One platform instead of
a fragmented stack.
The real cost in enterprise service management is not licensing; it is fragmentation: separate tools, separate data models, deferred upgrades and ungoverned change. Covan brings every service team onto one data model and one CMDB — on infrastructure the organization controls.
Five gaps, one outcome: loss of control.
Enterprise service management rarely breaks in a single decision; it degrades through tools added over years. The result is a management burden no single tool can solve.
A fragmented tool stack
Every department brings its own tool, its own licence and its own data model. IT, HR, facilities and customer service run in isolation.
Customisation that blocks upgrades
Every custom field, table and small rule turns into a development project. When upgrades arrive, customisations are retested — and some are lost.
No control over where data lives
In the public sector, finance and defence, data residency, audit trails and network isolation are not negotiable. A cloud-only model does not fit those requirements.
CMDB and discovery sold separately
CMDB, discovery, service mapping and asset management are licensed as separate products. Integration and licence lines grow, yet no single source of truth emerges.
AI on the vendor’s terms
AI arrives only with the vendor’s model, the vendor’s data policy and an add-on licence. Using your own model is usually not an option.
The common cause: every new need was met with a new tool. Covan does the opposite: every new need becomes a new app or configuration on the same platform.
The platform approachA platform first, products second.
Covan is not a collection of applications; it is one platform. Every service desk is an app on the same core, so a capability built once — an SLA clock, an approval step, a report — is immediately available to every team.
One data model
Requests, incidents, changes, cases and work orders live in the same record engine. Reporting, SLAs and permissions behave identically in every process.
Built-in CMDB and discovery
A company-wide CMDB fed by the platform’s own discovery. Apps consume the CMDB instead of keeping private copies.
Multi-company architecture
A tenant → company → app hierarchy and per-company CMDB are there from day one.
One installation, many companies
isolation on every queryService and infrastructure dependencies
CMDBTen benefits from one architectural decision.
These are not features but outcomes that change daily operations. They all come from the same core, which is why they reinforce each other.
One platform for every service desk
IT, HR, facilities, customer service, finance and project teams run on one platform instead of separate products. A new team is a new app, not a new contract.
One shared data model
One table per record kind, so reporting, SLAs, permissions and automation behave the same in every process. Cross-process reporting needs no integration.
Built-in CMDB and discovery
88 CI types, 32 relationship types and the platform’s own discovery arrive in one data model. Impact analysis needs no separate product or licence.
No custom code required
Fields, statuses, workflows, rules, SLAs and reports are defined through screens. Administrative teams are not blocked on developers.
Upgrade-safe customization
Configuration is stored as data, so upgrades never carry custom tables or code branches. Configuration packages move between environments with a full dry-run preview.
Multi-company architecture
The tenant, company and app hierarchy is there from day one. A holding runs its subsidiaries on one installation with their own apps and CMDBs.
Customer-controlled infrastructure
On-premises or private cloud: PostgreSQL 17, Node.js and React on a single Docker Compose stack. Data, audit and backup stay under the organization’s own control.
Bring your own AI
Agents run on the customer’s model provider: AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenAI, or local Ollama / vLLM. Every write is confirmed and permission-checked.
Enterprise scalability
An event-driven, durable architecture with long-running sweeps on a single elected leader. Multi-company, multi-app installations grow on the same core.
Lower complexity than ServiceNow
Proven ideas are kept; the heavy ecosystem and stack of separately licensed modules are not. Fewer products, fewer integrations, a clearer total cost of ownership.
Measurable outcomes, without overclaiming.
The outcomes below follow directly from the architecture: apps created in one transaction, configuration stored as data, a shared CMDB and customer-controlled infrastructure.
Onboard a new department in hours
A template seeds modules, roles, teams, services and SLAs in one transaction. A new service desk is not a multi-week project — it is a working app the same day.
Upgrade without customisation conflicts
Because configuration is stored as data, upgrades never carry customer-specific tables or code branches. New releases arrive without breaking existing configuration.
One report across processes
Requests, incidents, changes, HR cases and work orders share one record engine. Leadership sees the same metrics across departments in one view.
See infrastructure and service dependencies from one source
A company-wide CMDB and the platform’s own discovery turn impact analysis from guesswork into evidence.
Keep data and models inside your network
On-premises or private cloud deployment, with your own model provider for AI. Data does not leave the network unless you choose so.
Reduce licence and integration complexity
CMDB, discovery, software assets and event management are not separate products; they come in one data model. Fewer integrations, fewer contracts.
Which problem are you starting from?
Covan answers different starting points with the same platform: modernizing a service desk, consolidating a holding, meeting public-sector requirements, or extending service management across the enterprise.
IT service desk modernization
Move from legacy or scattered service desk tools to one platform. Run requests, incidents, problems, changes and the catalog on one data model, with SLAs and reporting managed in one place.
ITSM manager · service desk managerHolding and multi-company consolidation
Many subsidiaries on one installation, each with its own apps and CMDB. The center sees cross-company reporting while every company keeps its own processes and permissions.
CIO · enterprise architectPublic sector and regulated industries
Meet data residency, audit and network isolation requirements without compromise. The installation lives in the customer’s data center, and access and changes stay auditable.
Public sector · finance · defence · complianceExpansion to enterprise service management (ESM)
Bring HR, facilities, finance and customer service onto the same platform. New teams join as new apps rather than new licensed products, inheriting shared SLAs, approvals, surveys and the portal.
digital transformation lead · HR · facilitiesManaged service providers
A separate tenant, apps and CMDB per customer, on one platform and one operations team. Offer customers a service where they own their data.
MSPs · managed service teamsEvery role gets a different outcome from the same platform.
Covan is designed for the teams who decide on and run enterprise service management. In a demo, each role is met with its own agenda.
CIO / IT director
One platform, predictable cost, data control.ITSM manager
Processes managed by configuration, without upgrade fear.Service desk manager
Fewer tools, faster resolution, one queue view.Enterprise architect
One data model, one CMDB, an auditable architecture.Security & compliance
On-premises deployment, audit trail, permission-checked AI.Public sector
Data residency and transparent procurement.Holding
Many companies on one installation with central visibility.Managed service provider
A tenant per customer, one operation.One platform against a fragmented stack.
Covan keeps ServiceNow’s proven ideas without the separately licensed module stack or the heavy ecosystem. The comparison offers a framework for deciding which model fits your organization.
- CMDB, discovery and event management included; not separate products.
- Configuration travels as data; no instance-specific IDs.
- A smaller product surface and a clearer total cost of ownership.
| Topic | Covan | ServiceNow |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | On-premises or private cloud | Primarily SaaS |
| CMDB & discovery | Included | Separate products |
| Multi-company | Built in | Domain separation |
| AI | Your own model | Vendor add-on |
Let’s start from your problem.
A 30-minute demo shows the platform, CMDB and AI approach using one of your own processes. Not a sales deck — a working platform.