Migrate from ServiceNow Customer Service Management to Freshdesk

ServiceNow CSM Cases migrate to Freshdesk Tickets with Case number preserved as an external reference field (fd_case_ref__c). Case State (New, Active, On Hold, Resolved, Closed) maps to Freshdesk Ticket status (Open, Pending, Resolved, Closed) with a custom mapping table defined during scoping. Case Priority maps to Freshdesk Ticket priority (Low, Medium, High, Urgent). The original opened_at timestamp migrates to Freshdesk created_at; resolved_at migrates if the source Case was resolved. Parent-child case relationships (where a Case has child Cases) cannot be represented natively in Freshdesk's flat ticket model; we flatten them by inserting a thread note at the top of the child ticket noting the parent Case number and relationship.

Each ServiceNow Case Task becomes a Freshdesk Ticket Conversation entry. The Task short_description becomes a public or private note in the conversation thread, with the original assignment information preserved as an internal note. Due date, if set on the Task, migrates as a ticket custom field (task_due_date__c). We preserve the task sequence ordering by setting the conversation timestamp to the original Task sys_created_on value. Tasks that were marked Closed before the parent Case are migrated with a closed status flag.

ServiceNow CSM Account records map directly to Freshdesk Company. The Account name becomes Company name; address fields map to the Freshdesk address standard fields. Account hierarchy (parent Account) maps to Freshdesk Parent Company if the destination plan supports hierarchical companies (Growth and above). We use the Account sys_id as a dedupe key during import to avoid creating duplicate Companies. Any Service Organization assignment on the Account is stored as a custom field (service_org__c) on the Freshdesk Company record.

ServiceNow CSM Contact records map to Freshdesk Contact by email address. The Contact-to-Account relationship is resolved by first importing Accounts as Companies, then setting the Freshdesk Contact's company_id to the matching Company record. Custom fields on the Contact table (job_title, department, preferred_language) migrate to Freshdesk Contact custom fields. Contact phone, mobile, and social profile URLs map to Freshdesk Contact phone and social handles. Any Contact that was created as part of the Fulfiller vs Requester licensing model is flagged in a custom field contact_type__c for the customer's admin to review for billing implications.

ServiceNow CSM Consumer records (used in B2C deployments) represent end customers who may not have a Company association. We offer two migration paths: map Consumers directly to Freshdesk Contacts without a company_id (suitable for small B2C volumes under 10,000 records) or configure a Freshdesk Custom Object named Consumer with typed fields (email, phone, consumer_id, date_of_birth) linked to the Contact via a lookup relationship (suitable for higher volumes or when Consumer-specific fields cannot be collapsed into the Contact schema). The customer selects the strategy during scoping based on whether their support workflows query Consumer-specific fields.

ServiceNow CSM Service Definitions define which products and case types are eligible for which customers. This is a CSM-specific concept with no Freshdesk native equivalent. We export Service Definitions as structured JSON metadata (service_definition_id, name, description, eligible_case_types, associated_install_base_products) and store it as a Custom Object in Freshdesk. The mapping links the Custom Object to Freshdesk Contacts via a lookup relationship so agents can reference service eligibility during ticket resolution. This preserves the data without requiring the destination to model the full Service Model Foundation.

ServiceNow CSM Install Base tracks products sold to customers including warranty status and contract associations. We export Install Base records as a Freshdesk Custom Object named Product_Install with fields for install_id, product_name, serial_number, warranty_start, warranty_end, and contract_id. The Custom Object links to the corresponding Freshdesk Contact or Company record so agents see installed products in context during support interactions. Contract and warranty expiration dates migrate as custom date fields for SLA rule triggers in Freshdesk automation.

ServiceNow CSM Service Organizations represent internal or external business locations that handle cases (IBL/EBL/OSP hierarchical structure). We map the primary Service Organization to a Freshdesk Company custom field (primary_service_org__c) and any secondary Service Organization assignments to a multi-select picklist custom field (service_orgs__c). If the customer has internal service desk teams that should map to Freshdesk Groups, we configure Freshdesk Teams to mirror the Service Organization hierarchy and map case assignment accordingly.

ServiceNow CSM Knowledge Articles migrate to Freshdesk Solutions. Article text (HTML body) migrates to the Freshdesk Solution article body with HTML preserved. Article metadata (article_id, author, sys_created_on, last_modified) migrate to Freshdesk Solution custom fields. Article visibility settings (internal vs external) map to Freshdesk Solution status (Draft vs Published). Category and folder structure in ServiceNow maps to Freshdesk Solution sections. Attachments embedded in articles migrate as Freshdesk Solution attachments. We do not migrate article views, votes, or feedback scores; these reset post-migration per Freshdesk's data model.

File attachments on ServiceNow CSM Cases and Case Tasks are extracted via the ServiceNow Attachment API using the table_sys_id and file_name references. Files are downloaded to a staging area with their original filenames and MIME types preserved. Post-ingress, we re-associate attachments to the corresponding Freshdesk Ticket using the Freshdesk Attachments API. Attachments on Knowledge Articles re-associate to the corresponding Freshdesk Solution article. We do not migrate attachment URLs or document IDs as references; files are re-hosted at the destination. Large attachment batches (>1GB total) may require batched extraction with MD5 checksum validation to ensure completeness.