How Do I Integrate DCIM With My Existing ITSM System?

In many organizations, ITSM tools and data center infrastructure tools operate in separate silos, leading to incomplete records and limited visibility. CMDB records are often incomplete or out of date because updates rely on manual entry, while incidents, changes, and service requests in ITSM lack full visibility into the physical infrastructure.

Integrating DCIM with ITSM closes this gap, ensuring CMDB data matches reality and linking service workflows to accurate, actionable information. Plus, with modern DCIM software, integration is easy.

In this blog post, we’ll explain how Sunbird DCIM integrates with ITSM platforms via out-of-the-box connectors and APIs, what data is typically exchanged, and how real organizations are using these integrations to reduce manual effort, improve data accuracy, and enhance collaboration between IT and data center teams.

How Do DCIM and ITSM Fit Together?

ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow or BMC manage workflows like incidents, changes, and service requests. The CMDB within those platforms stores configuration items (CIs) and their relationships so IT teams can understand impact and accountability.

A traditional IT CMDB, however, is not designed to model the physical infrastructure of a data center. It typically lacks:

• Precise rack and U-position location of devices
• Power paths and relationships
• Space, power, and cooling capacity
• Physical connectivity and cabling details

This is where DCIM comes in. Sunbird customers use DCIM as a Data Center CMDB that tracks physical assets, locations, power paths, and capacity with the accuracy required to run data centers day to day. Integrating DCIM with the ITSM CMDB aligns logical service data with the physical infrastructure reality.

What Data Is Typically Integrated and Why?

Most DCIM–ITSM integrations start with a focused set of operational data that delivers immediate value. Based on Sunbird customer deployments, the most common integrations center on CMDB data and ticketing workflows, then expand as teams mature their processes.

CMDB and Asset Data Integration

DCIM is commonly integrated with ITSM CMDB platforms such as ServiceNow, BMC, Ivanti/Cherwell, and homegrown systems to keep physical asset data accurate and current.

A typical workflow looks like this:

• An asset is created in the ITSM CMDB, such as ServiceNow.
• That asset automatically creates a linked record in DCIM.
• Data center teams use DCIM to plan, deploy, and physically provision the asset.
• DCIM updates the CMDB with information like the asset’s status, rack, and U position once deployment is complete.

The data typically synchronized from DCIM to the CMDB includes:

• Device name
• Device type
• Serial number
• Make and model
• Asset tag
• Asset status
• Location
• Owner

This integration ensures the CMDB reflects what is actually installed in the data center, not just what was requested or planned.

Ticketing and Workflow Data Integration

DCIM can also integrate with ITSM ticketing systems such as Jira and ServiceNow to align infrastructure work with service workflows.

An example use case is:

• A ticket created in the ITSM platform automatically generates a linked ticket in DCIM.
• Data center teams work the task in DCIM.
• DCIM updates the ITSM ticket as work progresses and when it is completed.

Common ticket data exchanged includes:

• Ticket number
• Ticket status
• Ticket description
• Ticket comments

This approach allows teams to manage incidents, service requests, and changes in their ITSM tool while performing infrastructure work in DCIM, without duplicating effort or losing visibility.

How Is DCIM-ITSM Integration Typically Done?

Modern DCIM platforms like Sunbird make integration with ITSM systems easy, fast, and complete through out-of-the-box connectors and fully documented RESTful APIs.

For example, Sunbird’s certified ServiceNow connector enables bi-directional updates of assets, configuration items, and tickets, reducing manual double-entry and enhancing the value of information in ServiceNow. The connector is customer-configurable, allowing teams to decide which types of assets and fields are synchronized, which system has write privileges, and which system an asset is initially created in.

Catalog, change, and incident tickets can also be automatically created and pushed from either ServiceNow or dcTrack, with updates flowing from the system that best suits operational needs.

In addition to ServiceNow, Sunbird provides out-of-the-box connectors for BMC Remedy and Ivanti/Cherwell, as well as the UniversalConnectorG2, which can integrate with virtually any system containing information about assets, virtual machines, data ports, power ports, or circuits, and exposes this data via RESTful API.

Sunbird also offers out-of-the-box ticketing connectors for ServiceNow, Jira, and BMC Remedy, plus the universal ticketing connector for integration with other ticketing systems that have the appropriate APIs.

