Hello there — and welcome to 2026.

We are back with Issue #23 of MI-One.

This year, we are taking a closer look at the Security and ITOps platforms that matter most to product leaders, engineers, and tech alliance teams who are seeking more clarity and actionable insights, starting with everyone’s favorite, ServiceNow.

There’s definitely a trend we’ve seen in which ITSM is treated as the point where security begins, but in practice, it is only the first step before security signals are properly interpreted and prioritised. 

One solution we like is to go through ServiceNow, because its SecOps and Vulnerability Response capabilities establish security context and risk early, allowing ITSM to operate as an execution layer rather than the place where security meaning is first constructed.

So, let’s start by looking at how the ServiceNow security platform is actually built to handle security signals.

Deep Dive: ServiceNow SecOps

Beyond ITSM, ServiceNow has built a broad set of security capabilities: SecOps, Vulnerability Response, Security Incident Response, GRC, IRM, and Third-Party Risk. Add the $7.75B acquisition of Armis (OT Security), the $1B acquisition of Veza (Identity Security), and the Moveworks (AI assistant). 

Taken together, the direction is clear: ServiceNow is evolving into a foundational cybersecurity platform, not just an IT workflow system.

Nevertheless, security vendors typically begin their ServiceNow integration journey with ITSM because it's widely deployed and familiar. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that most ServiceNow integrations begin there precisely because of its familiarity. 

However, the issue is that ITSM is built for request and incident fulfillment, not for security detection, response, or remediation. It doesn't natively ingest or contextualize security findings, so the "why this matters" of the ticket often gets diluted into just another item along with all the rest.  

Fortunately, ServiceNow SecOps and Vulnerability Response are designed to handle this exact job. They ingest and normalize external security findings, correlate them to CMDB assets and CSDM data model, prioritize risk, and drive remediation workflows with the right security context from the start.

Therefore, when you begin where security signals already carry urgency, you shorten the detection to response cycle and get outcomes you can actually measure. ITSM still matters, but it becomes the execution layer, not the interpretation engine.

The best part? ServiceNow supports this model by letting vendors integrate directly into SecOps, Vulnerability Response, or ITOM—where security data has the most impact—then flow into ITSM for remediation, tracking, and closure.

Simply put: Begin your integrations where security context matters most and execute where workflow discipline wins.

Featured Integration: Service Graph Connectors + OT Security

Here is an example of the integration pattern we described above. 

As you can see, Service Graph Connectors keep the CMDB current with OT asset, site, and ownership context, so SecOps and Vulnerability Response can translate the right signals into work.

This is security interpretation before operational execution.

The process typically goes  Signal → Context → Case.

That means OT detections and exposure findings are filtered and deduplicated before work is created. Findings are then linked to the correct CMDB records and service context and then promoted into SecOps cases or Vulnerability Response items with clear ownership, targets, and action tasks. Source context stays attached for decision history and auditability throughout. 

This prioritization happens during the context stage, before any work is created or routed.

Automated Context and Prioritization
Asset identity, site and zone, exposure data, and detected behavior flow into the ServiceNow record alongside CMDB context. Analysts and stakeholders can then see what happened, where it occurred, and why it matters without jumping between OT consoles, speeding triage and coordination. 

Outcome

• Faster triage through context-rich OT cases

• Consistent prioritization based on operational impact and asset criticality

• Clear traceability with documented exceptions and evidence

Metron Pro Tip

Don’t map raw OT severity directly to priority. Use a translation layer that weights asset criticality, process impact, and safety constraints so noisy detections don’t distort response focus.

Trending ServiceNow Integrations

Tips & Tricks: Building ServiceNow Integrations 

After working with enterprise security teams, here are a few lessons that consistently separate clean integrations from painful ones.

1. Implement proper ACLs: Access controls define who can read, write, and execute operations in your app.

2. Include a Privacy Policy page: Document how data transforms to and from ServiceNow, and how it’s secured within your app.

