – is allowing to see all your process automation workflows from a single consolidated interface. The main homepage is extended. We can now select Playbooks (previously known as Processes), Flows, Subflows, Actions, Data streams, and Decision tables. There is a dedicated tab for Integrations that presents available spokes (pre-built components used within the IntegrationHub)
- Build with Now Assist – build flows with low code or no code experience. This is an acceleration in flow generation to jump-start high-impact automation. Simply describe what you want your flow to do in the prompt box, and behind the scenes, Now Assist will use generative AI to build it. It can also suggest recommended actions/steps that can be used to achieve the goal. With one click, it can auto-populate all necessary fields of the selected method.
- Proactive Analytics – can now be used as a trigger with multiple options related to the data collected in the Platform Analytics module.
- Playbooks – Processes are now called Playbooks in both the builder and the Playbook Experience. Use Playbooks to create cross-enterprise workflows as one single, unified process. There is a special dedicated area to visualize any Playbook flow details in a diagramming view, presenting each stage and activity or adding annotations and Trying flow logic.
Ability to restart Playbook and configure which parts can or cannot be restarted. The end user can rewind the point at which the restart occurred, review the entered information, and move forward. Dynamic inputs can configure the activity to show a particular set of fields based on the value of another input, such as a selected catalog item, a selected decision table, or a REST API response. Playbook can be added to any custom UI Builder page. - Decision Builder – integrated into Workflow Studio. Decision Builder can be accessed alongside powerful tools like Flow Designer and Playbooks to seamlessly integrate decision tables with workflows.
- Decision table – this provides many enhancements to make the work easier, like generating code snippets to run anywhere in the system and making it easier to replace hard-coded logic with decisions by inserting decision table code snippets copied from Decision Builder.
- Business Rules have been added to the decisions table view, so automation can be built on top of that.
Now Assist
What should you look out for in Now Assist? You will find the answer below.
- It is backward compatible with Vancouver and leverages improved AI algorithms to provide more accurate and contextually relevant suggestions to users. It is even available directly from Teams chat.
- Large Language Models – LLM-Based Workflow Topics allow for the automation of routine tasks based on suggestions, also enabling them to understand and generate text in multiple languages as a support for non-English speakers.
- For ITOM, AI can summarize the messages to deliver better root cause analysis of the issues/alerts provided by automation and propose actions needed to help solve the problem, enhanced with running existing Automation Playbooks for remediation.
- For Creator – Now Assist for Creator is a powerful tool that revolutionizes the app platform experience by enhancing productivity and efficiency during the app development lifecycle. Leveraging app, playbook, Service Catalog item, flow, and code generation capabilities while offering code completion suggestions, Now Assist for Creator significantly reduces app development time, improves productivity, and creates seamless coding experiences.
Platform users save time by eliminating syntax errors, enabling faster completion of app development and management tasks.
Deweloperzy mogą:- kick-start their app creation with app generation,
- tailor additional capabilities with code generation, comment-to-code, or code completion features,
- eliminate manual typing errors and automate app integration with playbook and flow generation.
All that is on a single platform without rewriting their common code across various applications or components. This might empower developers of all skill levels and flow authors to achieve more in their app development with less effort, increase productivity, and improve overall coding experience.
Chat summarization in Live agent chat
- The chat summarization is a shortened version of the conversation between a requester and a Virtual Agent. Those can be triggered when the conversation ends; the agent uses the /summarize quick action in Agent Chat, the user selects Chat Summarization or enters ‘summarize chat’ in Ask Now Assist on the Now Assist panel.
When an interaction is transferred from a Virtual Agent to a live agent and is at least six lines long, the chat summarization is displayed in a summary card in the conversation and populates the interaction’s summarization and short description fields.
- IT Service Desk and virtual chat agent integration with MS Teams for more effective communication. It allows customers to design and connect GenAI-powered use cases to Virtual Agent. It also summarises previous chat interactions (similar to the ones for Live Agent).
Now Assist for Virtual Agent in Microsoft Teams – Virtual Agent can be configured in the Now Assist Admin Center.
