Blue Prism Integration with ServiceNow

Technical Build Guide for the Blue Prism Side

A beginner-friendly, step-by-step walkthrough

Audience: Technical Architect / Developer

Pattern: ServiceNow Integration Hub Blue Prism Spoke + Process Dispatch Framework
1. The Big Picture (Read This First)
Before touching anything in Blue Prism, anchor the architecture in your head. The whole flow has three
actors and seven steps.

1.1 The three actors

• User: raises a Service Request (SREQ) in ServiceNow.
• ServiceNow: uses Integration Hub + Flow Designer + the Blue Prism spoke to call out to Blue
Prism, then later receives the completion update.
• Blue Prism: exposes a SOAP web service (the Process Dispatch Framework), accepts the call,
queues the work, and a Digital Worker (bot) executes the automation. When done, the bot calls
back to ServiceNow to update the request.

1.2 The seven-step end-to-end flow

1. User submits an SREQ in the ServiceNow portal.
2. ServiceNow Flow Designer triggers on SREQ creation (or approval, depending on your design).
3. The Blue Prism spoke action in Flow Designer makes an authenticated SOAP call to Blue Prism's
exposed Dispatch web service, passing data like Request Number, requester, and any input
fields.
4. Blue Prism's Process Dispatch Framework receives the call, validates inputs, and creates a Work
Queue item.
5. A scheduled or always-on Runtime Resource (the bot VM) picks up the queue item and runs
your business process.
6. On success or failure, the bot calls the ServiceNow REST Table API (or a Scripted REST API) to
update the SREQ state, add a worknote, and post the result.
7. ServiceNow closes or progresses the request based on the update.
Your job, on the Blue Prism side, is to build everything that makes step 3, step 4, step 5, and step 6 work.
The rest of this document walks through each piece in the order you'll actually build them.

2. Prerequisites and Environment Check

Confirm these are in place before you start. Missing any of them will block you mid-build.

2.1 Blue Prism platform

• Blue Prism Enterprise installed (the on-premises product, not Blue Prism Cloud) — minimum
version 6.x; 7.x preferred. The web service exposure feature is the same in both.
• At least one Application Server, one Runtime Resource (the VM where bots run), and SQL Server
backing database — all reachable on the network.
• Interactive Client (the Blue Prism desktop application) installed on your workstation, configured
to connect to the Application Server.
 • Administrator access to Blue Prism (System tab access).

2.2 Network and connectivity

• ServiceNow instance must be able to reach the Blue Prism Runtime Resource over HTTP or
HTTPS on the configured listener port (default is 8181).
• If ServiceNow is SaaS ([Link]) and Blue Prism is on-prem, you will likely
need either a ServiceNow MID Server in your network OR firewall rules / a public DNS entry for
the Blue Prism resource. Confirm this with the network team early.
• Blue Prism Runtime Resource needs outbound HTTPS to your ServiceNow instance for the
callback step.

2.3 Accounts and credentials

• A service account (Active Directory or Blue Prism native, depending on your auth mode) that
ServiceNow will use to authenticate to Blue Prism. This account is what the Blue Prism spoke will
be configured with.
• A ServiceNow integration user account with rights to update SREQ records and add worknotes
— this is what Blue Prism will use for the callback.
• If using AD SSO on Blue Prism, the service account must be a real domain user (not a managed
service account) — the Process Dispatch Framework uses Basic HTTP Auth and needs a working
username/password.

2.4 Access to Blue Prism Digital Exchange

• You need a Blue Prism portal login to download free assets from the Digital Exchange. Register
at [Link] if you don't have one. The Digital Exchange is reached from inside the
Interactive Client (DX tab) or directly at [Link].

3. Install the Process Dispatch Framework

This is the single most important asset on the Blue Prism side. The Process Dispatch Framework (PDF —
confusing, but that's the name) is a free, vendor-supported Blue Prism release file that gives you a
ready-made web service receiver. It is exactly what the ServiceNow Blue Prism spoke is designed to call.
Without this framework, you would have to hand-build a web service wrapper, queue management
logic, parameter validation, and dispatch logic yourself. With it, you get all of that out of the box. Use it.

