How to Use ServiceNow Managed Documents for Smarter, Secure Document Management

Digitalization has changed every business process including the document management process. Organizations have transitioned from physical filing systems to paperless data storage, moving away from filing cabinets to a dedicated platform to manage all documents. A document management system can organize, store, and track changes in real time.

Therefore, choosing the right document management platform is important as it can integrate with your existing systems to increase workflow execution and team collaboration. This is what exactly the ServiceNow Managed Documents application does and shows the strength of document management in ServiceNow.

Why the ServiceNow Document Management System Is Essential

An effective document management system offers more than just storage; it should enable compliance, security, and collaboration. The ServiceNow Document Management System itself sets apart by providing an integrated experience in the existing ServiceNow environment. So, this allows easy handling of document lifecycles without using multiple tools.

Key reasons why document management is essential:

• Reduces the requirement of third-party storage tools with a central ServiceNow document repository.
• It maintains audit logs and compliance.
• It enhances document security by giving users role-based access.
• ServiceNow document management automates workflows with ServiceNow intelligent document processing.
• It encourages better version control and transparency.

Fortune 500 companies collectively lose an average of $12 billion per year due to inefficiencies caused by unstructured document management.

Understanding the ServiceNow Managed Documents Application

The ServiceNow Managed Documents application that is introduced in the Orlando release helps organizations store, manage, and track revisions on documents. This document management system in ServiceNow is an ITIL-based lightweight solution that adds a layer of control around any document by providing storage, security, workflow, and categorization options.

It is used for a variety of internal documents, such as procedures and policies, knowledge articles, and compliance documentation. This application offers a seamless alternative to third-party systems like DocuSign to manage documents that require ServiceNow electronic signature capabilities.

ServiceNow Document Management vs Knowledge Management

There are several differences between ServiceNow Document Management and Knowledge Management, and each serves distinct purposes. The table below gives a clear picture for you.

As we see, though both the systems serve content storage and retrieval needs, the major focus of ServiceNow document management is on regulatory and structured documents with tight control, whereas Knowledge Management focuses on informal information sharing.

Challenges Solved by the Managed Documents Application

The ServiceNow Managed Documents application ensures security, authorized document access, integrated document storage, ability to audit, and rationalizations for document search, extraction, and recovery.

Traditional or manual document management systems present the following problems:

1. Difficulty in storing and managing documents securely.
2. It is difficult to track information about who made changes to the document, username, time, etc.
3. Inability to provide authentication based on role.
4. Difficulty in maintaining e-signature documents.
5. Can’t search and extract information from a scanned document.

Features of ServiceNow Managed Documents

Understanding various ServiceNow document management features is the best way to know how this application solves the challenges of proper document control.

• Check-in and Check-out: Track revisions of a document, and approval history, and send automated notifications to users with review and approval rights.
• Compliance: Authors can effortlessly handle compliance and risk information about various authors, contract administrators, policy, and procedure writers for organizations. This will enhance productivity and scalability.
• Digital Signature for Approvals: This process supports ServiceNow electronic signature integrations like DocuSign.
• Document Workflow: ServiceNow permits to build own workflowsin every application. Similarly, in the document management process Document Workflow process will enable consistent content review and approvals of a document. Once the document is reviewed it will automatically be sent for approval.
• Categorization: ServiceNow provides basic categories and based on the organization’s needs, it permits the creation of customized categories.
• Revision Control: Track changes on documents with ease.
• Security:ServiceNow offers a full-stack securityoperations module, which provides high-security settings to access documents.
• Access Control: ServiceNow provides the functionality to share documents with selected users based on user roles.

These robust ServiceNow document management capabilities make it a versatile solution for modern enterprises.

Key Benefits of the ServiceNow Document Management System

ServiceNow's Document Management System provides a centralized, secure, and efficient way to manage documents, leading to improved collaboration, compliance, and overall business efficiency. Here are some of the key benefits of ServiceNow DMS.

• Streamlined Workflow: Automates all the manual processes such as version tracking, approval routing, task notifications, and more.
• Cost Efficiency: Eliminates third-party licensing and simplifies infrastructure.
• Better Collaboration: Key documents are shared between teams, helping them to work collaboratively.
• Improved Compliance: Supports audits, access logs, and policy lifecycle.
• Role-Based Security: Necessary permissions are given to the authorized and required users who should interact with the documents.

How to Activate the ServiceNow Managed Documents Plugin

The following steps will guide you to activate the ServiceNow Managed Documents plugin:

1. Login into the ServiceNow instance.
2. Typethe plugin’sname in the left navigation menu.
3. Click on thePluginsmodule.
4. Search for the managed document in the search bar.
5. Install the managed documents plugin if it is not installed.

