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Your A-Z guide to CSDM 5.0
CSDM 5.0 is here and it brings smarter architecture, digital product centricity, and enhanced integration. Here’s everything you need to know including why it matters.
7 minutes
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Dylan Veerman
CMDB Expert
Common Service Data Model or CSDM 5.0 is here, and it comes with cleaner architecture, smarter workflows, and improved tracking. So, let’s break down some of your biggest questions about CSDM’s latest version.
Why was CSDM introduced?
CSDM was made to integrate the different products that ServiceNow offers. The framework’s domains help create one clear model that shows exactly how everything is connected across those products.
What parts of ServiceNow does CSDM 4.0 help with?
CSDM 4.0 has 4 main domains that all share the same foundation. Each one supports different ServiceNow products in its own way.
In the current CSDM 4.0:
1. Build domain supports DevOps and Agile
2. Consume domain is for ITSM and CSM
3. Manage domain focuses on ITOM and ITAM
4. Design domain helps with SPM and APM
What is the need for CSDM 5.0?
CSDM was created to have a common data model across several ServiceNow products. In some areas it’s more important than others. As ServiceNow products get more advanced and complex, they rely more on each other and on a shared data model. A lack of use cases in CSDM 4.0 made way for CSDM 5.0 Here are the use cases CSDM 4.0 didn’t support:
- Different Digital Products scenario
- Operational Technology in current application services or CI’s today
- Expanding Industrial workflows
- Model of Managing Hardware devices as an organization instead of business applications
- Products sold and the paying customers
CSDM 5.0 is focused on digital product centricity having goods and services. It supports many different types of workflows (Technology/Industry/Supply Chain/Employee/Customer) and their deliveries.
What are the structural changes in CSDM 5.0?
- New domain added as Ideation Domain
- Build & Integration combined with Subsystems flow within SDLC.
- Digital products/Work Item as part of Design & Planning
- Install base Products/Sold Products as part of Service Consumption domain
- Infrastructure CI’s replaced by Service Delivery System & Application Service replaced by Service Instance.
- Knowledge / Product Features/Accounts as part of Foundation domain.
- Portfolio Management.
What are the new roles that are brought inside the CSDM 5.0 framework.
- Digital Product Owner
- Knowledge Owner.
What is Digital Centricity in CSDM 5.0?
As businesses increasingly prioritize digital experiences, CSDM 5.0 provides the structure and governance needed to manage digital services effectively. This focus ensures that service data is consistent, integrated, and aligned with digital goals.
This helps you deliver seamless digital services, enhance operational efficiency, and respond swiftly to market demands. Here are 5 high level needs for the data model to focus on digital centricity:
Customer expectations: Modern customers demand seamless, digital-first experiences.
Competitive advantage: Digital strategies help companies stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market.
Operational efficiency: Digital tools streamline processes, reducing costs and increasing agility.
Data-driven insights: Digital platforms provide valuable data for better decision-making.
Innovation: Embracing digital technologies fosters innovation, allowing businesses to create new products and services.
What are the changes in CSDM 5.0?
Ideation Domain:
We’re shifting toward a product-focused approach to gather ideas from anyone, internal teams, current users, or the market on what to build next. This opens the door to innovation beyond just business applications, which remain relevant but now sit within a broader, more flexible model.
To support this, ServiceNow is adopting “digital product” terminology. These digital products and how they’re structured and delivered will now guide how work items are defined and managed.
The Ideation domain in CSDM 5.0 has also been refined to better support the full lifecycle of ideas. From submission through execution, ideas can now smoothly evolve into demands, projects, or other work items.
With improved data models and stronger integration across domains, innovation can now be tracked and managed more consistently throughout the service lifecycle.
Portfolio Management:
In CSDM 5.0, Portfolio Management is essential for managing digital products and services at scale.
But why the shift? To better understand the strategic value of digital products, guide investment or divestment decisions and optimize portfolios across the organization.
CSDM 5.0 introduces stronger alignment between service portfolios and business strategies, including:
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Enhanced support for service hierarchies and relationships
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Greater visibility into dependencies
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Smarter, more strategic portfolio management
Value stream mapping, a subset of value stream management, is now more deeply embedded in how ServiceNow handles digital workflows. It connects all parts of the software delivery lifecycle—from ideation to release.
One of the standout changes is the introduction of Value Stream Stages, which now plays a key role in defining how digital products and services support and automate different business processes. This addition gives teams a clearer framework for seeing how each digital product and service contributes to overall delivery value and how to continuously improve it.
Build and integration
New components are added to this domain, where integration is now brought into this domain. These new components are:
- Gen AI + Domain LLM – Generative Artificial Intelligence + Large Language Models.
- DevOps Data Model
- BOM – Bill of Materials
- OSTP – Open Source Third Party
- Work Item
Gen AI and Domain LLM in CSDM 5.0
CSDM 5.0 now includes new features using Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). These tools help automate tasks, improve decision-making, and boost data quality.
They also make workflows smoother and offer better insights into how services connect. Thanks to LLMs, users can interact with the platform using natural language, making it easier to understand and act on complex service data.
DevOps Data Model
The DevOps Data Model has improved to better match today’s DevOps practices. It now connects development and operations data more closely, tying DevOps work directly to service management.
Key improvements include:
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Clearer visibility into how development affects services
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Easier management of CI/CD pipelines
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Stronger governance throughout the DevOps lifecycle
These updates help teams deliver services faster and more reliably while staying aligned with business goals.
Bill Of Materials (BOM)
A Bill of Materials (BoM) is a complete list of everything needed to deliver a service or product. This includes software, hardware, and network parts. It helps teams see the full scope of a service and makes sure all components are properly aligned and working together.
By using a BoM, organizations can manage services more effectively and ensure smooth delivery.
Open Source Third Party
The OSTP (Open Source Third Party) framework has been upgraded for better control of open-source software in ServiceNow. It now offers stronger tools to track usage, ensure compliance, and manage security risks tied to third-party libraries. These updates give teams better visibility into open-source components and help them stay secure and compliant while benefiting from open-source tech.
Work Item
“Work Item” is a new concept designed to improve how work is tracked and managed across services. It helps organize tasks like incidents, changes, or other activities and links them clearly to the services they support. With better tracking across the entire lifecycle, teams can manage work more efficiently and keep a clear view of progress and its impact on service delivery.
Why CSDM 5.0 is more useful than CSDM 4.0
The shift from CSDM 4.0 to CSDM 5.0 reflects the need for organizations to adapt to evolving industry standards and practices. It offers benefits such as:
Smarter Ideation Management
The Ideation domain is now better connected with Innovation Management. Ideas can move smoothly from concept to demand, project, or work item—creating a more unified innovation process.
Stronger Data Foundations
CSDM 5.0 puts a big focus on clean, structured service data across the organization.
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Service definitions and tracking are more standardized.
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New tools help improve data quality and reduce inconsistencies, making decisions easier and more reliable.
Advanced Portfolio Management
The model now offers stronger tools to align your service portfolio with business strategy. You get better support for managing service hierarchies, relationships, and dependencies.
Better integration with ITSM and ITOM
Workflows between service delivery and operations are now more connected. This helps reduce silos, improves efficiency, and boosts visibility across teams.
Improved governance and compliance
New features help track compliance more easily, ensuring that governance rules are followed—especially important for regulated industries.
Built for flexibility and scale
CSDM 5.0 is more scalable. As your business grows, the model can expand with you—without needing a complete overhaul.
In short, CSDM 5.0 brings everything together – smarter idea management, cleaner data, stronger alignment with operations, and better tools for growth. It’s designed to meet the evolving needs of modern enterprises.