How to Sync Data Between ServiceNow and Jira

Background

Jira is a project management solution that helps teams track issues and manages agile projects. It allows users to customize workflows, plan, track, and release projects. ServiceNow is an IT management system that helps companies manage IT infrastructure and service requests. Organizations use ServiceNow to simplify event tracking and task assignment.

Companies often use the two programs in conjunction with each other. The IT service management and the project management solutions help IT service management teams and DevOps teams communicate with each other on task distribution, resource management, and issue recognition. For example, say an IT incident ticket arrives in the ServiceNow queue and the incident requires a front-end developer to fix an issue in the user interface. The data in the incident ticket needs to be logged into Jira as a new issue. Once the issue is assigned and resolved by the developer, the ticket status needs to be updated in the ServiceNow system.

The Challenge

In order to leverage both ServiceNow and Jira, users need to sync data between the two systems so that issue status can be mapped to the corresponding ticket and tasks can be organized with an eye to the bigger picture. Manually logging the data into both systems is time-consuming and prone to error so the two systems need to be integrated to maximize efficiency. 

Although there are out-of-box Jira/ServiceNow integration tools on the market, many users need a more flexible solution to handle complex use cases. Below are three common challenges with traditional approaches: 

  1. Sending status data to destinations other than ServiceNow and Jira: this means that users have to take extra steps to transfer data to separate applications in order to store data for backup in a warehouse such as Amazon S3 or FTP or to send data to analytics tools such as Tableau. 
  2. Syncing data on a custom schedule: since tickets are received in ServiceNow sporadically, having to manually parse through each ticket and organize issues in Jira can be very time-consuming.
  3. Applying specific transformation and validation rules: most tools on the market offer little customizability in configuring detailed rules for data transformation. Rules such as only syncing certain attributes or transforming a field of data into a specific type mostly need to be implemented by code in separate interfaces. 

Because of the challenges listed above, data professionals usually have to build pipelines in-house or add a separate layer of tools in their data stack which can be costly and inefficient. Throughout the lifecycle of a project, data generated from comments, attachments, and status continue to build up, further impeding the synergy between the two systems. 

The Solution

You can send your project data to any destination with Nexla, a one-stop shop for any data integration. This means that while you sync data between Jira and ServiceNow, you can also send data directly to your data warehouse or analytics tools without additional effort. Your project data will be readily available for storage, analysis, and collaboration as it is being generated. With Nexla, you have granular control over every aspect of the syncing process. You can configure the attributes, formats, speed, and frequency of syncing data all within one interface without coding.

Here is an example of syncing fetching issue data from Jira to ServiceNow:

First of all, search for Jira and add it as your data source. Input a username, URL, username, and API token to save the credentials. Once you have the credentials added, you can save or share them with your collaborators at any time. 

 

 

 

Once your credentials are authenticated, you can configure the API endpoint that you want to draw data from. You can choose from a list of endpoints and specify the project key in a drop-down menu since we are fetching issue data for a project in this scenario. You can see an overview of all the Jira epics and issues once you test the endpoint. Next, set how often you want to fetch data from the project depending on your work cadence.

 

 

Then the selected project issue data is automatically detected and converted into Nexsets, which are auto-generated views of your data. Nexla helps you visualize the attributes and samples of data from your Jira source. This is the step where you map data from Jira to ServiceNow. Since you might not want all the information about the project, you can select which attributes you would like to generate Nexsets from and use in the destination. In the Transforms and Validations panel in the middle, you can transform data to fit the destination schema and set detailed validation rules to ensure the quality of the data output.

By repeating the same step and setting Jira as a data source, you can select ServiceNow as the destination and configure the API endpoint to achieve the same in reverse.

Once you connect the destination, you can see the complete data flow on your dashboard. Nexla’s intelligence monitoring capabilities will notify you when an error occurs and you will have a clear view of your data flow status and lineage in the dashboard.

The Result

The process of syncing data between ServiceNow and Jira is simple and can be done in minutes with a few clicks, meaning that little to no technical knowledge or engineering background is required. This means that all users of ServiceNow and Jira in your organization can sync data independently and apply it to a wide variety of use cases, such as updating customer service requests and sending performance data to business analytics tools. Our customers see a significant improvement in efficiency while enjoying the customizability. 

Request a demo and try it out for your organization today!

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