3.1 What the framework gives you

• A Business Object called Utility - Process Dispatcher that exposes a Dispatch Process action. This
is what you will expose as a SOAP web service.
• A Process called Process Dispatcher - that orchestrates picking up the dispatched item from a
queue and running the requested target process.
• A Work Queue (the framework will create one or you'll create it) that holds dispatched requests.
• Supporting VBOs (Visual Business Objects) including Utility - Blue Prism Process Info for looking
up process metadata.
3.2 Download steps
8. Open a browser and go to [Link]. Log in with your Blue Prism portal
credentials.
9. Search for "Process Dispatch Framework". The asset is published by Blue Prism (Charles Kovacs
is a common author name on Blue Prism utility assets).
10. Download the .bprelease file (Blue Prism's release format) and the User Guide PDF that ships
with it. Save both somewhere you can find them.
11. Also search for "Process Information Utility" (sometimes Utility - Blue Prism Process Info).
Download this separately — older bundles of the Dispatch Framework do not include it, and
Dispatcher depends on it.

3.3 Import into Blue Prism

12. Open the Blue Prism Interactive Client and log in as an admin.
13. Go to File → Import (or in some versions, the Releases tab → Import).
14. Browse to the Process Dispatch Framework .bprelease file and import it. Accept the default
group locations or place the items into a folder you create called Integration / ServiceNow.
15. Repeat for the Process Information Utility .bprelease file.
16. After import, navigate to Studio. You should see the new Business Objects under Objects (Utility
- Process Dispatcher, Utility - Blue Prism Process Info, plus a few helpers) and the new
Process(es) under Processes.

3.4 Read the User Guide

The Process Dispatch Framework User Guide is roughly 30 pages and is required reading. It covers
credentials, queue setup, and the small amount of configuration the framework needs. The two sections
you must read carefully:
• Section 3.2 Credentials — three credentials are needed: Web Service Invocation, AutomateC
Execution, and Querying the Blue Prism Database.
• Section on Credential Manager — where you store those three credentials inside Blue Prism so
the framework can reach them securely.

4. Configure the Framework

4.1 Create the three credentials
Open System tab → Security → Credentials. Click New and create three General-type credentials.

Credential Name Purpose Account to use

(suggested)

SNow_WebService_User Authenticates inbound SOAP calls The AD or BP-native service

from ServiceNow into the account that ServiceNow will pass
Dispatcher web service. in Basic Auth.
 Credential Name Purpose Account to use
(suggested)

BP_AutomateC_User Used by the framework to start a An AD user with rights to start

Blue Prism session via the sessions on the target Runtime
AutomateC command-line tool. Resource.

BP_DB_Reader Reads metadata from the Blue A SQL account with read-only
Prism database (process IDs, etc.). access to the Blue Prism database.

Match the exact credential names the framework expects (the User Guide tells you what they are —
usually you can name them whatever you like and reference them inside the framework's config).

4.2 Create the work queue

17. Go to System tab → Workflow → Work Queues.
18. Click New and create a queue named something like SNow_Dispatch_Queue.
19. Encryption Scheme: select an encryption scheme if your framework input data is sensitive
(request payloads can include user details). Otherwise leave None for first build.
20. Max Attempts: 1 (the framework handles retries at the dispatched-process level).
21. Save.

4.3 Wire the framework to your queue

The Dispatch Framework has a few hardcoded references — typically environment variables or a config
object — that need to point at the queue you just made and the credentials you just created.
22. Open the Process Dispatcher process in Studio.
23. Look for the Initialise page or a config Data Item referenced at the top — the User Guide will
identify it. Update the queue name to match SNow_Dispatch_Queue.
24. Open the Utility - Process Dispatcher object and confirm any credential references match what
you named in step 4.1.
25. Save and publish the process (right-click → Publish). Publishing is required before you can
expose it as a web service.

5. Build (or Identify) Your Target Process

The Dispatch Framework is the front door. Behind the front door is your actual business automation —
the process that does the real work the user requested. You either already have this process or you'll
build it now.

5.1 Process design rules for dispatched processes

• The process must accept input parameters that match what ServiceNow will send (e.g.,
RequestNumber, RequesterId, plus any business fields).
 • The process must produce output parameters at minimum: a Status (Success/Failed), a
Message, and any business outputs you need.
• The process must be published (System tab → Processes → tick Published). Unpublished
processes cannot be dispatched.
• Process and parameter names must use only alphanumeric characters — no spaces, dashes, or
punctuation. Web service exposure rejects anything else.

5.2 Minimum viable target process structure

For your first build, keep the target process trivial. Build something that:
26. Accepts the input parameters.
27. Logs them (Calculation stage writing to the session log).
28. Pretends to do work (a Wait stage of 5 seconds is fine).
29. Calls back to ServiceNow with a worknote (covered in Section 8).
30. Returns Status = Success.
Once that round-trip works end-to-end, swap in the real automation logic. Don't try to build the
integration and the business logic at the same time — debug each separately.

