Multi-tenancy done right.
Without the overhead.
ServiceNow Domain Separation is one of the most complex features in the ServiceNow ecosystem — requiring weeks of architecture work, specialist knowledge, and additional licensing. Halo Organisations delivers the same result, built into the core platform at no extra cost.
Domain Separation sounds simple. It isn't.
Domain Separation is ServiceNow's mechanism for isolating data, users, and processes across multiple business units or clients within a single instance. The concept is sound. The reality is different.
Domain Separation must be planned before go-live. Retrofitting it into an existing ServiceNow instance is one of the most technically demanding operations in the platform — often requiring an architecture review, data migration, and re-testing of every workflow.
Domain Separation is not included in a standard ServiceNow subscription. Depending on your contract, enabling it requires a separate entitlement — adding cost on top of an already expensive platform that charges per module, per user, and per feature.
Once your domain hierarchy is set, changing it is painful. Domains are deeply embedded in records, access controls, and workflows. A structural change means touching thousands of records — and the risk of breaking existing configurations is high.
Every database query in a domain-separated instance carries additional overhead. ServiceNow must evaluate domain visibility for each record returned. At scale, this contributes to the performance degradation that many large ServiceNow customers report.
Domain Separation has its own configuration model, permission structure, and failure modes. Getting it wrong — particularly around visibility rules and cross-domain data sharing — causes data leakage or over-restriction. This is not beginner territory.
Each ServiceNow upgrade must be regression-tested against your domain configuration. Customisations interact with domain rules in ways that ServiceNow's generic upgrade path doesn't account for — adding significant test overhead to every major release.
"We spent three months architecting Domain Separation before a single end user touched the platform. It worked — but I wouldn't call it simple. If we were doing this again, I'd ask why we needed that complexity in the first place."
IT Director — FTSE 250 manufacturer (moved to Halo in 2025)
Multi-tenancy. Out of the box. Included.
Halo Organisations allows a single Halo ITSM instance to serve multiple separate organisations — each with their own data, users, portal, branding, workflows, and SLAs. It's a core platform feature, not a bolt-on.
Complete data isolation
Each organisation's tickets, assets, users, and configurations are fully isolated. Agents in one organisation cannot see another's data unless explicitly granted cross-organisation access.
Per-organisation branding
Each organisation gets its own branded self-service portal — logos, colours, domain name. End users see their company's portal. They never know it's running on a shared platform.
Independent workflows and SLAs
Each organisation can have its own service catalogue, SLA definitions, escalation paths, automations, and approval workflows — all managed independently without affecting other organisations.
Cross-organisation reporting
Administrators with the right permissions can report across all organisations simultaneously — aggregating SLA performance, ticket volumes, and workload across the full estate from a single view.
Configured in the UI — not in code
New organisations are created through Halo's admin interface. No scripting, no architectural planning, no test environments required before go-live. Set it up. Go live. Add more organisations as needed.
Included in the licence
Halo Organisations is not a premium add-on. It is part of the core Halo ITSM platform — the same licence that includes AI, 250+ integrations, and every ITSM module. No extra cost, no negotiation.
How they compare.
Who benefits from Halo Organisations?
Any organisation that needs clean separation between groups — without the overhead of building a custom multi-tenant architecture.
Managed Service Providers
Run all your clients from a single Halo instance. Each client gets their own portal, branding, ticket queue, SLAs, and reporting — fully isolated. Scale new clients in hours, not weeks.
Multi-subsidiary enterprises
A holding company with multiple trading entities can run a single Halo instance where each subsidiary has its own service desk and SLA structure — while central IT retains visibility across the full estate.
Geographically distributed teams
Regional IT teams operating under different SLA agreements or working hours can be structured as separate organisations — each with their own escalation paths — while sharing a common platform.
ESM across departments
IT, HR, Facilities, and Finance each operating as a separate organisation within the same Halo instance. Each department has its own service catalogue and portal, with full cross-department admin visibility.
ServiceNow migrations
Organisations migrating from ServiceNow and currently using Domain Separation can replicate their multi-tenant structure in Halo Organisations — in a fraction of the time it originally took to configure.
Growth-stage businesses
Companies acquiring or integrating new business units can onboard each entity as a new Halo Organisation — maintaining separation during integration with no additional licensing cost.
We've configured both. We know which one is faster.
Allied ESM's founding team comes from the ServiceNow ecosystem. We've planned, configured, and supported Domain Separation implementations — and we've migrated organisations away from that complexity into Halo Organisations.
We can help you understand whether Halo Organisations meets your multi-tenancy requirements, and if you're migrating from ServiceNow, we can map your existing domain structure directly onto Halo's model.
Moving from ServiceNow? Let's talk.
Whether you're currently using Domain Separation or planning to — we can show you how Halo Organisations handles your use case, and what a migration would look like in practice.