"I don't know what I have, where it is, or how much it costs"
However, the labor required to keep these inventories updated makes achieving this level of visibility prohibitively challenging.
What if There Was a Way to Automate Service Inventory Updates?
One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is through invoice lifecycle automation. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of using invoice lifecycle automation to create, enhance, and update these inventories with existing off-the-shelf tools. We will also discuss how to push these contextual inventories to your existing Configuration Management Databases (CMDB) in ServiceNow, using a scoped, certified ServiceNow app.
Creating an Inventory from Telecom Invoices
Telecom invoices are often a treasure trove of information about the services you’re utilizing. However, manually extracting and organizing this data can be time-consuming and error-prone. Invoice lifecycle automation tools can streamline this process by automatically extracting key information from invoices, such as service details, billing codes, and dates. Here’s why this step is crucial:
- Efficiency: Automation reduces the need for manual data entry, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
- Maintaining Invoice Line-Item Hierarchies: Telecom invoices can be hundreds to thousands of pages, with line items and sub-line items that need to remain organized. While many AP automation tools efficiently extract the header details of an invoice, many fail to keep the data on deep invoices organized, requiring a specialized solution designed to capture inventory.
- Accuracy: Data validation is essential to prevent the “garbage in, garbage out” paradigm. The tool you select should have this step built into the process.
Enhancing the Inventory with Context
Creating an inventory from an invoice is just the first step. To make it truly valuable, you need to enhance it with context. This context includes:
- Contracted Rates and Terms: Knowing the rates and terms of your telecom contracts helps you monitor costs and compliance, and avoid costly situations when rates increase after a contract lapses.
- Financial Allocation Codes: Allocation codes tie expenses to specific cost centers, enabling accurate cost allocation for chargeback and showback activities.
- Hardware Details: Tracking hardware associated with telecom services aids in maintenance and replacements.
- Locations & Users: Identifying where or who is using each service allows for better management and user support.
- Service Status: Understanding the current status of a service, as opposed to the last time a spreadsheet was updated, is crucial, especially in high-change environments.
- Change History: Having visibility into the history of a service and all modifications that have occurred.
The Importance of Contextual Inventory
A contextual inventory provides numerous benefits:
- Cost Control: Understanding contract terms and financial codes helps identify cost-saving opportunities and prevent overcharges.
- Compliance: Knowing contract terms ensures that you are compliant with agreed-upon rates and conditions.
- Resource Optimization: Efficient management of hardware and business users reduces waste and improves resource allocation.
Pushing Contextual Inventory to your ServiceNow CMDB
ServiceNow is a widely used platform for IT Service Management (ITSM) and Configuration Management Database (CMDB). Integrating your contextual telecom inventory with ServiceNow offers several advantages:
- Centralized Information: Keeping your inventory in ServiceNow ensures that it’s accessible to relevant teams and departments.
- Automation: Automate the updating of your CMDB with the latest telecom service information, reducing manual data entry.
- Real-time Visibility: ServiceNow provides real-time visibility into your telecom services, helping you make informed decisions.
Using a Scoped, Certified ServiceNow App
Choosing the right app for integration is critical. A scoped and certified ServiceNow app ensures compatibility, security, and reliability. Look for features such as:
- Data Synchronization: The app should offer seamless data synchronization between your telecom inventory system and ServiceNow.
- Error Handling: Robust error handling mechanisms can help troubleshoot and resolve integration issues.
- Scalability: Ensure the app can handle the growing demands of your organization.
How AMI Enhances the ServiceNOW CMDB through Scoped, Certified Applications
For many enterprises, aggregation of contextual IT inventory characteristics from multiple enterprise systems is an intimidating, manual chore.
AMI automates this task by consolidating the inventory characteristics from multiple Procurement, Finance, and IT systems to automate this effort.
For organizations that use ServiceNow, AMI offers plug and play applications, namely “mobilityNOW,” “wirelineNOW,” and “connectNOW” to capture this data within the Move, Add, Change and Disconnect (MACD) process in order to effortlessly keep the CMDB up to date.
Connecting Assets to Costs and Contractual Details via the MACD Process
Through ‘mobilityNOW’ and ‘wirelineNOW’, AMI connects the Move, Add, Change, and Delete (MACD) activities of mobile and fixed connectivity assets to their respective monthly recurring costs. This connection extends beyond just cost tracking; it encompasses the contractual terms, conditions, negotiated rates, financial allocation details, software licenses associated with these assets, and their service histories. Such a comprehensive approach ensures that every aspect of an asset – from its operational status to its financial impact – is meticulously tracked and managed.
Enriching the ServiceNow CMDB with ‘connectNOW’
Once the connectivity assets are connected and organized, AMI’s ‘connectNOW’ application steps in to enhance the process further. This scoped and certified ServiceNow app regularly pushes the enriched inventory data to a client’s ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB). By doing so, ‘connectNOW’ not only centralizes the asset data but also enriches the value of the data contained within ServiceNow, offering a more cohesive and detailed view of the IT assets and their financial implications.
Final Thoughts
In today’s telecom landscape, having an accurate and contextual inventory of your services is essential. Invoice lifecycle automation streamlines the process of creating, enhancing, and pushing this inventory to your ServiceNow CMDB. By investing in the right tools and practices, you can save time, reduce costs, improve compliance, and enhance overall telecom service management. So, don’t wait; start automating your invoice lifecycle today to keep your telecom service inventories up-to-date and aligned with your business goals.
David Sonenstein - Vice President of Product Strategy
AMI Strategies
With over 20 years in the industry, David helps orchestrate AMI’s vision for vendor hyperautomation. While contributing to AMI’s adoption of automation technologies, system integrations and technology frameworks, his research focuses on enterprise market and technology trends and where automation solutions can help organizations achieve their desired business outcomes. He currently serves on the executive board of the Enterprise Technology Management Association (ETMA) and is an associate of the Technology Business Management (TBM) Council.