6. Expose the Dispatcher as a SOAP Web Service

This is the action that creates the URL ServiceNow will call. Blue Prism Enterprise exposes web services
natively — no IIS, no separate web server, the Runtime Resource itself listens on a port.

6.1 Expose the Business Object

31. In the Interactive Client, go to System tab → Objects → Exposure (or Object Exposure,
depending on version).
32. Click Expose. A list of business objects that are not yet exposed will display.
33. Select Utility - Process Dispatcher and click Next.
34. The wizard will suggest a web service name. Replace any spaces or hyphens. A clean name like
UtilityProcessDispatcher works.
35. Click Auto Correct if Blue Prism flags the name. Click Finish.
36. The object now appears as enabled in the Exposure list.

6.2 Confirm the WSDL is reachable

Start a Runtime Resource (so it's actively listening), then in a browser on the same network, navigate to:
[Link]
You should see a list of all exposed services. Click into UtilityProcessDispatcher and you should see the
WSDL XML. The full WSDL URL will be:
[Link]
Save this URL. This is what ServiceNow's Blue Prism spoke needs.
6.3 Switch to HTTPS (recommended for production)
The default 8181 listener is HTTP. For anything beyond a sandbox, configure certificate-based encryption
on the Runtime Resource.
37. Obtain a TLS certificate for the Runtime Resource hostname (your PKI team).
38. Bind the certificate to the Runtime Resource port using the netsh command (the Blue Prism
Install Guide has the exact syntax — netsh http add sslcert).
39. Restart the Runtime Resource. The WSDL URL will now respond on
[Link] instead of http.

6.4 Test the WSDL with SoapUI

Before you let ServiceNow anywhere near it, prove the web service works. Download SoapUI (free) and
test as follows:
40. Open SoapUI → File → New SOAP Project.
41. Paste the WSDL URL into the Initial WSDL field. Click OK.
42. SoapUI will auto-generate sample requests for every action. Find DispatchProcess (or whatever
the dispatch action is named).
43. In the request, set Authorization → Basic Auth → username and password of the
SNow_WebService_User credential's underlying account.
44. Fill in the request parameters with test data.
45. Submit. A successful response should return an empty fault and a success status.
46. Verify in Blue Prism Control Room that a queue item was added to SNow_Dispatch_Queue and
that a session ran your target process.
If this works, your Blue Prism side is fundamentally complete. Everything after this is hardening, the
callback, and ServiceNow-side wiring.

7. Authentication: How ServiceNow Will Talk to Blue Prism

The Process Dispatch Framework uses Basic HTTP Authentication. ServiceNow sends a username and
password in every SOAP request, encoded in the HTTP Authorization header. Blue Prism validates this
against its user store (AD or native) before processing the call.

7.1 If Blue Prism uses native authentication

• Create a Blue Prism user (System tab → Security → Users) named something like
svc_servicenow.
• Assign it a role with permissions to: Execute Business Objects, Use Web Services, and run
sessions on the relevant Runtime Resource.
• Set a strong password and disable interactive login if your organisation requires that.
• This is the username/password ServiceNow will use.

7.2 If Blue Prism uses AD SSO (most common)

 • Have the AD team create a domain service account, e.g., DOMAIN\svc_snow_bp.
• Add this account to a domain group that maps to a Blue Prism role with the same permissions
listed above.
• In Blue Prism, confirm the role mapping exists under System → Security → User Roles.
• ServiceNow will pass the credentials as User Principal Name format
(svc_snow_bp@[Link]) — UPN works most reliably for SSO-bound Blue Prism.
• Test login by signing into the Interactive Client manually with that account first. If it can log in
there, web service auth will work too.

7.3 Common authentication pitfalls

• 403 Forbidden: the account exists but lacks the Use Web Services permission. Fix the role.
• 401 Unauthorized: the account name or password is wrong, or the AD account is locked. Test
with the Interactive Client to isolate.
• Service account formats: try samAccountName (svc_snow_bp), then UPN
(svc_snow_bp@[Link]), then DOMAIN\svc_snow_bp. UPN is the most universally
supported.

8. The Callback: Updating ServiceNow When the Bot is Done

Half the integration is ServiceNow → Blue Prism. The other half is Blue Prism → ServiceNow. When the
bot finishes (or fails), it must update the SREQ. You build this on the Blue Prism side using the standard
ServiceNow REST Table API.

