Understanding Oracle Cloud Integrations with ServiceNow

Integration is the first step of any digital transformation process. However, in our modern multicloud era, there are many ways to integrate different cloud service providers. An example of this is Oracle Cloud integrations with ServiceNow’s IT Operations Management (ITOM). 

But how does exactly work? What are the key components of this integration process? What are the other integration possibilities between these cloud service providers? In today’s article, we will analyze this digital symbiosis and how beneficial it could be for businesses. 

Why Integrate ServiceNow with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure?

Enterprise software is always a big investment, and that’s why it should drive real value as quickly as possible. That’s why integration is vital for any digital transformation since this is what allows you to get the most out of your platforms. Otherwise, you will probably face several inefficiencies that slow your team down and disrupt the customer experience. 

In this sense, ServiceNow integration with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is one of the many possibilities to ensure the value of your investment.  However, this process allows you to optimize your cloud resources, providing easier access to vital information across all areas of your business. This way, it not only connects platforms but also people, generating real value financially and boosting efficiency by automating tedious tasks. 

What Does the Integration Between ServiceNow and Oracle Consist Of?

The integration between OCI and ServiceNow’s ITOM Visibility module consists of a set of features and processes that allow organizations to manage and monitor their cloud resources more effectively by combining the strengths of both platforms. This presents multiple benefits. However, they can be summarized as follows: 

• Unified Cloud Monitoring and Management: Offers a single platform to monitor and manage all OCI resources, streamlining cloud operations and reducing operational complexity.

• Automated Discovery and Dependency Mapping: Automatically detects OCI resources and visually maps dependencies across applications and networks, enabling quicker troubleshooting and enhanced infrastructure planning.

• Comprehensive CMDB Integration: All discovered OCI resources are stored in ServiceNow’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB), offering a centralized repository for tracking and managing cloud infrastructure, improving IT service operations, and availability monitoring.

• Proactive AIOps for Incident Management: Integrates with ServiceNow’s AIOps platform to automate event correlation and incident response, allowing for early detection of issues and minimizing downtime.

• Enhanced Asset Management and Cost Optimization: Tracks cloud resource usage and ownership, optimizing asset management, reducing underutilization, and supporting more efficient cloud cost management.

However, bear in mind that, as with any of the other Oracle Cloud integrations, this is not an all-case solution. You must first set your business goals and analyze how technology can help you achieve them. That’s why human talent is essential for both operating and managing these digital transformations. At Inclusion Cloud we can help you. Let’s meet to see how we can help you integrate your platforms and streamline your data flow. 

Key Components of OCI and ServiceNow’s ITOM Visibility Integration

Now, to better understand how Oracle Cloud integrations work, it is necessary to know the tools, apps, and processes involved in the integration process. In the case of OCI and ServiceNow’s ITOM Visibility integration, they are: 

• ServiceNow ITOM Visibility.

• Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

• Discovery Service.

• AI Operations (AIOps).

In the following sections, we will analyze each one of these elements and see how they operate in the integration process. 

1. ServiceNow ITOM Visibility

This feature enables customers to monitor and gain real-time insights into their OCI-deployed resources, whether they are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Container as a Service (CaaS). Consolidating monitoring into a single pane of glass provides an overview of resource usage, performance, and potential issues across the entire OCI environment. 

In other words, it offers a single platform to monitor and manage all OCI resources, streamlining cloud operations and reducing operational complexity. This way, not only are human error factors reduced, but it also allows you and your team to access all the necessary information on a single platform, democratizing knowledge across the organization and boosting collaboration between business areas. 

2. Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

ServiceNow’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB) stores data about all OCI resources, such as:  

• Compute: Used to provide and manage virtual machines (VMs) and bare metal servers for running applications and workloads.

• Storage: Provides scalable and secure data storage solutions, including block storage, object storage, and file storage for storing and managing data.

• Networking: Enables the creation and management of virtual networks, subnets, firewalls, and load balancers to connect and secure cloud resources.

• Databases: Offers managed database services like Oracle Autonomous Database, providing highly scalable and automated database solutions for enterprise applications.

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Used to manage user identities, permissions, and access policies to secure and control access to cloud resources.

This way, CMDB helps track cloud assets and monitor their health and performance. In this sense, the biggest advantage is the creation of relationship maps and dependency trees, which help visualize how resources are interconnected—allowing IT teams to identify bottlenecks or single points of failure and address high-availability concerns. 

3. Discovery Service

This service uses Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s REST APIs to discover and pull configuration items (CIs) such as compute resources (virtual or bare metal), storage, databases, and networking components. Some of its key features include: 

• Automatic Discovery: It continuously tracks and updates the current state of OCI resources without manual input.

