ServiceNow Connector

Use the ServiceNow Connector to link OpenLM Platform with your ServiceNow instance. The connector has 3 modules, and you can use any of them independently:

• Adapter sends OpenLM license management data to ServiceNow on a schedule, where ServiceNow Software Asset Management Professional, SAM Pro, reports on it.
• Alerts forwards OpenLM alerts to ServiceNow as task records, as the alerts occur.
• License Automation Tool lets ServiceNow requests drive license file comparison and deployment through OpenLM.

After you complete this guide, you can connect each module to your ServiceNow instance, schedule and run data syncs, receive OpenLM alerts in ServiceNow, and issue the API key that the License Automation Tool application in ServiceNow uses to call OpenLM.

Finding this in the app

Open the OpenLM Platform app launcher (grid icon, top-right) and select Integrations → ServiceNow Connector.

Before you start: Activate ServiceNow Connector in OpenLM Products — activation provisions infrastructure and can take up to 10 minutes — then install the OpenLM Adapter Integration from the ServiceNow marketplace.

How the integration works

Each module has its own connection to ServiceNow and its own direction of data flow:

• The Adapter pushes data from OpenLM to staging tables in an OpenLM application on your ServiceNow instance. After the last batch arrives, the application transforms the staging records into target tables, such as the SAM Pro Engineering Application Usage table, which ServiceNow reports and dashboards use. Syncs run on the schedule you set, and you can start a sync manually at any time.
• The Alerts module listens for alerts that OpenLM generates and posts each one to the OpenLM Alerts application in ServiceNow, which stores it as a task record with the alert severity mapped to the task priority. Alert forwarding has no schedule: alerts flow continuously once you save the connection.
• The License Automation Tool works in the opposite direction. A ServiceNow user raises a license request in the OpenLM License Automation Tool application, and the application calls OpenLM with an API key that you issue in OpenLM Platform. OpenLM compares the submitted license file with the file currently deployed on the license server, or deploys the new file through OpenLM Broker, and posts the result back to ServiceNow.

Components you need

You need these components to use the ServiceNow Connector:

• An OpenLM Platform account with the ServiceNow Connector product activated. If ServiceNow Connector does not appear in the main menu, contact your sales agent.
• A ServiceNow instance with the OpenLM applications installed: the OpenLM data application for the Adapter, the OpenLM Alerts application for alerts, and the OpenLM License Automation Tool application for license automation.
• A ServiceNow service account for the connector, with rights to import data, or a ServiceNow Open Authorization, OAuth, client ID and client secret.
• For SAM Pro reporting, ServiceNow SAM Pro installed and configured on your instance.
• For the License Automation Tool, OpenLM Broker connected to the license servers you want to manage.

Privacy and data handling

• Each module stores its ServiceNow credentials encrypted, per OpenLM Platform account.
• Saved passwords, client secrets, and API keys are not displayed again after you save them.
• The Adapter sends license management data only. It does not read data back from ServiceNow.

Configure the integration

Complete the tasks in this section for the modules you use. Each module has its own Destination Instance tab, so you can connect them to the same instance or to different ones.

Confirm prerequisites

Before you start, make sure the following requirements are met:

• ServiceNow Connector is active in OpenLM Platform, and you have an administrator role.
• The OpenLM applications are installed on your ServiceNow instance.
• You have the ServiceNow instance URL and the service account credentials, or the OAuth client ID and client secret.
• For SAM Pro reporting, the ServiceNow team has activated the SAM Pro target tables, such as Engineering Application Usage.

Sync license data with the Adapter

The Adapter sends these data categories to ServiceNow: users, computers, projects, groups, group relations, group memberships, license servers, license manager hosts, license inventory, alerts, aggregated usage, aggregated denials, and aggregated concurrent usage. Each category lands in its own staging table, named olm_stg_*, in the OpenLM data application.

Connect the destination instance

1. In OpenLM Platform, open the main menu and select ServiceNow Connector. The Adapter page opens.
2. On the Destination Instance tab, enter the ServiceNow URL, for example https://your-instance.service-now.com.
3. Under Authentication Method, select Basic or OAUTH 2.0.
4. For Basic authentication, enter the Username and Password of the ServiceNow service account.
5. For OAuth, enter the Client ID and Client Secret from your ServiceNow OAuth registry.
6. Select Test Connection and wait for the success message.
7. Select Save.

Adapter destination instance settings in the ServiceNow Connector

Schedule automatic synchronization

1. On the Adapter page, select the Auto Sync Configuration tab.
2. Turn on the Auto-Sync toggle.
3. Set the Auto Sync Time, the time of day when the sync starts.
4. Select the Time Zone that the sync time refers to. The list is searchable.
5. Select the Frequency, Daily or Weekly. If you select Weekly, also select the Day Of Week.
6. Select Save.

Scheduled syncs send the changes since the last successful sync. The first sync after you activate the schedule sends the last 3 months of data.

Auto sync configuration for the Adapter, with a weekly schedule selected

Run a manual sync

1. On the Adapter page, select Sync Now. The confirmation message "Manual sync started successfully" appears.
2. Watch the status strip: Last Sync Status shows Processing while the sync runs, then Success or Failed.
3. When the sync completes, Last Successful Sync Time updates.

A manual sync resends the last 3 months of data, so you can use it to backfill ServiceNow after you connect or after a period of failed syncs.

