ServiceNow is a software development platform specializing in IT service management (ITSM) and IT operations management (ITOM). It is a collection of services that help streamline the process of reporting and resolving IT issues. A significant enhancement to the core platform, called the Now Platform Tokyo release, marks a significant step toward addressing issues at a business level instead of just an IT level.
Monish Mishra, Mindtree’s vice president of service market lines and strategic engagements, told VentureBeat: “By adopting ESM, businesses can leverage service management capabilities and frameworks to their organization.”
ServiceNow adds new capabilities for enterprise asset management (EAM), supplier lifecycle management (SLM), and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management. It also includes new tools for improving customer experience and engagement for customers and employees. A new ServiceNow Vault also promises to centralize data security and privacy management on the Now Platform.
Promote digital first
It’s all about helping businesses be digital first. This includes simplifying the foundation platform and business processes built on top of it.
“A single platform, like ServiceNow, must reach the far ends of the business, seamlessly connecting disparate systems, breaking down data silos, and making things easier, everywhere for both employees and the company itself, ” said ServiceNow CIO Dave Wright.
Platform Tokyo was created to help businesses focus on improving their experiences rather than just offering good levels of service. For example, the new Manager Hub provides a location for leaders to develop learning and development plans for their teams and receive personalized training.
This new release improves connectivity between multiple systems to speed up complex processes. For example, it can help companies move from an SLM process based on emails and spreadsheets to an automated process involving employees and suppliers.
Start at the beginning of the process.
Executives may start with vague goals such as increasing the use of assets such as buildings, factories, and expensive equipment, increasing supply chain resilience, or reaching net zero by 2030. These are all something that requires a concerted effort from people, processes, and equipment .
ServiceNow started with these capabilities to help businesses tackle some of their most pressing problems.
“We simplify complex supply chains, automate asset management, and deliver investor-grade sustainability data so our customers can more effectively protect their businesses and manage risk and compliance,” said Wright .
Wright says Wright’s expanded ESG management capabilities fill an important gap. Most solutions focus on one area of ESG, or even unique goals such as reducing carbon emissions. But the United Nations has identified 17 broad sustainable development objectives (SDGs) and 169 quantifiable targets.
The risk in pursuing individual goals lies in compromising others in the process or adding extra work. A more comprehensive approach, such as ServiceNow’s new ESG Command Center, is required for managing multiple simultaneous targets and the processes for achieving them simultaneously. It integrates ESG management and reporting with business risk management and strategic project management.
Collaboration with ServiceNow intensified.
ServiceNow works with leading systems integrators such as Mindtree, NTT DATA Corporation, and RSM US LLP to customize these new capabilities for each organization. This will help businesses implement and tailor the latest release for their specific needs.
Tomoyuki Azuma, the CEO of NTT Data’s ServiceNow division, told VentureBeat, “ServiceNow is a total success in terms of how software development is done and the conventional wisdom of efficiency.”
Azuma believes that it will play an important role in establishing the employee experience necessary to organize and realize ESG goals. Most of the businesses he works with have a sustainability problem where the additional work required to manage new KPIs drags down financial sustainability. A better ESG management experience will help employees identify strategies to assess small changes to achieve optimal business processes.
Marci Parker, VP ServiceNow practice of NTT Data, said the ESG Management solution empowers our clients to shape the future of our society with sustainability in a way that they can measure ROI, manage risk, and demonstrate impact on their local and global footprint.
Increasing engagement is a key strategy.
New features for improving employee experiences for common workflows are also included in the update. All of this is built on ServiceNow’s recently launched Next Experience UX.
The Manager Hub is a single place to review employee journeys and respond to requests. This allows managers to customize individual experiences for each employee. They can change tasks, add mentors, include AI-based learning recommendations from learning posts, and include satisfaction surveys to gauge how employees feel about on their experience and journey with the company.
System administrators previously had to manually classify ServiceNow Knowledge Management apps or resources in the Admin Center. In the Admin Center, system administrators can now discover, install, and configure ServiceNow solutions in one place.
Natural language processing for Human Resources allows for natural language understanding to analyze requirements and deliver self-service content. Issue Auto Resolution was previously available for ITSM to assist IT agents in faster resolution of routine incidents by proactively diverting them to an AI-powered virtual agent.
Privacy and security measures are in place.
A new ServiceNow Vault is designed to centralize privacy and security controls. It includes a tool for simplifying the management and protection of machine credentials and for verifying the authenticity and integrity of the code being deployed to prevent malicious entry.
The Vault, according to Wright, covers all the apps and data running on the Now Platform. However, it does not manage data from other apps.
EAM, SLM, and ESG are all optimistic, and there is reason to be cautious.
Yugal Joshi, a consultant at Everest Group, told VentureBeat that the addition of new solutions for EAM, SLM, and ESG signal ServiceNow’s commitment to reinventing its roots in ITSM and ITOM to become a trusted business platform for IT leaders to enhance their positioning and collaboration with business teams.
Joshi advises new customers to do thorough research before signing. This should include a cost analysis of subscription, integration, maintenance, and upgrade factors.
Besides evaluating the functionality of these solutions, Everest found that corporations were not fully satisfied with the longevity of newer ServiceNow rollouts and the service partnerships to implement and scale them.
“This will be important for the CIO organization engaging with ServiceNow as a strategic platform vendor,” he said.
Businesses need to be aware of licensing regulations in addition. According to Everest research, businesses are struggling with ServiceNow licensing.