In this video, we cover the technical aspects of the Now Platform architecture, including these concepts.
Linked time codes for these topics appear
in the YouTube description for this video.
The Now Platform is an application platform as a service...
... a single platform to automate business processes across the enterprise by providing the infrastructure needed to develop, run, and manage applications.
Its single data model, built on a flexible
table schema...
... delivers a common set of core capabilities and reusable components...
... eliminating data silos and enabling workflows.
It’s the centerpiece of the ServiceNow system
of action for the enterprise.
Cloud services help you manage IT strategy,
operations, service delivery, and apps…
…automate, predict, digitize, optimize,
monitor, and resolve security risks…
Deliver fast, personal service to employees.
Connect customer service with other teams to solve issues faster, cut costs, and boost satisfaction.
And allow you to create your own applications quickly, using prebuilt libraries, tools, templates, scripts, and integrations.
And it all resides in our multi-instance,
secure, compliant, scalable, nonstop cloud…
…which users can access on any device through
a configurable web-based user interface.
This is a true enterprise cloud...
... meaning it’s a single system of engagement for the entire enterprise...
... not just for a specific department or function.
Let’s take a closer look.
Nearly all clouds today—except ServiceNow—are built on a legacy construct called a multi-tenant architecture.
In these clouds, your data is co-mingled with that of other customers.
There’s a reliance on large and complex
databases that require hardware and software maintenance on a regular basis...
... resulting in availability issues for customers,…
… and any action that affects the multi-tenant
database affects all shared customers.
The ServiceNow cloud is built on an advanced
architecture called multi-instance.
In this architecture, your organization’s
data, applications, and customizations...
... reside in a unique software stack called an instance.
Your organization may have more than one instance.
Each instance is isolated from every other instance, but they can still communicate with each other.
The ServiceNow multi-instance architecture
provides these distinct advantages:
Your organization’s data is truly isolated...
... making hardware and software maintenance on these unique customer instances easy to perform…
… and issues can be resolved on a customer-by-customer basis.
The multi-instance architecture allows us
to perform actions—such as upgrading...
... on individual customer instances, on a schedule
that fits the compliance requirements and needs of that particular customer.
Now let’s look at availability and redundancy.
All ServiceNow global data centers are paired with another data center to provide redundancy with failover support.
ServiceNow provides near-perfect availability
with redundancy built in at every layer of our cloud...
... including redundant devices, power,
and paths across all network and server infrastructure.
In the event of an operational fault, failure,
outage or attack,…
…customer traffic can be quickly rerouted using our Advanced High Availability or AHA capability to ensure that you maintain access to your instances and data.
You can check the real availability of any
of your instances at any time.
Just log into HI and find the Real Availability tile.
What about backups and security?
ServiceNow provides four weekly full backups
of your data, with six days of daily differential backups.
ServiceNow secures the cloud and your data
using multiple technologies and levels of security...
... that have been certified compliant
by third-party organizations.
Data are encrypted in transit, while certifications for ISO27001...
... SSAE 16 SOC1 and SOC2 Type 2 attest to security, availability, and privacy in the cloud.
You can also integrate with single sign-on
services that are compliant with the SAML 2.0 standard.
You can further secure your applications and
fields using role-based access control.
To do this, you create roles and groups...
... add the role or roles to the groups...
... and then assign users to the groups.
Domain separation, also called multi tenancy...
... allows you to separate data, processes, and administrative tasks on an instance into logical groupings, called domains.
You can then control several aspects of this separation, including which users can see and access data.
All users can see and manage records in the
global domain, if they have the proper permissions.
But access to records in other domains is
limited to users who are assigned to that domain.
All users have access to the global domain,
but access to other domains is limited to specific users.
Everyone can potentially see records from
the global domain...
... but only someone who belongs to a domain can see domain-specific records.
Domain separation applies to very specific use cases.
For example, managed service providers separating client data….
… and enterprises that share policies across
multiple organizations within a single ServiceNow instance...
... such as a parent company and its subsidiaries.
For more information, please see our product
documentation, knowledge base, or podcast.
Or ask a question in the ServiceNow Community.
