ServiceNow Discovery Reviews

I believe the tool itself isn't solely about identifying assets, as many tools can perform IP-based and port-based discovery. That's not the most challenging aspect; it's a well-established practice. The real value lies in how it integrates into a system that everyone can utilize, and it does so rapidly. I've been using it for quite some time, and it's not just about the tools; it's about the people, organizational processes, and how they contribute to the success of these tools.

ServiceNow's Discovery feature is quite significant because it allows for service mapping and integrates with VIN management. It involves adding a business context to servers, routers, switches, and data centers. This means understanding not only what's installed on these systems and how they function together but also recognizing their significance in terms of business applications from the business's perspective and how they impact business processes and capabilities. So when we delve into these aspects and connect them to the essential components, it can help you engage in more meaningful discussions to enhance capacity management practices. In essence, it contributes to the overall IT portfolio, almost functioning as a business platform. This platform is accessible to users who leverage the data to initiate incidents, implement changes, and resolve problems. Consequently, consolidating all configuration items or assets into a unified platform makes sense, especially considering you already have Discovery in place. If the cost is reasonable, the other two components might not provide much value, except for their user-friendliness, which is often less important to leaders compared to the desired outcomes.

I find it valuable to enhance IP address management. I've been in this field since around 2011, and my experience since then has revolved around automation, deployment, distribution, and comprehensive inventory management, all crucial for deploying various components, including patches. When we talk about patch management or vulnerability management, it's more complex than just applying patches; sometimes, you need to undergo significant upgrades or phase out old components for new ones, and this can turn into a substantial project, explaining why vulnerabilities persist.

Now, the role of ServiceNow Discovery and security operations, or at one point, looking at vulnerability management in ServiceNow Discovery, is crucial. It allows you to identify vulnerabilities on assets and, with the addition of discovery, service mapping, and event management, you gain a business context for these vulnerabilities. It's not merely about knowing they exist on a server; it's about understanding which services are responsible for critical business processes or transactions, like payroll. This knowledge changes the approach and execution of vulnerability remediation.

I have been using ServiceNow Discovery since the last couple years.

Based on my recent experiences, tech support has been somewhat challenging. It often feels like I need to take the lead and put in a lot of effort to resolve a case. There's quite a bit of groundwork and hand-holding involved.

Neutral

I've had experience with SCCM and Altiris in the past, which were agent-based tools. However, I haven't evaluated or explored ServiceNow Discovery yet. In terms of setup, it seems quite similar to me. The core focus is on managing these aspects effectively. Tenable does a similar job, but it lacks the ability to retrieve information on installed applications and application dependency mapping, which ServiceNow Discovery can provide.

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. 

Primarily, we use Discovery to discover and maintain our CIs (Configuration Items). It also has the potential for subscription management, but we're not currently using it for that.

One of our key use cases is tracking laptops assigned to employees within our organization. We need to monitor their usage patterns and performance. We start by using Discovery to populate a database with details about computers, servers, and SNMPs. 

Then, we integrate with a third-party tool for monitoring. If issues arise, they raise a ticket in ServiceNow, allowing us to proactively address problems.

ServiceNow offers many other features with Discovery, but it takes time to learn and implement them effectively. We've started with out-of-the-box solutions, customized them to our needs, and are gradually upgrading our processes.

So, it does take some time for someone to learn Discovery, or any other ServiceNow product.

I also primarily work with ITSM modules like incident, problem, and change management. I also use IT Operations Management (ITOM) products like Discovery, Service Mapping, and Operations Management.

We use Discovery and Operations Management to manage our CIs. Additionally, we use incident, problem, change, and knowledge management for ITSM (IT Service Management). It's like a ticketing service.

Discovery patterns have helped identify and map our services more accurately. Discovery connects all the CIs (Configuration Items) together. 

In ServiceNow, there is something called a schema map that will show in which data center, what things are present, how many virtual agents are there, and how many people are working.

