Poesis
If you need enterprise-scale operational workflows — incidents, changes, requests — the ITSM category is purpose-built for it.
A CMDB alternative where the record is a governed definition
ITSM platforms like ServiceNow run the operational workflows of IT — incidents, changes, requests — around a CMDB of configuration items. Poesis for IT addresses what the CI record cannot carry: a typed, governed definition of the estate with obligations, lifecycle, and machine-evaluable verdicts.
Credit where due
What the ITSM / CMDB platform category does well.
The ITSM category — of which ServiceNow is the leading example — excels at operational workflow at enterprise scale: incident, change, and request management with a CMDB at the center and a vast integration ecosystem. For running IT operations processes, the category is the established choice.
Where the approaches differ
Description versus definition.
The difference is what the central record *is*. A configuration item describes an asset for workflow routing; a governed definition types the asset, binds its obligations, and is continuously evaluated against how the estate actually runs. The two can coexist — workflows can consume the governed model.
| Dimension | ITSM / CMDB approach | Poesis for IT |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of record | A configuration item — discovered or registered, described for workflow routing | A typed, governed definition with identity, lifecycle, and ownership |
| How truth arrives | Discovery scans and manual registration — famously prone to staleness | Continuous sourcing from code, API contracts, SBOMs, and infrastructure — confidence-scored, provenance-backed |
| Obligations | Policies encoded in workflow rules and approval chains | Directives and Norms as governed definitions — machine-evaluable, with deterministic verdicts |
| Change | CAB workflows and approval gates | Impact simulated through typed relations before the change is committed |
| Compliance | GRC modules reporting on declared controls | Posture computed continuously from the governed model — GDPR, NIS2, DORA, ISO |
| Coexistence | — | ITSM workflows can operate on — and stay consistent with — the governed model |
An honest answer
When to choose which.
If the question is what your estate is and what it must comply with — answered continuously, from reality, in a form AI agents can act on — that is Poesis for IT, beside your ITSM.
In practice Poesis completes an ITSM estate rather than competing with it: the governed model gives workflows a definition layer to operate on, and a CMDB is a natural knowledge source to reconcile against reality. Keep the workflows — Poesis governs what they act on.
ServiceNow is a trademark of ServiceNow, Inc. Poesis is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ServiceNow.