Case Study: On-Premises ServiceNow instance for Defence

Client: Department of Defence, Joint Collective Training Branch (JCTB), HQJOC J7

Project: Jira Server to ServiceNow ITSM platform transition and ongoing platform sustainment

How Profectus led a rapid, high-assurance migration from an end-of-support Jira Server to a self-hosted ServiceNow ITSM platform for the Joint Collective Training Branch, spanning assessment, design, build, integration, data migration, deployment automation and organisational change. Since go-live, Profectus has continued to manage and extend the platform through regular patching and family upgrades, service catalogue and workflow development, additional module implementations and a load balancing infrastructure uplift.

Client and context

For more than a decade, the Joint Collective Training Branch (JCTB) operated its IT Service Management (ITSM) environment on an on-premises Jira Server instance. As Atlassian’s end of support for Jira Server approached in February 2024, JCTB faced a strategic inflection point: modernise its ITSM capability or risk operational degradation.

Recognising the need for a secure, scalable and ITIL-aligned platform that could continue to operate within a self-hosted environment, JCTB selected ServiceNow as its future-state enterprise service platform of choice. To support the transition, Profectus was engaged to supply ITSM expertise, project delivery capability, technical support and change management leadership, working side-by-side with JCTB and an external ServiceNow implementation partner.

The engagement

Profectus played a critical role across the full lifecycle of the transition, from assessment and design to implementation, integration, deployment and organisational change. Our multidisciplinary team provided IT architecture, project management, systems, network and database SME support, and ITSM expertise, organised around six major streams: current-state assessment and discovery; target operating model, roadmaps and process design; agile delivery with Now Create; platform implementation and deployment automation; integrations, data migration and technical enablement; and organisational change management, training and go-live readiness.

The challenge

The legacy Jira environment had become a significant operational burden across several fronts:

  • Security and compliance exposure: without vendor support or updates, the ageing platform posed increasing risk to a Defence environment
  • High maintenance overhead: internal teams were troubleshooting manually, maintaining ageing infrastructure and compensating for a declining platform
  • Poor ITIL alignment: rigid workflows and an outdated interface could not keep pace with modern practices or evolving mission needs
  • Scaling limitations: cross-departmental service integration was difficult, and demand had outgrown the system, affecting SLA adherence and reporting accuracy

Our approach

JCTB leadership required a rapid, high-assurance transition that preserved operational continuity while enabling future digital transformation. Profectus delivered this across the six streams.

Assessment and target design

Profectus led and contributed to a comprehensive assessment of the Jira-based environment, running structured workshops with the vendor to analyse people, process and technology, and providing deep SME insight into Jira workflows, configurations, infrastructure and known issues. This established a clear baseline, then Profectus collaborated with the vendor to define the future-state operating model, including roles, RACI, SLAs and governance, and to redesign processes across Incident, Problem, Change, Knowledge, CMDB and Security Incident Response.

Agile build with Now Create

Using the Now Create methodology, Profectus helped structure sprints and implementation phases, created, refined and groomed user stories, ensured legacy workflows were accurately translated into ServiceNow requirements, and worked with architects and developers to validate sprint outcomes, sustaining a well-governed agile delivery rhythm.

Deployment automation and environment management

Profectus developed Ansible automation scripts to build, clone and patch ServiceNow instances, managed deployment scheduling across non-production and production environments, registered instances in the Now Support Portal, and assisted with Test Management 2.0, Security Incident Response, Vulnerability Response and CMDB configuration, producing highly repeatable and efficient environment management.

Integration, migration and go-live

Profectus facilitated LDAP and Exchange integrations, deployed MID servers across all required environments, validated CMDB ETL results, migrated Confluence knowledge articles into ServiceNow and supported Security Incident Response log ingestion using CrowdStrike LogScale. In parallel it led organisational change, developing the OCM plan, training materials, user guides and task cards, running UAT with ServiceNow Test 2.0 and assessing go-live readiness.