For example: Think of a scenario where my Wi-Fi in a specific area is not working – let's say Wi-Fi in D Block. Two employees from that block raise tickets saying that Wi-Fi is not working. Without a tool like Discovery, I don't know if the Wi-Fi access point is broken, if the service package has expired, or if there's a power issue.

So, I would check the subscription status of that Wi-Fi access point and send the support team there. They will resolve the issue. That way, everything is interconnected. Multiple people from the same router raising tickets means there is some problem with the router itself. That's how it helps.

The best thing about Discovery is maintaining all the CIs in one place. 

I can sort the data, export it to Excel for manipulation, and build reports like how many computers or servers we have and their capacity. 

ServiceNow also offers agentless Discovery, where we can see what software is installed on laptops. 

We can even run commands to discover all the software on a PC. This helps us see if users are missing any of our essential tools and services. That's a great thing about Discovery.

The initial setup could be made easier. We hired professionals to implement it, and they trained our employees for ongoing processes. 

The initial setup was done by experts, and then they prepared our team to handle common errors.

I'm relatively new to it. I've been using it for about a year. Before that, my focus was on ticketing services. 

In India, there's a higher demand for ticketing services within ServiceNow, so we don't get as many requirements for Discovery. With more clients using cloud services, we've started using Discovery in the last couple of years.

ServiceNow Discovery is very stable, but it depends on our infrastructure. Discovery uses a MID server, and if we allocate a good amount of resources, like 16GB of RAM and 500GB of space, it works well.

If you don't provide the minimum required resources, it can sometimes hang. But in our case, we had enough resources, so it ran smoothly. 

It might take some time – for a complete discovery, it can take six to seven hours – but that's still better than some other services.

We have a team of three to four people who monitor Discovery. We've set up a VPN for Discovery purposes, and all laptops are connected to it. We use usernames and passwords for the discovery process. 

Employees use the devices, but they might not be aware that Discovery is running in the background.

Our monitoring team will check if anything goes wrong. Discovery will generate tickets, and then they'll investigate and ask the help desk to resolve any technical issues.

The customer service and support people are pretty good. They will help you. If you have any problem, they'll provide a solution. That's a good thing about ServiceNow. But understand that they'll give you the solution, and you need to figure out how to implement it.

They suggested that we hire experts for the initial setup. ServiceNow has partner service providers listed on their website. You can hire someone from there for the initial configuration and then manage day-to-day tasks with your own support team. That's how we do it.

Before this, we didn't have a proper software setup. We used a different system, but it had issues. Sometimes we had laptops in storage without knowing, or we would buy new laptops and assign them to new hires when there were existing ones available. 

So the company was thinking of getting a new system. Since we were already using ServiceNow for ticketing services, we took a Discovery subscription and started using it.

We have both configurations, cloud and on-premises. We use AWS Cloud.

We hired professionals to implement it, and they trained our employees for ongoing processes.

ServiceNow have documentation, and it's good, but it can be difficult for a beginner to understand. If you're an expert, it's easier. 

We discussed this with the experts, and they confirmed that the documentation covers common problems and solutions. However, it takes some effort to dive deep into them and resolve issues.

ROI (Return on Investment) is good. ServiceNow don't disclose the price publicly. They'll assess your organization's needs and then come up with a price.

ServiceNow is expensive.

My recommendation depends on the organization and how big it is. If it is a large organization with thousands of laptops and many servers to monitor, then I would suggest going with ServiceNow. However, ServiceNow is costly.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. It's a great tool, but there are two reasons for the slightly lower score. 

• First, there's a significant investment necessary to utilize Discovery effectively. 
• Second, it takes time to fully understand and leverage the tool. 

In our case, the deployment took three months. We had an expert for three months who analyzed our system, developed a solution, and then implemented it. This process is necessary, but it did take a significant amount of time.

Discovery is predominantly used for predictive monitoring and auto self-healing to reduce manual work and automate remediation of IT incidents, problems, and changes. 

Discovery is foundational for knowing your infrastructure and application components and is key to building a foundation for achieving a target state.

