Why SAP Customers Are Using Camunda to Orchestrate ServiceNow-Centered Processes

As SAP customers continue to modernize their IT landscapes, ServiceNow has become a central system of record for IT service management, approvals, and enterprise task tracking. At the same time, organizations are finding that many SAP-driven business processes now span multiple systems, involve long-running processes, and require coordination between people, automation, and external platforms. This has led some enterprises to introduce an orchestration layer—most notably Camunda—to coordinate ServiceNow-centric processes that extend beyond the platform’s native capabilities.

The challenge is not data integration alone. Most SAP customers already use integration platforms to synchronize records between SAP, ServiceNow, and other systems. The harder problem is managing the “how” of execution across systems: handling exceptions, coordinating approvals, restarting failed steps, and maintaining visibility across an end-to-end process. According to Camunda, this distinction between enterprise systems that model the business and orchestration tools that execute processes is becoming increasingly important as automation initiatives scale

How ServiceNow Supports Process Execution—and Where Orchestration Enters

ServiceNow excels at managing incidents, requests, approvals, and operational records, making it a natural front end for IT and service-oriented processes. However, as processes become more complex and cross-system by design, embedding large amounts of orchestration logic directly into ServiceNow Flows can introduce performance bottlenecks, governance risks, and long-term maintenance challenges.

Camunda positions its ServiceNow integration as a way to externalize orchestration logic while preserving ServiceNow’s role as the system of record. Using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)-based models, organizations can define process flows that span SAP systems, ServiceNow, external vendors, and automation tools, while allowing ServiceNow to trigger processes, manage human tasks, and record outcomes. This approach is intended to reduce customization inside ServiceNow while improving transparency across the full lifecycle of a process.

The integration is delivered through certified components available via the Camunda Marketplace and the ServiceNow Store (Camunda Spoke (ServiceNow Store) and ServiceNow Connector(s) (Camunda Marketplace)). Camunda processes can create, read, update, or delete ServiceNow records using the ServiceNow Outbound Connector, and can start ServiceNow flows using the Flow Starter connector (requires Integration Hub Enterprise Pack). Human-in-the-loop steps, such as approvals or data validation, can pause a Camunda process until actions are completed in ServiceNow, then continue by correlating a message or sending a signal from ServiceNow back to the running Camunda process instance.

Implications for SAP-Centric Enterprises

For SAP customers, the value of this pattern is most visible in processes that already extend beyond core ERP transactions. Examples include IT asset onboarding tied to SAP asset records, multi-department request fulfillment involving finance and procurement systems, and compliance-driven processes that require auditability across SAP and non-SAP platforms. In these scenarios, Camunda handles orchestration, resilience, and end-to-end visibility (Operate and Optimize), while ServiceNow remains the system of record for requests, tasks, and outcomes.

Camunda also emphasizes observability as a differentiator. By separating orchestration from execution systems, different stakeholders can monitor process health, identify bottlenecks, and adjust processes without rewriting logic inside SAP or ServiceNow. This is particularly relevant for SAP environments that must support peak volumes or long-running processes without degrading system performance.

As SAP customers increasingly pursue end-to-end automation and agentic orchestration scenarios, this orchestration-first approach reflects a broader architectural shift. Rather than expanding the scope of individual platforms, enterprises are assembling composable architectures that allow SAP, ServiceNow, and orchestration engines like Camunda to each focus on what they do best, while working together to support complex business processes at scale.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

SAP teams gain scalable orchestration without over-customizing ServiceNow. For technology leaders, this approach reduces the need to embed complex logic inside ServiceNow while still supporting SAP-driven processes. Day to day, teams can model processes centrally, adjust execution paths, and handle exceptions without disrupting SAP or ServiceNow upgrades.

Cross-system visibility becomes easier to operationalize. Customers in industries such as financial services and telecom are already using Camunda to orchestrate ServiceNow processes spanning SAP and external systems, resulting in faster fulfillment and fewer manual handoffs. For SAP professionals, this means clearer ownership of process performance and fewer blind spots when issues arise.

Evaluation should focus on standards, scale, and governance. When assessing orchestration platforms, SAP customers should prioritize BPMN support, certified integrations, and proven handling of long-running, high-volume processes. Best practices include keeping SAP and ServiceNow focused on records and transactions, while using orchestration tools to manage execution, resilience, and end-to-end visibility across the enterprise.