Yokohama: 10 exciting Now Platform features
February 2, 2025
What new ServiceNow Platform features will make you eager to upgrade to Yokohama release? Check out these 10 new exciting Now Platform features listed in Yokohama Release Notes
This blog focuses on Now Platform features. While there are many new features in various product suites such as ITSM, SecOps, SPM, HRSD, and CSM, they are not covered in this blog.
Can't wait? Here is the list:
- Portal Widget Comparison (Cloned to Baseline)
- Portal Performance Analyzer
- Email Notifications Dashboard
- Data Management Console
- Continuous Authentication
- Security Data Filters
- Reusable Tests in ATF
- Accessibility Checker in HTML Editor
- Hierarchical Queries
- Dashboards Export to PDF and PPT
Portal Widget Comparison (Cloned to Baseline)
No more using an external text comparison tool to compare cloned widgets to baseline widgets. You can now do this within the platform in just four clicks.
Although the comparison window is read-only and does not allow simple merging, this is still a significant step forward in helping all ServiceNow experts keep their cloned widgets up-to-date with baseline features.
Portal Performance Analyzer
There is a documented method for identifying slow widgets on a portal page (How to identify a slow widget on a page). Now, this feature is built into the platform and does not require copy-pasting some scripts. This will help prevent the performance issues I have experienced in the past after upgrades when a single widget slowed down the entire portal loading time.
Email Notifications Dashboard
In the past, I have built dashboards to measure trends in sent and received emails, helping to detect peaks or dips. However, this new dashboard looks particularly promising. Although I don't see much relevant data on my PDI, the titles alone suggest that it answers many important questions, such as which notifications are most frequently triggered, which are most frequently opted-out of, and which top 10 tables trigger the most notifications.
Data Management Console
ServiceNow customers might incur additional costs for increasing the size of their database. Consequently, they need to monitor and measure it. The 'Database Footprint' catalog item on the Support Portal provides a current snapshot. Additionally, there is a 'Physical Table Stats' table directly in the platform. The Data Management Console newly delivers a dashboard I had planned to build soon. It uses the data of “Physical Table Stats” to show trends and other data visualizations directly in the platform.
Please note: I am not sure if ServiceNow has fixed the known issue in Yokohama where the DB Footprint and Physical Table Stats differ in numbers. My latest info was that “Database Footprint” is more precise.
Continuous Authentication
This feature allows you to secure sensitive or high-privilege information by requiring re-authentication before access is granted. It is part of a zero trust access security architecture and requires a license. You can secure resources defined by data class (such as Confidential, Restricted, PII if using Data Classification) or by table. However, you cannot define a condition or filter to require re-authentication only for certain records within a table.
Once you configure a policy within Continuous Authentication, users will see a message requiring authentication when accessing the data. After authentication, there is a 30-minute session timeout before another authentication is required.
Security Data Filters
Likely intended as a replacement for 'Before Query Business Rules,' Security Data Filters in ServiceNow operate similarly by preventing data from being loaded from the database. Applied before the query is executed, these filters ensure that restricted data never leaves the database. Like 'Before Query Business Rules,' they also suppress the 'rows hidden by security' message that appears in lists when a user lacks read access to certain records.
Example of a drafted (untested - do not use!) Security Data Filter:
Reusable Tests in ATF
Apply the Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle when designing ATF tests to reduce duplication. Begin by creating a reusable test with defined inputs, outputs, and test steps. Then incorporate this reusable test as a test step within your other tests. Below is a screenshot of adding a reusable test as a test step, featuring two input variables: Short Description and Caller.
Accessibility Checker in HTML Editor
A new toolbar icon in the HTML editor allows you to check for accessibility issues in your knowledge articles. It even provides suggestions for resolving each issue. Simply select the 'Repair' button.
Hierarchical Queries
If you maintain a data hierarchy using a parent-child relationship, you can now leverage this in the condition builder. First, create a 'Record Hierarchy' definition. Once that's done, you can use the 'is in hierarchy' operator for that field in the condition builder. This is especially useful for filters based on Locations or other often hierarchical data.
Dashboards Export to PDF and PPT
Platform Analytics dashboards and data visualizations can be exported to PDF or PPT files. I tested the export of a dashboard, and it looked solid. More testing is needed. For PPT, each slide contains one visualization, and you have the option to export all tabs, including applied filters.
I planned to mention another feature called 'Access Observer'. However, I couldn't find it on my PDI, and the documentation doesn't mention anything about its installation. I simply couldn't locate any relevant tables or plugins. So, let's see if it's really part of Yokohama release.
I shared this also on LinkedIn as carousel - feel free to download my PDF file: Yokohama Now Platform Features by Dominik Simunek
Do you want your next upgrade to be smoother? Ask for my support at dominik@dominiksimunek.com and benefit from my 10+ years of managing ServiceNow Upgrades for multiple clients.
To learn more, check out:
TechNow EP 99 | Your Yokohama ServiceNow Release (by Developer Advocates)