The most important feature of ServiceNow Discovery is the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) rules. It makes sure of unique identification for each component, like an application or a database, and uploads it to the CMDB. This engine prevents duplicates or errors when importing data into the CMDB, which is a critical feature. So, it is a pretty fantastic feature. 

Discovery, while a bit pricey, integrates well with other tools and offers a centralized discovery solution. These aspects could be enhanced in the new release.

Currently, pricing is based on the number of nodes. Like whether you have under 50, under 100, or under 200 nodes. And if you're a gold or platinum partner, the prices vary depending on your relationship with ServiceNow. So, if they can offer very competitive pricing for customers, the use will probably increase. The adoption of Discovery by clients will increase.  

For better adoption, offering competitive pricing for customers would be beneficial.

I have been using this solution for three years now. 

We do a lot of discovery, discovering on-prem and cloud services into the CMDB, not just that, but server storage and other infrastructure and application components as well. We do a lot of work on the discovery side.

The stability is pretty solid because the CMDB is the foundation for IT service management and to work on all the upcoming technologies, including predictive healing and self-healing automation. So, it's pretty solid that way.

Overall, I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

The scalability of the discovery solution is solid. ServiceNow has had Discovery for a long time, so I'd rate it a nine out of ten.

Our clients are mostly enterprises for ServiceNow Discovery

I've raised some questions, and customer service and support were pretty prompt in responding to that.

Positive

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. The mid-server installation and user credentials are key, but it can take time to resolve duplicates and errors.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy. 

We are mostly on the functional side, but I have architects and technical engineers for hands-on installation and everything else. Mostly, I'm part of the solutions, working with customers to tailor solutions to their needs.

The deployment process varies based on size and the number of configuration items. But with initial mid-server installation and user ID credentials, you can start in less than two weeks.

This is expensive, but it meets our needs, so some other clients, they would just go for Discovery because they have different expectations. Whether they want to go for IT service management or not, clients really want to know what they are using, because it impacts the billing directly. So they don't want to overcount the servers that they use, so, I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. 

The licensing costs basically vary because if you are in an MSP model, then the prices are different. And if you're going for a separate purchase because what we technically do is we go through a reseller, and then we get the prices. So the prices are based on that. 

Discovery is definitely necessary. When it comes to discarding a few things that are not part of the network or when you're bringing in an application, 

Application is a logical thing because it's not a physical component. So I think you gotta pay more attention when you're bringing in all your application assets into the CMDB because everything has to be together for the other services to work.

So pay attention because the application is outside of Discovery, but how you do it is definitely necessary. So, trying to come up with creative means to bring your application assets and make sure it works into the CMDB would be the first option.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

We use this solution to populate the CMDB and to track changes in our environment.

It improves process efficiencies. 

When people need to query for information, they don't have to go to seven different people. They can go to a single source.

It does a good job of collecting the data that's necessary for data centers, and IT's operations.

When it comes to the internal data centers and the on-premise data centers, they are pretty good.

When you switch versions, for example, when you go from Paris to Quebec they will introduce many new things and occasionally things break when they do that. You usually find out after the fact when you stumble into it.

I currently have an issue that we just stumbled into, where our bucket wasn't populating correctly from my own Google cloud. They're trying to figure out how to fix that.

They should include support for Google Cloud.

I have been working with ServiceNow Discovery for ten years.

The version we are using is Paris.

It's a reliable product.

Scalability is pretty good, but they are lacking a bit in the Google Cloud realm.

They are really good in others such as Azure, AWS, and IBM. It seemed to have matured those a little better. Maybe the problem is with Google Cloud being a partner and keeping up with them. I am not sure where it's lacking. Is it ServiceNow or just Google Cloud?

Our users vary from technical people to managers to business people. We do it that way to assign costs so things could be lower.

With the first couple of reports, managers were surprised at the cost, but when you do it in increments throughout the year, you don't realize what the total is coming to until you get to the end of the year.

For the most part, ServiceNow has gone through a few growing pains. They have grown rapidly. 

The first line of support is sometimes lacking. Once you get to the second and third-level people, they are good.