8.1 Decide what to update

Typical fields to update on the SREQ when the bot completes:
• State (e.g., Closed Complete, Closed Incomplete, In Progress).
• Work notes — a short message describing what the bot did or why it failed.
• Custom fields specific to your form (e.g., u_bot_run_id, u_completion_status).

8.2 Configure the ServiceNow REST endpoint as a Blue Prism Web API
Blue Prism has a built-in Web API Services feature for calling REST APIs. You configure it once and reuse
it from any process.
47. In Interactive Client → System tab → Objects → Web API Services.
48. Click Add Service. Name it ServiceNow_RequestUpdate.
49. Base URL: [Link]
50. Authentication: Basic Auth, with credentials referencing a Blue Prism credential you create
called SNow_API_User (containing the ServiceNow integration user's username and password).
51. Common Headers: Accept = application/json, Content-Type = application/json.

Add an Update Request action

52. Inside the Web API service, click Add Action. Name it UpdateRequest.
 53. HTTP Method: PATCH
54. URL Path: /api/now/table/sc_request/[sysId]
55. Add a URL Parameter named sysId so it can be set from the process at runtime.
56. Body type: Template. Set the body to a JSON template like:
{ "state": "[State]", "work_notes": "[WorkNote]" }
57. Add Body Parameters State and WorkNote that map into those placeholders.
58. Save the action.
Note on the table name: sc_request is the standard Service Catalog Request table. If your SNow team
uses sc_req_item (Requested Item) or a custom table, change the path accordingly. Confirm with the
SNow team during your design call.

8.3 Use the Web API in the target process

59. Open your target process in Studio.
60. At the end of the success path, drop in an Action stage.
61. Business Object: ServiceNow_RequestUpdate. Action: UpdateRequest.
62. Inputs: pass the SREQ sys_id (which ServiceNow sent to you on the inbound dispatch — store it
in a Data Item at the start of the process), the desired State value, and a worknote string.
63. Capture the output (HTTP status code) into a Data Item and log it for audit.
64. Repeat for the failure path with a different State and a worknote describing the exception.

8.4 Test the callback in isolation first

Before integrating end-to-end, build a tiny test process whose only job is to call
ServiceNow_RequestUpdate.UpdateRequest with hardcoded values pointing at a test SREQ. Run it.
Verify the worknote appears in ServiceNow. This isolates callback issues from dispatch issues.

9. What the ServiceNow Team Needs From You

Even though this guide is the Blue Prism side, the ServiceNow team needs specific artifacts and config
values from you. Send them this list early so they don't block on you mid-build.

Item What to provide

WSDL URL The full URL of the exposed Process Dispatcher service, e.g.,
[Link]
r?wsdl

Service account credentials Username and password for the account ServiceNow will use to
authenticate. Send via password manager or vault, never plain
email.

Process name and parameters Exact name of the target process you want dispatched, plus the
input parameter names and types ServiceNow must populate.
 Item What to provide

Sample SOAP request A working SoapUI request body that you've already validated end-
to-end. Saves the SNow team hours of guessing.

Network reachability Confirmation that the Runtime Resource is reachable from

ServiceNow (or from the MID Server, if used). IP, port, and TLS
certificate details.

Expected response payload What the SNow flow should expect back — typically a SOAP
success envelope with a request ID for correlation.

On the ServiceNow side, the team will install the Blue Prism spoke from the ServiceNow Store, configure
a connection record using your WSDL and credentials, and build a Flow Designer flow that triggers on
SREQ creation, calls the spoke action, and writes back the dispatched session ID.

10. End-to-End Test Plan

Once both sides are wired, run these tests in order. Do not skip steps; each isolates a different layer.

10.1 Test sequence

65. SoapUI → Blue Prism: confirm the dispatch web service responds and creates a queue item with
the right inputs. (Already done in 6.4.)
66. Manual queue → target process: manually add an item to the dispatch queue with hand-crafted
data. Confirm the target process picks it up and runs.
67. Target process → ServiceNow: trigger your target process directly with hardcoded SREQ ID.
Confirm the worknote appears on the SREQ.
68. ServiceNow flow → Blue Prism (no callback): SNow team triggers a flow. Confirm Blue Prism
receives the call and runs the process. Ignore the callback for now.
69. Full round-trip: SNow triggers, Blue Prism runs, Blue Prism updates SNow. End user sees a closed
SREQ with a worknote. This is the integration.