What we delivered

  • Clear delivery baseline: a documented current-state assessment and gap analysis enabling accurate solution design, roadmap definition and a structured, scalable operating model aligned to ServiceNow standards
  • Automated platform build: Ansible-driven build, clone and patch automation with coordinated deployment across non-production and production environments underpinning a reliable platform launch
  • Secure, integrated foundation: LDAP and Exchange identity integration, MID servers, validated CMDB ETL and a complete migration of data, workflows and knowledge from the legacy environment
  • Confident go-live: UAT conducted with ServiceNow Test 2.0, defects logged and readiness assessed, supported by training, onboarding and capability uplift that drove strong user adoption

Configuration and asset management

Underpinning the platform transition, Profectus established an authoritative configuration and asset baseline for the Defence Training and Experimentation Network (DTEN) that JCTB relies on. Configuration items were initially captured in Insight and Jira, then, once verified and normalised, migrated through a structured data migration into ServiceNow as the enduring single system of record. This gave JCTB a controlled as-built baseline enabling dependency mapping, impact assessment and change control aligned to Defence governance expectations.

Beyond go-live: sustaining and extending the platform

Following go-live, JCTB retained Profectus to manage and evolve the ServiceNow platform. Profectus staff on the ground have since delivered a continuous program of sustainment, enhancement and improvement to keep the platform secure, current and aligned with the directorate’s evolving business requirements. The work has centred on four areas: patching and family upgrades, service catalogue and workflow development, configuration and implementation of additional ServiceNow modules, and load balancer configuration and implementation, each focused on maintaining platform health, enhancing the user experience, introducing new capability and improving service delivery.

Patching and family upgrades

Using well-defined upgrade procedures and ServiceNow’s built-in automation capabilities, Profectus has patched and upgraded all JCTB ServiceNow instances on a regular cadence, preserving platform stability, security compliance, vendor support and access to new functionality. Each cycle begins with upgrade planning and assessment: reviewing release notes, new features and enhancement opportunities, identifying deprecated functionality, potential breaking changes and platform impacts, and scheduling upgrade windows with planned outages communicated to stakeholders. Environments are then prepared with database backups and system snapshots, upgraded non-production first (Development, then Test, then Production), and supporting infrastructure updated where required, including Java and MID Server upgrades.

Before execution, Profectus reviews potential impacts to custom-developed components including Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies, Script Includes, Workflow and Flow Designer flows and Service Catalog items. During execution it monitors upgrade progress and system logs, reviews skipped records, warnings and errors, and validates plugin compatibility. Conflicts are resolved by comparing custom configurations against the updated baseline and accepting, rejecting or merging changes, and by clearing update set and configuration conflicts. Every upgrade is then validated across Incident, Change and Problem Management, Service Catalog, Knowledge Management, CMDB and the Service Portal / Employee Center, with integration testing of REST APIs, MID Servers, LDAP and Active Directory, email services and third-party integrations such as CrowdStrike LogScale, followed by facilitated User Acceptance Testing and remediation of any actions raised.

Service catalogue and workflow development

To support evolving business requirements, Profectus has designed and implemented new Service Catalog items and automated workflows on demand. These enhancements have reduced manual effort, standardised request fulfilment and expanded self-service, so users can independently locate information, submit requests and track progress without direct assistance from support teams. Each enhancement starts with discovery and requirements gathering: engaging stakeholders, defining fulfilment processes and approval workflows, identifying fulfilment teams and responsibilities, mapping end-to-end workflows in Workflow Studio and Flow Designer, and defining SLA and reporting requirements.

Profectus then develops the catalogue design (new Catalog Items and Record Producers, with forms, mandatory fields and SLAs configured and the submission experience optimised), builds the workflow and automation layer in Flow Designer and Workflow Studio (approval and delegation processes, fulfilment tasks, escalation paths, automated actions, notifications and integrations), and applies security and access management through catalogue visibility, role-based access controls and validated approval authorities and delegation rules. Changes are tested end to end, packaged in Update Sets, promoted through Development, Test and Production, and validated post-deployment.