• Up-to-date CMDB: Ensures that the configuration database always reflects the latest status of the OCI stack, including any new deployments or decommission.

• Cloud Resource Mapping: Mapping dependencies assists in understanding the relationships between various cloud components and how they support business operations.

4. AI Operations (AIOps)

Another of the Oracle Cloud integrations is with ServiceNow’s AIOps platform. In this case, it allows the platform to take data from OCI and apply AI to provide advanced operational insights. Some of its key functionalities include:

• Service Health Dashboards: These dashboards visualize the health of services and resources, making it easier for IT teams to track performance and anticipate issues.

• Incident Alerts and Correlation: If a critical resource goes down (e.g. a web server or database) the system automatically triggers an alert and correlates it with related incidents to streamline response and resolution.

• Proactive Management: AIOps also help in predicting and mitigating issues before they escalate, reducing downtime and improving the overall reliability of OCI environments.

What Are These Oracle Cloud Integrations For? Some Use Cases

Now let’s see a little bit about the use cases of this type of Oracle Integrations. While there are many of them, we can identify four main uses for OCI and ServiceNow ITOM integration. In the following table you’ll find what you need to know about them: 

Multicloud Integration: Other Possible with ServiceNow and Oracle

As Safra Catz highlighted at Oracle World, 70% of enterprises are already operating in multicloud environments. That’s why Oracle Cloud integrations must not be undertaken since they are crucial for businesses needing flexible and scalable infrastructure to optimize and govern their cloud resources efficiently.   

However, to name all of them would be nearly impossible. Nevertheless, in the following sections, we select two of the main integration solutions involving both ServiceNow and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. So, let’s briefly analyze each one of them. 

Cloud Provisioning and Governance

The integration of OCI with ServiceNow’s Cloud Provisioning and Governance enables organizations to manage resources across multiple cloud platforms from a single ServiceNow interface. It automates the provisioning of resources (e.g. VMs and databases) by using Terraform templates and supports Terraform Enterprise and Cloud. Some of its key benefits include: 

• Governance for setting capacity limits.

• Centering the resources monitoring in one interface is easily accessible to all members.

• Ensuring compliance in multicloud environments.

Event management and discovery with Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC)

In this case, the integration links Oracle Cloud Infrastructure with ServiceNow using Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) to automate the synchronization of cloud VM states (e.g., created, updated, terminated) between OCI and ServiceNow. The process begins when an OCI event (like a VM creation) is triggered. Then, Oracle Functions captures this event and forwards it to OIC, which updates relevant ServiceNow tables with the VM’s status. Finally, OIC retrieves additional details (e.g., private IP, image info) from OCI using REST API calls.  

These particular Oracle Cloud integrations are used to streamline cloud resource management, allowing IT teams to monitor and manage VMs directly within ServiceNow. This way, you can reduce manual effort and ensure up-to-date data on VM states across multiple cloud environments. 

What Are the Most Common Integration Barriers?

While Oracle Cloud integrations are crucial in this multicloud era, these processes have their complications. In fact, according to MuleSoft’s research, 98% of IT leaders face challenges when trying to implement an integration strategy. The main roadblocks are: 

• Data Silos: 34% of IT leaders face issues with data trapped in isolated systems, leading to access problems, inefficiencies, and data inconsistencies across departments.

• Skill Gaps: 38% of IT leaders struggle with skill shortages, hindering the effective implementation of enterprise integration and delaying projects.

• Compatibility Issues: 34% of IT leaders report that outdated infrastructure and incompatible systems, cause data to remain stagnant and inaccessible.

• Scalability Challenges: Growing businesses face scalability issues as systems become overloaded.

• Cost Implications: Integration can be costly due to software, hardware, and consulting fees while offering a significant ROI as it boosts operational efficiency and customer engagement.

• Security Concerns: Integrating multiple systems raises security risks, but businesses can mitigate this by implementing security measures to protect data.

The First Step Towards Digital Transformation

Oracle Cloud integrations with ServiceNow are crucial in our multicloud era since they allow us to run databases and applications in multiple clouds while taking advantage of both OCI and ServiceNow’s capabilities. But integration is also the first step in any digital transformation process, no matter the cloud service. That’s why it is crucial to plan these projects carefully, set your goals, and analyze how tech can be adapted to fulfill them.  

At Inclusion Cloud we can make the difference by providing both human talents and qualified consulting for you to start drawing the roadmap of your digital transformation.  Let’s meet to see how we can take your business to the next level! And don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn for the latest industry trends and news!