10.2 What to watch in Blue Prism Control Room during testing

• Sessions tab — shows active and recent sessions. The dispatched process appears here when it
runs.
• Queue contents — your SNow_Dispatch_Queue. Confirms inbound items arrive.
• Session logs — every stage of the running process, including Web API call results to ServiceNow.
• Audit log (System tab) — shows web service calls received and the user that authenticated.

11. Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

 Symptom Likely cause Fix

WSDL URL returns 404 Runtime Resource is not Start the Runtime Resource.
started, or web service not Re-check System → Object
exposed. Exposure that the object is
enabled.

401 Unauthorized from Wrong username/password, Verify by logging into

ServiceNow's call account locked, or wrong Interactive Client with the
format. same account. Try UPN format
if samAccountName fails.

403 Forbidden Account authenticates but Edit the account's role to grant
lacks Use Web Services Web Service usage and
permission. Business Object execution.

Web service call succeeds but Dispatcher framework Re-open the Process
no queue item appears references a different queue Dispatcher process and verify
name than the one you the queue name Data Item
created. matches your queue exactly.

Queue item appears but no No Runtime Resource is online Confirm the resource is
session starts for the resource group, or no connected. Set up a session in
schedule/trigger is dispatching Control Room or a Schedule
from the queue. that runs the Process
Dispatcher process
continuously.

Session runs but ServiceNow Web API auth failure, wrong Capture the Web API HTTP
worknote never appears sys_id, or wrong table name in status output and inspect. 401
the path. = auth, 404 = bad sys_id or
table, 403 = SNow permissions.

Process Information Utility VBO Older Process Dispatch Download Utility - Blue Prism
missing on import Framework releases ship Process Info separately from
without this dependency. Digital Exchange and import.

ServiceNow can reach Runtime Firewall rule, DNS, or MID Have network team confirm
in test, fails in prod Server config differs across 8181 (or your TLS port) is open
environments. from the SNow MID Server or
SaaS egress IPs to the prod
Runtime Resource.

12. Build Checklist (Print and Tick)

Foundations
• Blue Prism platform reachable, admin access confirmed.
 • Network path open from ServiceNow to Runtime Resource.
• Service accounts created (BP-side for inbound, SNow-side for callback).

Framework
• Process Dispatch Framework downloaded and imported.
• Process Information Utility downloaded and imported.
• Three credentials created in Credential Manager.
• Work queue created and linked into framework config.

Target process
• Target process built with input/output parameters using only alphanumeric names.
• Target process published.

Web service
• Utility - Process Dispatcher exposed as a web service.
• WSDL URL reachable from a browser.
• HTTPS configured if production.
• SoapUI test from outside Blue Prism succeeds end-to-end.

Callback
• ServiceNow Web API service configured in Blue Prism.
• UpdateRequest action defined with PATCH and JSON body template.
• Callback tested in isolation against a test SREQ.

Handoff to ServiceNow team

• WSDL URL shared.
• Credentials shared via vault.
• Target process name and parameters documented.
• Sample SOAP request provided.

End-to-end
• All five test sequence steps pass in dev.
• Repeat in test environment.
• Promotion plan agreed for production.

13. Glossary
Term Meaning

Application Server Central Blue Prism service that brokers between the Interactive Client,
Runtime Resources, and the database.
Term Meaning

Business Object (VBO) A reusable Blue Prism component that wraps actions — the equivalent of
a class in code.

Control Room The Blue Prism dashboard for monitoring sessions, schedules, and queues.

Credential Manager Blue Prism's built-in secure store for usernames, passwords, and other
secrets used by processes.

Digital Exchange (DX) Blue Prism's marketplace for free and partner-built assets, including the
Process Dispatch Framework.

Interactive Client The Blue Prism Windows desktop application — Studio, System, Control
Room all live here.

Process A top-level Blue Prism workflow, equivalent to a 'main' program. The thing
the bot runs.

Process Dispatch Free, vendor-supported Blue Prism asset that exposes a SOAP web service
Framework to receive external trigger requests and dispatch them onto a queue.

Runtime Resource The VM where bots actually execute; also the host of exposed web
services. Listens on port 8181 by default.

Spoke A ServiceNow-published, pre-built integration component that lives inside

Integration Hub. The Blue Prism spoke is the SNow-side counterpart of
what you're building.

Studio The Blue Prism IDE for designing processes and business objects.

Web Service An HTTP-accessible API. In Blue Prism, both inbound (exposed objects) and
outbound (Web API Services) are supported.

Work Queue A Blue Prism construct that holds units of work for bots to process. The
dispatch framework writes to a queue; bots read from it.

WSDL Web Services Description Language — an XML document that describes a

SOAP service's available operations and parameters.