Configuration and implementation of additional ServiceNow modules

To expand platform capability and deliver additional business value, Profectus has implemented and configured further ServiceNow modules since go-live, including Collaborative Work Management (CWM) and Digital Product Release (DPR). These modules give JCTB teams the ability to manage work collaboratively, improve visibility of delivery activities and apply structured release planning and governance. Modules are sourced through the ServiceNow Store, validated for version and compatibility, and deployed through Development, Test and Production under change control.

For each module Profectus has run planning and discovery (business objectives and success measures, stakeholders and process owners, requirements workshops, implementation roadmaps and delivery schedules), solution design (forms, workspaces, dashboards and user experiences, with roles, groups, security models, workflows and approval structures defined) and platform configuration, developing Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies and Data Policies where required and configuring notifications, templates and automation. Supporting work has included inbound and outbound REST and SOAP integrations with validated MID Server connectivity, data migration through source data assessment, mapping and transformation logic, Import Sets and Transform Maps and validated production loads, security and access control through new roles, support groups and tested Access Control Lists, and reporting and analytics through operational dashboards, configured reporting and Performance Analytics where applicable.

Load balancer configuration and implementation

To improve platform performance, resilience and availability, Profectus implemented a Citrix NetScaler load balancing solution across the ServiceNow environment, providing a dedicated traffic management layer that distributes user traffic and application requests while supporting high availability and an improved user experience. Profectus defined the load balancing requirements, assessed user traffic patterns and availability needs, reviewed SSL/TLS and security considerations, and documented the network architecture, traffic flows and system dependencies. Network configuration covered DNS records and Virtual IPs, load balancer pools and backend members, listener ports and routing policies, and health checks and traffic management rules.

SSL/TLS certificates, termination and encryption requirements were implemented with supported TLS versions and cipher suites validated and certificate management and renewal processes established. Profectus verified instance accessibility, redirects, authentication and compatibility with organisational authentication methods, configured session persistence and validated cookie and session handling, and tested failover and recovery behaviour. Monitoring was implemented for node availability, response times, SSL certificate health, connection counts, health check status, user performance metrics and load distribution. Following authentication, load, concurrent user and high availability testing, Profectus managed the change-controlled production cutover, updated DNS and VIP routing, validated connectivity and application performance, verified health checks and monitoring, and communicated the implementation outcomes to stakeholders.

What we delivered since go-live

  • Current, supported platform: all JCTB ServiceNow instances patched and family-upgraded on a regular cadence through Development, Test and Production, with customisations reconciled and critical processes and integrations validated every cycle
  • Expanded self-service: new Service Catalog items, Record Producers and Flow Designer and Workflow Studio automations delivered on demand, with approvals, delegation, fulfilment tasks, escalation paths and role-based visibility
  • New platform capability: Collaborative Work Management and Digital Product Release implemented and configured, with integrations, data migration, access controls, dashboards and reporting
  • Resilient access layer: Citrix NetScaler load balancing with SSL/TLS, session persistence, health checks and monitoring, delivered through a tested, change-controlled cutover

Systems and methods

ServiceNow · Now Create · Ansible automation · MID servers · LDAP and Exchange integration · CMDB ETL · Security Incident Response · CrowdStrike LogScale · Test Management 2.0 · Flow Designer and Workflow Studio · Collaborative Work Management · Digital Product Release · Performance Analytics · Citrix NetScaler

The result

The transition from Jira Server to ServiceNow represents a major digital uplift for JCTB. By combining a modern enterprise platform with strong delivery, integration, ITSM and change management expertise, Profectus helped JCTB mitigate critical operational risk, modernise workflows and establish a future-ready, self-hosted ITSM foundation. JCTB is positioned to realise improved operational efficiency, a stronger cybersecurity posture, better leadership insight through real-time reporting, and scalable cross-department service delivery, equipping it to drive long-term optimisation and broader digital transformation across Defence.

Since go-live, Profectus has continued to manage and evolve the platform on JCTB’s behalf. Proactive upgrades, platform improvements, new service offerings, additional module implementations and infrastructure enhancements have kept the JCTB ServiceNow platform secure, resilient and aligned with business needs, so the platform continues to evolve while providing a stable and reliable service for end users and support teams.