As the general availability of ServiceNow’s Orlando release is here, I analysed the release notes to determine what new features can be expected.

As usual, I used ServiceNow’s public docs site as an information source for this blog post, which includes my favourite picks from the new features of the Orlando release.

More info about the Orlando release:

https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-release-notes/page/release-notes/family-release-notes.html

1. Common Service Data Model

The Now Platform now has a long awaited Common Service Data Model. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-servicenow-platform/page/product/csdm-implementation/concept/csdm-basics.html

2. Widget Diagnostics

Widget diagnostics helps with Service Portal page issues by identifying widget customisation levels and checking widget code directly from a portal page. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-servicenow-platform/page/build/service-portal/concept/sp-diagnostic-tool.html

3. Mobile experience for Customer Service Management Agents

Manage customer service cases from a mobile device with the Customer Service Management mobile application. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-customer-service-management/page/product/customer-service-management/concept/customer-service-mobile-interface.html

4. Compare Knowledge Article Versions

Compare knowledge article versions in Agent Workspace. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-servicenow-platform/page/product/knowledge-management/task/compare-article-versions-agent.html

5. KPI Composer

KPI Composer for Performance Analytics. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-performance-analytics-and-reporting/page/use/performance-analytics/concept/kpi-composer-projects.html

6. Atlassian Jira Integration for Agile Development

Bidirectional synchronization of records between Atlassian Jira and ServiceNow® Agile Development 2.0. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-it-business-management/page/product/agile-jira-integration/concept/agile-jira-integration-overview.html

7. DevOps Management

The DevOps application collects data across the entire set of lifecycle activities to provide visibility for DevOps teams so they can own the end-to-end process (plan, develop, build, test, deploy, and operate). More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-devops/page/product/enterprise-dev-ops/concept/dev-ops-landing-page.html

8. HR – Employee Document Management

Manage large numbers of documents more efficiently with the ServiceNow Employee Document Management product. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-hr-service-delivery/page/product/human-resources/concept/hr-employee-doc-management.html

9. Protection Against Virus-Infected Email Attachments

The system now prevents users from sending or receiving virus-infected files via email. This feature is controlled by the glide.email.inbound.check_attachment_availability, glide.email.outbound.check_attachment_availability, and glide.email.email_client.check_attachment_availability system properties, which are enabled by default.

10. Exempted ServiceNow Tables Listing

Review which system-related tables in a production instance are exempt from subscription allocation. These exempt tables are not included in the Custom Table Inventory listing. More info: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-servicenow-platform/page/administer/subscription-management/reference/custom-exempt-table-inventories.html#monitor-custom-table-inventory

About the Author

Zalan Heil is a ServiceNow expert with over a decade of experience with consultancy practice management, business development, project management, business analysis, solution architecture, and technology development. He has worked in multinational teams from the EU and the USA.