What Real Customers Are Doing with DCIM-ITSM Integration

World Bank: Asset Lifecycle Management Integrated Across Systems

The World Bank integrates DCIM, ServiceNow, and SAP to manage assets across their full lifecycle. Their workflow is as follows:

1. A purchase order is submitted and approved in SAP.
2. Once the asset is received at the main receiving facility, an asset management record is created in SAP.
3. That record creates the asset in ServiceNow’s CMDB, which assigns the make, model, property number, serial number, and CI name.
4. The asset is then created in Sunbird’s dcTrack with the same fields populated.
5. When provisioning the asset, staff use the ServiceNow ticket to select the asset and work through the workflow.
6. Physical installation is completed in dcTrack, including the asset’s exact cabinet and rack unit location.
7. Updates from dcTrack flow back to ServiceNow when the asset is physically installed.
8. The ServiceNow ticket is closed which updates SAP.

The World Bank’s ServiceNow tickets include direct links to the asset and its cabinet in dcTrack, allowing teams to view, move, add cables, or dispose of devices with full context. This integration provides visibility into every asset in the data center, ensuring accurate tracking and operational control.

eBay: Phased API-Based Integration Across Global PoPs

eBay uses Sunbird dcTrack to remotely manage 415 cabinets, 800 intelligent rack PDUs, and over 6,600 devices across 28 unmanned cages in 22 cities worldwide.

To reduce manual effort, eBay integrated ServiceNow and dcTrack so daily asset activities—more than 600 each day—are automatically synchronized. This eliminates double entry and ensures asset data is accurate in both systems. ServiceNow acts as the source of truth for asset creation and updates, and dcTrack is updated via APIs.

Their approach began with careful planning, field mapping, and phased rollout. Each site was tested individually to ensure metadata matched between ServiceNow and dcTrack.

With integration fully operational, routine tasks are automated, errors are monitored and remediated, and reconciliation between the two systems is largely eliminated. This allows eBay to manage unmanned global PoPs efficiently while maintaining real-time, accurate asset data.

NBCUniversal: Certified ServiceNow Connector With Bi-Directional Updates

NBCUniversal uses Sunbird dcTrack to remotely manage over 3,000 cabinets, 1,300 rack PDUs, and nearly 20,000 devices across 431 locations.

They are using Sunbird’s certified ServiceNow connector to synchronize both CMDB and ticketing data between ServiceNow and dcTrack. Unique keys, value mappings, and filters ensure records are accurate and only relevant assets and locations are integrated.

NBCUniversal has also connected Power IQ to ServiceNow, enabling automatic creation of tickets from power and environmental alerts. The integration eliminates manual data entry and ensures that asset and ticket information remains consistent across systems.

Common Integration Challenges and How Teams Address Them

Across deployments, the most common challenges are organizational rather than technical.

Data center teams often encounter:

• Unclear data ownership between systems. Teams address this by defining which system is authoritative for each stage of the asset lifecycle and for specific attributes, such as creation, physical location, and status updates, before integration begins.
• CMDB data drifting from physical reality. This is mitigated by using DCIM as the source of truth for physical infrastructure data and synchronizing location, rack, and status updates back to the ITSM CMDB.
• Excessive manual data entry and reconciliation. Organizations reduce effort and errors by automating asset and ticket updates between systems, eliminating double entry and daily reconciliation tasks.
• Overly broad integration scope. Teams avoid complexity by starting with a limited, high-value use case and using filters to include only relevant asset types, locations, and workflows.
• Inconsistent records caused by mismatched fields and values. This is resolved through upfront field mapping, value normalization, and the use of unique identifiers to ensure records remain aligned across systems.
• Lack of physical context in incident and change workflows. Integrations are designed to surface assets’ rack and U position and related infrastructure details directly within ITSM workflows to support better decision-making.
• Alert-driven issues not tied to service workflows. Teams connect power and environmental monitoring systems to ITSM platforms so alerts automatically generate actionable tickets.
• Process misalignment between IT, facilities, and data center teams. Successful integrations focus on shared operational workflows—such as provisioning, incident response, and decommissioning—rather than standalone data synchronization.

Bringing It All Together

Integrating DCIM with an existing ITSM system enables organizations to connect service workflows with the physical reality of the data center. When implemented with clear data ownership, well-defined scope, and focused operational goals, these integrations improve data accuracy, streamline incident and change processes, and reduce manual effort across teams.

Want to see how Sunbird’s DCIM software can reduce manual effort and increase data accuracy? Get your free test drive today!