I would rate technical support an eight out of ten. After the first line, you can tell the person is pretty new.

We used Maximo Tatem and it was really cumbersome. 

The data was excellent but you had two different vehicles.

You had your Discovery pool, and you had another server that took the data from Discovery. That had to be mapped into the Maximo database. You then had a Discovery server, with an in-between server that did the translation and put it into Maximo.

It was convoluted.

The Discovery engine was wonderful, but getting the data from Discovery back into the Maximo database was difficult.

The initial setup was pretty straightforward.

The price could be better. It's a bit on the pricey side.

As a product, they are probably right at the top. Their only competition I would say right now would be Dynatrace.

Dynatrace is missing a few things, but so is ServiceNow. You can take your pick, as they are both good.

The data is really good, it's reliable and they keep adding to it. 

They are using AI with a lot of cases to help build the events, which is good.

I would rate ServiceNow a nine out of ten.

Our company uses the solution's to discover infrastructures. The ServiceNow instance is in the cloud and the Discovery servers are on-premises. 

We have five licensed configuration management practitioners and 3,000 end users. 

Cloud Discovery is valuable because it finds global, public cloud infrastructures and updates the integration management database, service catalogs, and asset management details. 

The store is a key differentiator because it offers many compatible third-party and OEM plugins for cloud integrations like AWS, Azure, Adobe, and Microsoft. For example, there are service providers for license and asset management, there is a mid-service for Quantum Discovery, and there are plugins from AWS for service or asset management and CMDB integrations. 

The solution too high priced. 

I have been using the solution for seven years. 

The solution is stable but some work is required. 

Only IP-based assets are discoverable. It takes time to get the related OIDs for newer models and patches do not come easily. Sometimes, we have to do research and discovery from the OEM's website to understand and manually create the required OIDs so the solution can identify the actual assets. 

Our main challenges are with network devices for Meraki and proper discovery for storage or backup solutions. 

The solution is very scalable. 

Technical support is always helpful. 

The setup is a bit complex. 

We implemented in-house which can be done if you have administrator or architect-level knowledge. 

Our implementation took ninety days. We went from on-premises Windows and Linux to Windows desktop laptops, to AWS, to Azure. The last step was SaaS integrations for applications like 365, Adobe Cloud, and Creative Cloud. 

The solution is very expensive. Our use is somewhere close to 50GB per user each month. 

We evaluated Manage Engine's ServiceDesk Plus, Jira Service Management, and Remedy. At the end of the day, the solution was the best fit during that time for our organizational strategy. 

Right now, we are looking for an alternate because the solution is very expensive. 

I recommend the solution and rate it an eight out of ten. 

We use it to gather information from cloud environments such as Azure and GCP. The aim is to conduct scans for various assets, including laptops, desktops, servers, and software. This process extends to retrieving details from the client's database within their cloud infrastructure.

We have several integrations established to receive CI data from various sources. We synchronize this data uniformly. Discovery feature plays a crucial role in consolidating this information into a single repository.

One highly valuable aspect is the use of service accounts, which automates the process of identifying underlying nodes and associated assets. With this feature, there's no need to manually input all IPs or details; instead, it seamlessly navigates from node to node, capturing the relevant assets and relationships automatically.

The current limitation in out-of-the-box features, particularly for fields in tables like servers or laptops, necessitates time-consuming customization through pattern matching involving coding. A more beneficial approach would be to have additional features in the default configuration for easily adding different sets of fields. The manual pattern-matching process is not only time-consuming but also presents challenges during system upgrades, demanding revisits to ensure compatibility.

I have been working with it for one year.

Following the installation and configuration, we encountered minimal issues, and the system has been operating smoothly since then. I would rate its stability capabilities eight out of ten.

Its scalability for data retrieval is robust, but licensing is based on the number of CIs discovered, not usage duration. For instance, purchasing a thousand licenses for a year means tracking the count of CIs discovered. In a production setting, where the number of CIs may grow, planning is vital. Consideration of the roadmap and expected growth is crucial, as bulk license purchases may lead to unused licenses, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful planning. I would rate it eight out of ten.

