Evolving our ServiceNow integration: Sunsetting the Notification Service for more capable alternatives

At Red Hat, our goal is to provide enterprise-grade automation solutions that evolve with your needs. As part of this commitment, we are deprecating the Red Hat ServiceNow Notification Service application from the ServiceNow Store. 

This isn't a reduction in capability; it's an evolution. We're moving away from a simplified, one-size-fits-all application to more robust and modern integration patterns that offer the capabilities required by enterprise IT environments.

From simplicity to capability and flexibility

The Red Hat ServiceNow Notification Service application was designed for simplicity, providing a straightforward way to send the entire ServiceNow record as a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) payload to Event-Driven Ansible. In the past, the application was required to integrate ServiceNow with Event-Driven Ansible. While it served as an effective entry point for using ServiceNow with Event-Driven Ansible, our customers' automation needs have matured. Today, more control over data, more complex triggering logic, and more targeted, request-driven automation is required. To better serve the advanced requirements of our customers, we are standardizing on 3 different fully supported integration pathways for ServiceNow and Event-Driven Ansible.

New, more powerful integration options

Customers should use 1 of 3 more capable and flexible integration methods. These options enable customized payloads, enrich event data, and build sophisticated workflows that organizations demand. All of these integration options are fully supported by ServiceNow, taking advantage of standard ServiceNow capabilities. 

Option A: Script-based integration with Business Rules (pro-code option)

This path offers maximum control and is ideal for teams with deep ServiceNow scripting expertise. However, it comes with a word of caution. Business Rules are powerful, and if not written carefully, they can introduce significant risks, including performance degradation, data integrity issues, and even system instability. While it remains a fully supported option for experts, we recommend a more governed approach for most teams.

Option B: Integration with Flow Designer (low-code option)

This is our recommended path for event-driven automation. For teams seeking to accelerate development and improve governance, Flow Designer provides a visual, low-code interface for building custom event notifications. It mitigates the risks of custom scripting, making it a safer and more maintainable solution. This option requires a ServiceNow Integration Hub subscription.

Option C: Request-based automation with the Ansible spoke (request-driven option)

This is our recommended path for request-fulfillment automation. It is the perfect choice for use cases like automating a Service Catalog item. The Ansible spoke in ServiceNow Integration Hub provides pre-built, supported actions within Flow Designer, representing the fastest and most reliable way to trigger specific jobs from ServiceNow. This option also requires a ServiceNow Integration Hub subscription.

Key deprecation dates

To ensure a smooth transition, we are implementing a phased deprecation timeline that aligns with ServiceNow's platform release schedule.

• End-of-support (EOS): The Red Hat ServiceNow Notification Service application will be supported up to and including the ServiceNow Yokohama release. It will not be certified or supported for the ServiceNow Zurich release (Q3/Q4 2025) or any subsequent versions.
• App Store Delisting: The application will be formally removed from the ServiceNow Store in Q1 2026 to prevent new, unsupported installations.

The ServiceNow platform upgrade to Zurich serves as the official deadline. To ensure continued functionality, you must migrate to one of the new pathways before upgrading your instance.

What does this mean for you?

If you are currently using the Red Hat ServiceNow Notification Service application, we encourage you to begin planning your migration to one of the modern pathways outlined above. Our documentation has been updated with detailed guides to assist you in this process.

We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible and will continue to provide full support for the application through the ServiceNow Yokohama release cycle.

Read the knowledge base article for details on integrating Event-Driven Ansible with ServiceNow.

For any questions, please reach out to our support team.