3. Plan for accessibility reviews: Be ready to answer certification questions around WCAG 2.0/2.1 commitment, an ACR/VPAT policy, and where accessibility fits in your development lifecycle.

4. Use User Guided Setup: Build a configuration page so setup is clear and repeatable.

5. Design for real deployments: Consider licensing/cost implications up front, ensure MID Server connectivity is supported, and prefer IntegrationHub to build robust integrations

What's New in ServiceNow?

ServiceNow’s Zurich release pushes AI from assist to execute, adding AI Control Tower for agent governance and RaptorDB for real-time processing at scale. That makes the integration starting point even more important: the best outcomes come when security signals are shaped upstream with context before they become work.

Here’s what else is new:

Security Incident Response Updates

• Bulk Incident Closure – Close multiple related incidents simultaneously with consistent resolution notes, eliminating repetitive manual work.

• CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM Integration – Bidirectional sync automatically creates incidents from CrowdStrike detections and keeps status updates synchronized across both platforms.

• AI-Assisted Shift Handover Reports – Now Assist automatically generates structured handover reports summarizing active incidents and priorities for incoming analysts.

Security Posture Control

• Editable Policies with Automated Cleanup – Policies can now be modified anytime with version tracking, and the system automatically closes outdated security findings when policies change.

• Enhanced Asset Search – Search assets using pattern matching (regex) and filter by discovery date to quickly identify newly appeared devices lacking security controls.

Vulnerability Response

• Manual CVE Severity Override – Adjust vulnerability severity ratings based on actual business impact instead of relying solely on generic CVSS scores.

• Tenable.cs Cloud Integration – Imports cloud and container vulnerability data into the same unified view as traditional infrastructure vulnerabilities.

• Qualys Detection Splitting – Creates separate vulnerability tickets for each affected application using file path data, enabling precise team assignment.

Key takeaway:

As ServiceNow automates more of the workflow, integrations must deliver clean, deduplicated, and well-contextualized signals upfront. The closer you integrate with where security findings are interpreted, the more effectively ServiceNow can execute at scale

Industry Shift: ServiceNow Emerging as the SOC Control Plane

As we briefly mentioned at the start of this newsletter, ServiceNow’s recent security investments signal a clear shift: the platform is becoming a core system of action for the SOC. With deeper capabilities across SecOps, Vulnerability Response, identity, exposure management, and AI, ServiceNow is in a good position to reshape how detection, response, and remediation happen in practice. 

Naturally, for security vendors, this raises the integration bar. Successful integrations must align with ServiceNow’s security data model by ingesting and normalizing findings, correlating them to CMDB and CSDM services, and driving outcomes through native SecOps workflows. Starting with Security Operations and Vulnerability Response allows vendors to plug directly into risk prioritization and remediation, with ITSM serving as an execution layer.

If you’re not sure where to get started or your teams are already overloaded, it’s worth remembering that here at Metron, we’ve built and published hundreds of ServiceNow security integrations and have seen firsthand how the platform’s data model and SecOps workflows are evolving. That experience gives us a clear, product-first view of how security solutions integrate with ServiceNow.

So don’t be shy - if you’re looking for assistance to get your integrations connected or even just needing architectural details in the platform, give us a shout via connect@metronlabs.com

Want to Learn More?

We've built a resource hub covering the integrations, architectures, and platforms that matter most to security and IT ops teams. Each blog draws from hands-on experience implementing these systems at scale. 

Explore topics we've covered:

• ServiceNow SecOps Integration Architecture: From Detection to Response

• CCF Implementation for ServiceNow Service Graph Connectors

• ServiceNow ITSM and its Architecture

Meet Us in Person:

Join us at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, March 23-26, 2026. We would love to connect and discuss how we can support your security journey.

Next Month in Focus: 

Palo Alto Networks Ecosystem. Stay tune