Path: Plugins -> managed documents -> Install (if it is not installed yet)

Before you begin, it’s also important to understand your licensing needs. Explore the different ServiceNow licensing options to choose the best model for your organization.

Module Creation in Managed Documents Application

Follow the instructions below to create a module in the Managed Documents Application.

1. Login into the ServiceNow instance.
2. Search managed documents in the left navigation menu.
3. Click on theCreate Newmodule to create the new document.

ServiceNow Document Management System Use Cases

Let’s check out some of the use cases now:

1. HR Departments

Human Resources teams can use ServiceNow document management to streamline employee onboarding, manage policy documents, handle employee contracts, and more. Moreover, with the role-based access feature, users who are given access can only view the information.

2. Legal & Compliance Teams

Centralized access to contracts, NDAs, and compliance documents will benefit legal teams. As audit trails, version control, and electronic signatures are all integrated, it helps the legal teams to confidently manage document authenticity in the ServiceNow ecosystem.

3. IT Teams

ServiceNow-managed documents support IT teams to maintain up-to-date documentation with respect to Standard operating procedures (SOPs), incident response plans, and asset records. This helps team members to collaborate and know every update while maintaining control over document versions.

4. Project Management Offices

PMOs can manage project-related documentation like Statements of Work (SOWs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and timelines. The built-in workflows enable document approvals easily, ensuring every individual involved has the latest version, and improving overall project efficiency.

For IT teams using ServiceNow for change documentation, the following are some of the proven change management best practices that can ensure better planning and smoother implementations.

Managed Document Concepts

• Managed Document: This concept will control the documents through the managed documents process.
• Document Revisions: Managed documents provide individual versions of a document called revisions document and include the files that are attached to the master managed document record through a related list.
• Document Submissions: Once a document file revision is ready, it can be submitted for review to document reviewers. After review, the document will be sent for approval.
• Document Collection: All related documents can be grouped.

ServiceNow Document Management Lifecycle

Here is a simplified flowchart of how the document lifecycle operates within ServiceNow document management:

1. Document Creation: Draft or upload documents for storage.
2. Review: Assign reviewers and set the deadlines.
3. Approval: Get the necessary approvals.
4. Publishing: Make sure the documents that are approved are available, based on user permissions.
5. Revision Tracking: Record and manage document changes once it is published. This will make sure updates are documented and whenever needed, previous versions can be referenced easily.
6. Archiving or Retirement: Retire or archive the documents as per company policy.

Managed DocumentClassifications

ServiceNow provides 3 out-of-the-box classifications of documents. This classification helps in organizing the documents in a straightforward way.

• Public: These documents are available for all the users within the organization.
• Restricted: These documents are only accessible to a certain group or users (ex: network team).
• Confidential: These documents can be accessed only by the top management of the organization.

How to Get Started with ServiceNow Document Management

Here is the step-by-step process to begin using the ServiceNow document management system effectively:

1. Enable Document Management: Identify the document management module in ServiceNow to install and activate it.
2. Enable Plugin: Follow the activation steps mentioned above in the section: “How to activate the ServiceNow Managed Documents Plugin.”
3. Give Permissions: Configure roles and access levels to control who can view, edit, and approve documents.
4. Define Workflows: Consider the organizational needs to create workflows for document review, approval, and archiving accordingly.
5. Train Teams: Educate teams on workflows, document approval, managing, and security policies.
6. Monitor: Regularly track usage, compliance, and version updates.

Are you planning your setup? Then, just make sure you are aware of these top ServiceNow implementation challenges to avoid roadblocks during deployment.

Conclusion

Organizations choosing ServiceNow's Managed Documents application can achieve document consistency, improve processes and structures, and accelerate workflows. With rich document management capabilities, security controls, and full lifecycle management, the Managed Documents application can certainly be a strategic enabler of digital transformation.

Are you looking for an expert team to help you in using the ServiceNow Managed Documents application effectively?

FAQs

1. How is ServiceNow Managed Documents different from Knowledge Management?

   Managed Documents focuses on formal documents such as policies and contracts, while Knowledge Management handles informal, user-facing content like FAQs.

2. Does ServiceNow document management support workflow automation?

   Yes, it enables automated workflows for document review, approval, publication, and archiving.

3. Can I categorize documents in ServiceNow?

   Yes, based on the organization’s needs, documents can be categorized in 3 ways:

   1. Public
   2. Restricted
   3. Confidential
4. How does ServiceNow ensure document security?

   With role-based access and encryption, ServiceNow offers multi-layered security. Therefore, only authorized users will be given access to sensitive documents, aligning with enterprise-grade data protection standards.

5. How are revisions managed in ServiceNow Managed Documents?

   Every time a document is updated, a new revision is created and stored. This process will help users to easily track the document changes and maintain a complete history at any point in time.