ServiceNow — Migration Reference

ServiceNow — Migration Support Overview

Role in migrations

• Staff (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Company (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Contact (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Ticket (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Change (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Problem (HD): supported as both (source and target).
• Category (KB): supported as both (source and target).
• Folder (KB): supported as both (source and target).
• Article (KB): supported as both (source and target).
• Request (HD): supported as both (source and target).

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Ticket)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Ticket)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Company)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Company)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Contact)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Contact)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Article)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Article)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Change)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Change)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Problem)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Problem)

Field-level support migrating FROM ServiceNow (Request)

Field-level support migrating TO ServiceNow (Request)

Migration options available for ServiceNow

• Update cross-links between articles - applies to: both (Article)
• Select records for Demo - applies to: source (Ticket), source (Request), source (Change), source (Problem)
• Skip ticket attachments - applies to: source (Ticket)
• Add a new tag to tickets - applies to: target (Ticket)

ServiceNow — Setup & How-To Guide

For more information: https://help-desk-migration.com/help/servicenow-migration-guides/ , https://help-desk-migration.com/help/servicenow-data-migration-checklist/

Important pre-migration preparation for ServiceNow Migration

Activate Help Desk Migration app in ServiceNow

To migrate to ServiceNow using the Help Desk Migration app, check the settings first. If you haven’t chosen the application scope, you can’t proceed with the migration setup. So, you need to activate the Help Desk Migration app in ServiceNow.

Here’s how to enable the app:

1. Go to your ServiceNow instance.
2. Click the System Settings icon in the right corner of the screen.
3. Under the System Settings, choose Developer.
4. Open the Application drop-down on the Developer page.
5. Pick Help Desk Migration from the list of applications.
6. Check if Update Set changes to [Default] Help Desk Migration.
7. Now, you can proceed with the migration setup.

Activate Help Desk Migration app in ServiceNow

Open User menu → Elevate Roles → security_role → OK.

Enable “can create” permissions

Go to System Definition → Tables → lable_entry → Access Controls → New → ‘Create’ → ‘Table’ → Submit → ‘Table key’ → Submit.

Create custom fields

Navigate to any form → Configure → Form Layout → Create new field → fill in Name, Type, and Field length → Add → place the field in the desired location → Save.

Set up user profiles

Go to All → User Administration → Users → New → fill in the fields → Submit.

Create groups

Navigate to All → User Administration → Groups → New → fill in the fields → click the lock icon → press the lookup icon → select the [application] type → Save.

How to migrate tickets and article tags to ServiceNow?

Before migrating your tickets and articles to ServiceNow, you need to receive certain permissions. In such a way, you ensure that ticket and article tags migrate properly during the data import.

To receive permissions, you need to carry out the following settings:

Step 1. Go to the main ServiceNow browser window.

Step 2. Then, open User menu, where you need to choose Elevate Roles.

Step 3. Put a tick next to security_admin.

Step. 4. Click OK to save settings.

Note: Only users with security_admin roles use operations “can create”, “can delete” or “can update” for tables in Access Controls.

To enable operation “can create” you need to undergo the following steps:

Step 1. Go to System Definition, then to Tables. Look for the table “lable_entry”.

Step 2. Go to the Access Controls and click New.

Step 3. Choose operation “Create”.

In the Access Control for label_entry, you need to create two permissions “create” for Table key and Table.

Step 4. Select “Table” next to Label Entry [label_entry] and click Submit.

Step 5. Then choose “Table key” and click on Submit as well.

Note: These permissions allow you to create and link tags to tickets and articles properly.

How to calculate customers in ServiceNow?

In ServiceNow, callers are customers who send you incidents to be resolved. To calculate the number of callers, complete the following actions.

1. Go to All and open the Service Desk dropdown list.
2. Then select Callers.
3. You can see the number of customers at the bottom of the page.
4. You can apply filters to search for specific customers.

How to calculate the number of tickets in ServiceNow?

You can find the list of your ServiceNow tickets (incidents) and calculate their number in your Service Desk.

1. Select All from the top toolbar and open the Service Desk dropdown. Then select Incidents.
2. Find the number of tickets beneath the list.
3. You can use filters to select specific incidents. To add a filter, click the filter icon and choose a field, operation, and value.

How to calculate knowledge base articles in ServiceNow?

In ServiceNow knowledge, you can have two knowledge bases (IT and Knowledge) and calculate the number of articles included in each.

1. From the top toolbar, go to the All dropdown and expand Self-Service. Then click Knowledge.
2. Check the number of articles in your knowledge base.

How to Find or Set the Primary Domain in ServiceNow

Guide: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/washingtondc-platform-security/page/administer/company-and-domain-separation/task/t_SelectAPrimaryDomain.html

Troubleshooting: Instance Hibernating on Target

If the target instance is in hibernation mode, you'll see an "Instance Hibernating" page when trying to access it. To wake it up, sign in via the Developer Portal — either follow the link provided on the hibernation page, or simply load the Manage → Instance page in the Developer Portal, which will automatically wake the instance if it was hibernating.

Creating an API User That Bypasses SSO in ServiceNow

If SSO is enabled, the connection will fail, since the ServiceNow API doesn't work with SSO accounts. To bypass this, create a local user account configured for web-service-only access. Local API calls using Basic Authentication or OAuth client credentials naturally bypass the UI-based SSO login page.

1. Create the local user. Go to User Administration → Users and click New. Fill in the required fields:
   • User ID: a unique identifier (e.g., api_integration_user)
   • Active: checked
   • Web service access only: checked — this restricts the account to API-only access and prevents UI login
   • Internal Integration User: select this if needed, to bypass certain WS-Security requirements
2. Save the record.
3. Set the local password. On the saved user form, click Set Password, enter or generate a strong password, and click Save Password. Make sure the SSO Source field on the user record stays empty — if it contains a value (like a SAML link), ServiceNow may try to redirect the account to an external provider.
4. Assign the required API roles. In the Roles related list, click Edit and add the necessary roles:
   • rest_service — general REST API access
   • itil — read/write access to standard task tables like Incidents
   • sn_openframe_api_user — for specific OpenFrame API integrations
   • web_service_admin — broader administrative control over web services
5. If SSO restrictions still block API calls: an administrator may need to adjust Multi-Provider SSO settings to allow local authentication for non-interactive sessions. Use Basic Auth (username/password) or OAuth 2.0 (Client ID/Secret) in your external tool (e.g., Postman) to bypass the frontend SSO redirect.

Resolving "Invalid File Type" Errors During Migration

If migration fails with an error such as Invalid file type: image/png (this can occur for any file format), disable MIME type checking for uploads:

1. Navigate to System Properties.
2. Scroll down to the Security section.
3. Find the "deactivate MIME type checking for uploads" setting and uncheck it, and make sure the list of allowed extensions is left empty.

Migrating from ServiceNow

Source tables used to pull each entity:

By default, Service Requests only migrate to Halo and CSV.

Note: When migrating to platforms that support Changes and Problems, Problem Tasks and Change Tasks are also migrated by default.

ServiceNow Migration Limitations

1. Comments' created-at dates and comment authors will migrate within the comment body.
2. The updated-at dates of changes and problems will be transferred as the dates of data migration.