ServiceNow evolves from ITSM, aiming to simplify business processes

Service now He cut his teeth in IT service management (ITSM) and IT operations management (ITOM). The platform helps simplify the process of reporting and resolving IT issues. Now called the Platform Tokyo release, the major update to the core platform takes a big step into the broader realm of enterprise service management (ESM) to address challenges not just at the IT level, but at the business level.

Monish Mishra, VP of service line markets and strategic engagements Mindtree“By adopting ESM, businesses can leverage service management capabilities and frameworks across the organization,” he told VentureBeat.

For example, ServiceNow is adding new solutions for enterprise asset management (EAM), supplier lifecycle management (SLM), and environmental, social and governance (ESG) management. It also includes new tools to improve the experience and engagement for customers and employees. The new ServiceNow Vault also promises to centralize data security and privacy management across the Now Platform.

It’s primarily about helping businesses go digital. On a practical level, this means simplifying the underlying platform and the business processes built on top of it.

Dave Wright, chief innovation officer at ServiceNow, told VentureBeat, “A single platform like ServisNow, when implemented well, should touch wide corners of the company, seamlessly connecting disparate systems, breaking down data silos and simplifying work everywhere. both the employees and the business itself”.

Now, Platform Tokyo is designed to help businesses focus on improving experiences, not service levels. For example, the new Manager Hub provides a single destination for leaders to create learning and development plans for their teams and receive personalized training.

The new release also improves communication between disparate systems to simplify complex processes. For example, it can help companies move from an SLM process based on email and spreadsheets to an automated process involving employees and suppliers.

Start at the process level

When executives sit around the conference table, they may start with vague goals such as improving the utilization of assets such as buildings, factories, and expensive equipment, ensuring supply chain sustainability, or becoming net zero by 2030. Coordinating people, processes and equipment to translate each of these objectives into measurable results.

The purpose-built new features in the Tokyo release take the first step in aligning high-level goals for EAM, SLM and ESG with business processes running across multiple applications. ServiceNow started with these solutions to help businesses solve some of the most pressing problems facing customers.

“We simplify complex supply chains, automate asset management and provide investor-grade sustainability information so our customers can more effectively protect their businesses and manage risk and compliance,” said Wright.

Wright said they also fill a significant gap with expanded ESG management capabilities. Most solutions focus on individual areas of ESG or even single objectives reducing carbon emissions. But the United Nations has set 17 broad sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 measurable targets.

The danger of achieving personal goals is compromising others or adding extra work in the process. Managing multiple simultaneous goals will require a broader approach, such as ServiceNow’s new ESG Command Center, and processes to achieve them all in tandem. It combines ESG management and accountability with enterprise risk management and strategic project management.

ServiceNow empowers collaboration

ServiceNow partners with leading system integrators such as Mindtree, NTT DATA Corporation and RSM US LLP to customize these new capabilities for each enterprise. This will help businesses implement and fine-tune the latest release for their specific purposes. System integrators believe that new solutions will be essential to achieving broader enterprise goals.

Tomoyuki Azuma, head of NTT DATA’s ServiceNow business, told VentureBeat that “ServiceNow is a complete breakthrough in terms of the way software is developed and traditional efficiency wisdom.”

Azuma says this will be instrumental in creating the employee expertise required to collectively drive ESG goals. Most businesses he works with struggle with a sustainability dilemma, where the extra work required to manage new KPIs erodes financial sustainability. Better ESG management practices will help employees identify ways to evaluate small changes to achieve the optimal state of business processes.

“The ESG Management solution enables our clients to shape the future of our society with sustainability in a way that can measure ROI, manage risk and demonstrate impact on their local and global footprints. Awareness of the benefits of ESG will spread general engagement and innovation in ESG,” said Marci Parker, VP ServiceNow practice at NTT DATA.

Increasing engagement

The update also includes new tools to improve employee experiences for common workflows. All of this builds on ServiceNow’s recently launched Next Experience UX.

Manager Hub provides a single place to review employee journeys and respond to inquiries. The tool allows managers to create personalized experiences for each employee. They can edit assignments, add mentors, insert AI-powered learning recommendations from learning posts, and integrate satisfaction surveys to understand how employees feel about their experience and journey at the company.

The Control Center allows system administrators to discover, install, and configure ServiceNow solutions. Previously, ServiceNow administrators relied on account managers to manage new applications or manually sort through applications or ServiceNow Knowledge Management resources. With Control Center, system administrators can now discover, install, and configure ServiceNow solutions in one place.

Automated Problem Solving for Human Resources applies natural language understanding to analyze requirements and deliver self-service content. Automatic Problem Resolution previously existed for ITSM to help IT agents resolve routine incidents faster by proactively routing them to an AI-powered virtual agent. New capabilities for HR teams automate common HR inquiries such as PTO requests, HR policy or benefits enrollment questions, and payroll issues.

Privacy and security controls

Enterprises often spread data across dozens of separate applications, databases, and workflows. The new ServiceNow Vault promises to centralize privacy and security controls. It includes a tool to verify the authenticity and integrity of deployed code to simplify the management and protection of machine credentials and prevent malicious input.

Vault Now applies to all apps and data running on the Platform, Wright said. However, it does not handle data from other applications.

Cautious optimism for EAM, SLM and ESG

Yugal Joshi, partner at consulting firm Everest Group, told VentureBeat that the addition of new solutions for EAM, SLM and ESG shows ServiceNow’s insistence on moving beyond its ITSM and ITOM heritage to become an enterprise platform for customers to solve complex business problems. . These new solutions have the potential to help IT leaders improve their position and working relationships with business groups.

However, Joshi cautions new customers to do a thorough due diligence before committing. This should include a cost analysis of subscription, integration, maintenance and upgrade factors. “Leaders need to understand the functions of these new offerings and their environmental compatibility,” Joshi said.

It is also important to assess the maturity of these solutions. Everest research shows that enterprises are not fully satisfied with the maturity of newer ServiceNow offerings and the service partnerships to implement and scale them.

“This will be important for the CIO organization that engages with ServiceNow as a strategic platform vendor,” he said.

In addition, businesses should understand licensing policies. Everest research suggests enterprises are struggling with ServiceNow licensing.