Review the data in ServiceNow

OpenLM pushes each data category into its own staging table in the OpenLM data application. Find them in ServiceNow under Tables, filtered by the x_oplm_openlm_data prefix.

The OpenLM staging tables in ServiceNow

After the last batch of a sync arrives, OpenLM calls the application's transform endpoint, and the application moves the staging data into the target tables that SAM Pro uses. For example, usage records appear in Engineering Application Usages with Source set to OpenLM.

OpenLM usage data in the SAM Pro Engineering Application Usages table

Forward OpenLM alerts to ServiceNow

The Alerts module sends every alert that OpenLM generates to the OpenLM Alerts application in ServiceNow. Each alert becomes a task record with an OLM_ALERTS number: the alert title becomes the short description, the connector converts the alert description to plain text, and the alert severity sets the task urgency, impact, and priority. To define which alerts OpenLM generates, see Alerts.

Connect the Alerts destination instance

1. In the ServiceNow Connector menu, select Alerts.
2. On the Destination Instance tab, enter the ServiceNow URL.
3. Under Authentication Method, select Basic or OAUTH 2.0 and enter the credentials of the ServiceNow service account that receives the alerts.
4. Select Test Connection and wait for the success message.
5. Select Save. Alert forwarding starts when you save the connection.

Alerts destination instance settings in the ServiceNow Connector

Set duplicate alert suppression

When the same alert fires repeatedly, the connector suppresses the repeats for a time window so ServiceNow is not flooded with duplicates.

1. On the Alerts page, select the Configuration tab.
2. In Duplicate Alert Suppression Time (in hours), enter the window length. The default is 24 hours.
3. Select Save.

The duplicate alert suppression window on the Configuration tab

Automate license file changes with the License Automation Tool

With the License Automation Tool, engineers request license file changes in ServiceNow instead of on the license server. The OpenLM License Automation Tool application in ServiceNow provides License Deployment Requests and a License Comparison Tool: a request carries the new license file, OpenLM compares it feature by feature with the file currently deployed on the license server, and, on approval, deploys it through OpenLM Broker. OpenLM posts the comparison report and the deployment result back to the request in ServiceNow.

Two connections make this work: the Destination Instance credentials that OpenLM uses to post results to ServiceNow, and an API key plus Connection URL that the ServiceNow application uses to call OpenLM.

Connect the License Automation Tool destination instance

1. In the ServiceNow Connector menu, select License Automation Tool.
2. On the Destination Instance tab, enter the ServiceNow URL.
3. Under Authentication Method, select Basic or OAUTH 2.0 and enter the credentials of the ServiceNow account created for the integration.
4. Select Test Connection and wait for the success message.
5. Select Save.

License Automation Tool destination instance settings

Manage the API key

The ServiceNow application authenticates its calls to OpenLM with an API key. The key is valid for 1 year, and only 1 key can be active at a time.

1. On the License Automation Tool page, select the API Key Management tab.
2. Select Generate New Key. The new key appears only once: copy it and store it securely. If you lose it, revoke the key and generate a new key.
3. Copy the Connection URL.
4. In the OpenLM License Automation Tool application in ServiceNow, paste the Connection URL and the API key into the connection settings.

The tab shows the Api Key Status, the Generation Time, and the Expiration Time of the current key. To invalidate the current key, select Revoke Current Key. If a key is already active, revoke it before you generate a new one, and update the ServiceNow application with the new key.

API key management for the License Automation Tool

Verify the integration

1. On each module's Destination Instance tab, select Test Connection and confirm the success message.
2. On the Adapter page, select Sync Now and confirm that Last Sync Status moves from Processing to Success.
3. In ServiceNow, confirm that the OpenLM staging tables contain new records.
4. Confirm that SAM Pro target tables, such as Engineering Application Usages, contain records with Source set to OpenLM.
5. Generate a test alert in OpenLM and confirm that a task record with an OLM_ALERTS number appears in ServiceNow.
6. For the License Automation Tool, submit a comparison request in ServiceNow and confirm that the comparison report appears on the request.

Troubleshoot

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Test Connection fails	Wrong instance URL, wrong credentials, or the service account lacks import rights	Verify the URL format, reenter the credentials, and confirm the account's roles in ServiceNow
Test Connection fails with OAuth	The OAuth client is inactive or the client secret changed	Check the OAuth registry entry in ServiceNow and reenter the client ID and client secret
Last Sync Status shows Failed	ServiceNow was unreachable during the sync, or credentials changed since the last save	Run Test Connection, save the corrected credentials, then select Sync Now
You cannot save Adapter credentials	An active sync locks credential updates	Wait for the sync to complete, then save again
Alerts do not appear in ServiceNow	The alert repeats within the suppression window, or the Alerts connection is missing	Reduce Duplicate Alert Suppression Time, or verify the Alerts destination instance settings
ServiceNow license requests stay unanswered	The API key expired or lost its validity, or OpenLM Broker is offline	Generate a new key and update the ServiceNow application, and confirm the Broker connection to the license server
You lost the API key	The key appears only once, at generation	Select Revoke Current Key, generate a new key, and update the ServiceNow application

Known limitations

• The API key appears only once, when you generate it, and only 1 key can be active per account. Keys expire after 1 year.
• A manual sync always resends the last 3 months of data.
• Alert forwarding has no on/off switch. Alerts flow as long as the connection details remain in place.

Related

• Alerts
• OpenLM Broker
• ServiceNow changelog