Draw Tool
Document Intelligence – data can be extracted from tables easily using the draw tool to select a document area and extract the information. (PDF, JPEG, and PNG documents are supported).
Form Builder enhancements
Rapid editing of forms within UI Builder and Process Automation Designer, simplifying form creation. The new go-to tool for effortlessly adding, removing, or managing form fields.
Ability (on the right side of the form page) to conveniently control UI Policies along with the same place where all fields are configured. Unified/revolutionary way for displaying all necessary information to set up a form. UI policies can be created directly within the Form Builder.
Admin & developer tools enhancement to ease in daily work
ServiceNow Washington DC streamlines the day-to-day work of administrators and developers through several solutions, which you can learn more about below.
Access Analyzer
An application that helps administrators and developers view permissions for a selected user, role, or group.
Features:
- Analyze access to resources (tables).
- Compare the access, roles, and groups of 2 users.
- Generate a report on whether an identity can access a resource (table).
- Help to prevent over-provisioning permissions.
- Achieve the least privilege principles when implementing access controls.
- Determine the right level of access for users on your ServiceNow instance.
Time-limited User Role
It was introduced along with the new table sys_user_has_role_time_limited.
Navigate: User Administration -> Time-Limited User Roles
Allows temporarily assigning a role to a user; it might be useful when an individual needs to perform a one-time action typically outside their roles.
Note: Usage of Time-limited User Roles may consume access and use rights procured by customers and could result in additional subscription fees for a company.
SDK (Software Developer Kit)
For Pro Code benefits – enhancing code development with AI on such things as comment and text to code.
Text to code is available anywhere this icon is presented in a script editor. The user provides a comment and then triggers AI using the following:
- Cmd + Return (Mac)
- Control + Enter (Windows)
Suggestions can be accepted with a proper button (like on the screen above).
GraphQL Explorer
Navigate: All > System Web Services > GraphQL > GraphQL Explorer
GraphQL APIs can be tested using an integrated GraphQL testing tool. The GraphQL Explorer facilitates the development and debugging of GraphQL APIs. The GraphQL Explorer integrates the GraphiQL IDE into the Now Platform.
Background script interface update
Now, the background script works with the Monaco JavaScript Editor:
- Toolbar,
- Line Numbers,
- Mini-Viewer,
- Coloured Keywords.
Service Catalog Request – ‘Save as Draft’ functionality
Users can fill out the request form and use Save as Draft to hold it in its current shape and pick it up again where they left it.
Keyboard shortcuts
Common function shortcuts were introduced to ease daily platform usage. The complete list can be accessed from the user properties menu (screen below) or by selecting CTRL + / from the keyboard to learn those.
RaptorDB as a new platform database engine
ServiceNow is significantly upgrading the foundation of its Now platform: the database. MariaDB is phasing out, and the platform has started migrating all customers to a new database called RaptorDB. It is a fork of PostgreSQL, known for its advanced capabilities and superior performance.
Developed by ServiceNow, RaptorDB boasts a significant speed boost – it processes up to 93,257 transactions per minute compared to MariaDB’s 35,121 (numbers referenced during the Knowledge 2024 keynote).
Beyond raw speed, RaptorDB offers greater flexibility and leverages PostgreSQL’s architecture, allowing for more complex queries and creating custom functions for further optimization.
The transition is already underway, with some customers already on RaptorDB. ServiceNow expects to complete the customer migration by the end of 2025.
Summary
The ServiceNow Washington DC release is a comprehensive update that significantly enhances the platform’s capabilities across workflow automation, data management, and AI-driven functionalities. This release addresses current IT challenges and anticipates future needs, ensuring that organizations are well-equipped.
Links
- The Now Platform Washington, D.C. Release Full Keynote (youtube.com)
- What’s New in the Now Platform – Washington D.C. – collected links
- Washington DC – release notes – Workflow Studio (servicenow.com)
- Now Assist for Creator (youtube.com)
- Now Assist for code generation – release notes (servicenow.com)
- Save a draft of a catalog item – release notes (servicenow.com)
- GraphQL Explorer in Washington D.C. (ServiceNow Community)
- Query record data using the GraphQL API framework (servicenow.com)
- RaptorDB (ServiceNow Community)
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