ServiceNow and Non-Fungible Tokens with Enterprise Ethereum

Now Platform and NFTs on Consensys Quorum

In this recording, I’m presenting the integration of ServiceNow with Quorum, an Enterprise Ethereum blockchain originally developed by JPMorgan Chase and recently acquired by Consensys. Quorum is a “light fork” of Ethereum, that uses roles to “permission” accounts and nodes and allow private smart contracts between parties.

Enterprise blockchains allow to overcome some of the privacy concerns of enterprise customers and don’t require cryptocurrencies or transaction fees.

In this demo, a ServiceNow consortium of instances interacts with the Quorum blockchain to manage intercompany unique assets, modeled as Non-Fungible Tokens and based on the ERC721 standard.

The goal of this demonstration is three-fold.

• Firstly, on the architecture side, to describe how one or more ServiceNow instances can connect with the Quorum permissioned blockchain. Quorum permissioning is based on smart contracts that define Consortium governance and how blockchain nodes and accounts are tied to the organizational structures. The blockchain permissioning structure is mapped closely into the foundation data of each instance of ServiceNow.

• Secondly, on the application side, to show how ServiceNow can connect to Non-Fungible Token (NFT) smart contracts, based on the ERC-721 standard. ERC-721 is a key standard for blockchain, and it has a broad set of applications including certificates of ownership, physical and digital goods traceability and next-gen supply chain. They represent inter-company assets and manage ownership of each item.

• Lastly, on the integration side — and this is likely the most original part — I’m describing the two main ways in which the Now Platform(s) can transact with an underlying blockchain, namely “interactive” and “background”:

1. In the interactive (client-side) way, the blockchain transactions are created online by the ServiceNow frontend and signed by the logged-in user using an in-browser wallet, like MetaMask. In this approach, the user keeps control of his private keys, in a non-custodial, self-sovereign way.
2. In the background (server-side) way, not the user himself but a process running within the ServiceNow platform submits the transactions on behalf of a user. This approach is compatible with an offline execution, where each transaction is submitted (unsigned) through the Integration Hub, and then signed, on behalf of the user, by the organization holding control of the user’s private key in a custodial wallet. In the demonstration, we will use the native capabilities of the Ethereum node (geth) to sign, but an external signer could also be used.

The diagram below outlines the demo flow, involving three main actors: 1) the Token Admin 2) Joe Emploee, ORG1 NFT Operator and 3) Lisa Quest, ORG2 NFT Manager.

Hopefully this demonstration, and the underlying integration framework, can provide some guidance to customers and partners which are today starting to build integrations between the Now Platform and Ethereum-like blockchains, allowing to create inter-company assets and processes.