They primarily provided out-of-the-box solutions. However, when specific modifications were required, we found limited information or resources on their website. I would rate it six out of ten.

Neutral

The initial setup involved engineering lower environments, acquiring a mid-server, and formulating precise queries to extract necessary data from third-party sources. This included understanding the infrastructure, identifying service accounts, collecting IP information, and checking for firewall configurations. Once these preparatory steps were completed, establishing connectivity became possible, followed by the ongoing configuration of switches and other required elements. After ensuring the data flow in the system environment, a similar process was replicated in the production environment. I would rate it six out of ten.

In the deployment process, encountering challenges arose when determining the appropriate mid-server to use. The standard server couldn't be utilized, leading to the setup of distinct mid-servers for different environments to facilitate the discovery phase. However, the absence of clear rules for configuring user IDs and providing access made this task difficult. The lack of a visual representation or clear documentation compounded the complexity. The system was layered, with folders nested within folders, each requiring specific access. The Proof of Concept and the subsequent deployment phase spanned three months. The deployment was handled in-house by a team of two individuals.

Scaling down other integrations becomes a cost-saving benefit for any company. While our implementation is relatively recent, and there's still much progress ahead, my initial estimate would be a seven out of ten for the effectiveness of ServiceNow Discovery.

The pricing is determined based on the CIs.

The system is quite robust and encompasses a comprehensive set of features. While the initial setup might pose some challenges, once installed and configured correctly, it proves to be a reliable solution for the long term. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Our primary use case for the solution is compliance, understanding our assets, and mapping it against our business for services.

The ability to build CI relationships against our portfolio, services or applications is valuable. It has given us an understanding of each layer from a server application, network and the topography of how it's linked to an application or business process.

The price could be lower.

We have been using the solution for approximately four years.

The solution is stable. We've had some hurdles because whenever we changed networks, IPs or hardware, we forgot to ensure it reflected in ServiceNow Discovery. So we've added it as part of our process, but the solution has been stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.

The solution is scalable. Twenty-five people are currently using it in our organization. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.

We haven't had many instances where we connected with support but when we have it has been a good experience. They provide a resolution within a good time frame. I rate them a nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. We initially had challenges because we had very tight security and firewalls that were a bit off, so we had to set up many rules around it to ensure the solution worked. Deployment took approximately three months.

We implemented through a vendor team, specifically by an integrator FlyForm.They are one of the best integrators we have used.

The solution is a good product, but it is slightly expensive. It is one of the most costly applications in terms of subscription costs. I rate the price a five out of ten.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. The solution is good, but the price could be lower.

ServiceNow helps us keep our CMDB updated and populated with all the necessary information. 

ServiceNow Discovery works better than other products I've used. 

In a few instances, ServiceNow has failed to discover some basic things. Some other tools are better at network discovery than ServiceNow. I'm not talking about database servers or any other infrastructure—only networking. Cloud discovery could also be better.  

We have used ServiceNow Discovery for nine or ten years.

I rate ServiceNow Discovery seven out of 10 for stability.

ServiceNow Discovery is scalable enough. It could work for businesses of any size, depending on the use case. For example, if you're working with mostly cloud infrastructure, you might want to use something that is specifically designed for that. 

I rate ServiceNow support seven out of 10. Their support technicians can usually provide a solution, but they sometimes lack adequate knowledge and we need to escalate through multiple teams. 

Neutral

Deploying ServiceNow Discovery is straightforward. It takes three or four months, depending on your use case. For larger use cases, you might need seven to 10 people, including various kinds of solution architects. 

The price is somewhat high, but if you're buying multiple products from the same line as a bundle, you can get a discount. However, if you buy Discovery as a standalone product, it will be expensive. 

I rate ServiceNow Discovery eight out of 10. When implementing Discovery, you must first understand your use case and the solution's capabilities before you dive into it. ServiceNow might not be able to do everything you want out of the box, but it's customizable.