ServiceNow Integration Hub

Integration Hub is ServiceNow's platform for connecting ServiceNow to external systems. It provides pre-built connectors (called spokes) for hundreds of third-party tools — Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Salesforce, AWS, and many more — and lets developers build custom integrations without writing raw API code. Integration Hub works directly inside Flow Designer, making external system calls as simple as adding a step to a flow.

The Integration Challenge Without Integration Hub

Without Integration Hub:
ServiceNow needs to notify Slack when a P1 incident is created.

Developer must:
1. Write JavaScript to call Slack's API
2. Handle authentication tokens securely
3. Parse Slack's response format
4. Handle errors and retries
5. Repeat this for every single integration point

With Integration Hub:
1. Install the Slack spoke (one click)
2. In Flow Designer, add step: "Send Slack Message"
3. Configure channel and message
4. Done. Slack receives the notification.

Spokes: Pre-built Integration Packages

A spoke is a packaged set of pre-built actions for one specific external system. Each action represents one operation — "Create Jira Issue," "Send Slack Message," "Create AWS EC2 Instance," "Update Salesforce Case." Spokes handle authentication, API calls, response parsing, and error handling internally. Flow builders use them without needing API knowledge.

Available Spokes (sample)

Slack Spoke: Send messages, create channels, invite users
Microsoft Teams Spoke: Send Teams notifications and adaptive cards
Jira Spoke: Create issues, update statuses, add comments
GitHub Spoke: Create issues, manage pull requests, trigger workflows
Salesforce Spoke: Create and update CRM records
AWS Spoke: Manage EC2, S3, Lambda resources
ServiceNow Spoke: Interact with another ServiceNow instance
REST Spoke: Make generic HTTP calls to any system without a dedicated spoke

How Integration Hub Fits in a Flow

Flow: "Alert Slack When P1 Incident Created"
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
TRIGGER: Incident created AND Priority = 1 - Critical
  │
  STEP 1: Look Up Record → Get caller details (dot-walk)
  │
  STEP 2: [SLACK SPOKE] Send Message
            Channel: #major-incidents
            Message: "P1 Created: " + incident.number
                     + " — " + incident.short_description
                     + "\nAssigned to: " + incident.assignment_group
  │
  STEP 3: [TEAMS SPOKE] Send Notification to IT Leadership channel
  │
  STEP 4: Update Record → Set incident.u_slack_notified = true
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Connection and Credentials

Integration Hub uses Connection and Credentials records to store authentication information securely. A Slack spoke connection stores the Slack OAuth token once. Every flow that uses the Slack spoke references this one connection record — not hard-coded credentials in the flow itself. When credentials change (token rotation, password update), updating one connection record fixes all flows that use it simultaneously.

Connection Record: "Slack - Production"
  Type: OAuth Bearer Token
  Token: [encrypted, stored securely]

Multiple flows reference this one connection:
  Flow 1: P1 Alert → Slack connection
  Flow 2: SLA Breach Alert → Slack connection
  Flow 3: Change Approved → Slack connection

Update token once → all three flows updated automatically

Building Custom Integration Hub Actions

When no pre-built spoke covers a specific external system, developers build custom Integration Hub Actions. An action defines the inputs, outputs, and the REST or SOAP call that executes when the action runs in a flow. Once published, the custom action becomes available in Flow Designer for any flow builder to use — exactly like a pre-built spoke action.

Custom Action Components

Inputs: Parameters the flow passes into the action (URL, body fields, headers)
Steps: The HTTP request(s) the action executes
Outputs: Values extracted from the response that the flow can use in subsequent steps
Error handling: What the action does when the external system returns an error

REST Step Inside an Action

Each step in a custom action configures one HTTP request:

HTTP method (GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE)
URL (with input variables substituted)
Request headers (Content-Type, Authorization)
Request body (JSON template with input variables)
Response field mapping (which JSON paths to extract as outputs)

Integration Hub Licensing

Integration Hub comes in two license tiers. The Standard tier includes a set of core spokes and a limited number of flow executions per day. The Professional tier unlocks all spokes, unlimited executions, and advanced features like spoke builder tools. Organizations evaluate their integration volume and choose the tier that fits their operational scale.

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