Did you know that over 80 percent of digital transformations fail? That means that less than 20 percent of companies attempting to drive digital efforts are very effective at it. That’s less than one in five organizations!
Here’s the thing: You can invest time and capital in an excellent platform and still fail. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not just about the platform you use: It’s about implementing it to ensure long-term success for your customers. It’s about investing in and empowering the people you work with to define your goals, possible roadblocks, and next steps.
The Definition of a ServiceNow Partner
A ServiceNow Partner is a specialized vendor that helps organizations implement the platform. Partner companies have experience with the platform as well as the large knowledge base and skill needed to drive successful technical deployments.
Not just any organization can become a ServiceNow Partner. ServiceNow verifies Partners with robust criteria, including the following:
- Number of certified professionals by product
- Number of authorized trainers
- Product implementation expertise
- Customer success stories
- Customer satisfaction rating
- Country and regional coverage
On top of these criteria, ServiceNow’s five Partner tiers reflect excellence in the platform ecosystem. Based on capacity, competency, customer success, and capability, these tiers help organizations find the right Partner for them. The higher the tier an organization is associated with, the more experience they have with implementing the platform for their customers.
Essentials of Defining Your Partner Searching Process
Having an objective process in place to help you find, select, and evaluate potential partners is absolutely essential to your success. Consider your target market, identify the pain points you want to address, and make sure to look for a Partner who has experience in your field and delivers results for your specific needs. You’ll also want to build out the following prerequisites:
- Understand your business outcomes and ServiceNow objectives
- Plan for which capabilities you own and plan to implement
- Pin down the skills and capabilities of people involved in your implementation
Take some time to consider the realistic minimal functionality you and your Partner can deliver and define precise measures to monitor and manage performance. That way, you’ll have practical expectations for what your Partner can accomplish. Once you’ve identified these essentials, then you can dive into establishing your approach to finding the ServiceNow Partner of your dreams.
Establish Your Selection Approach
The first step to forming a strong partnership is to define your approach to evaluation and selection. Consider building an exclusive team whose responsibilities include exploring, evaluating, and selecting your ServiceNow Partner. This team should be able to identify a great Partner for the organization and address any concerns from stakeholders and support effective onboarding.
After you have a team established, you should be able to answer the following questions:
- Is your Partner selection team multidisciplinary? Do they fulfill all the roles you need?
- What are the team’s expectations of what they need to achieve and how to achieve it?
- Does each team member know what their responsibilities are?
- Have you established the defined roles between your Partner and the ServiceNow internal team?
- Do you have a clear understanding of your requirements for working with a Partner? Have you documented these requirements?
On top of answering these questions, you’ll need a clear understanding of how Partners will be evaluated. The easiest way to do this is to create an in-depth Partner scorecard. Consider using a simple scoring mechanism with a three- or five-point system based on your goals, and use the score of each Partner to evaluate the best choice for you.
Search for and Evaluate Potential Partners
Now that you have a full system built out for evaluating and choosing your Partner, it’s time to search! ServiceNow offers a full ecosystem of Partners, so you can consider a wide variety of organizations before deciding. Make sure to search multiple sources to create a list of potential Partners. While the company offers its own Partner Finder, there are a variety of great sources, such as the following:
You’ll find a comprehensive list of all ServiceNow Partners at this link, where you can segment them based on your industry needs. Once you’ve selected a list of possible Partners, choose priorities based on the scorecard you came up with in the last step. By narrowing down the crowd of potential Partners, your team will not only be able to make more informed decisions but also be less overwhelmed by the entire process.
Send your prioritized Partners a request for proposal (RFP) or a request for information (RFI), interview your favorites for more information, and finally, select a Partner. At the end of the day, your goal is to screen as many proposals as possible to find the perfect fit for your organization
Express Your Needs and Introduce Partners through Onboarding
So, you’ve sorted through a variety of Partners, and you’ve finally decided on your favorite(s). Now it’s time to get to work! Scope the project by discussing your specific needs and expectations. Explain what you expect your Partner to take on and what to keep in house. Be as clear and concise as possible. Which tools do you hope to implement first? What are the essential results you need to accomplish?
With this information on the table, you can give them the run-down on everything they need to know. At the end of the day, their success relies on how well you align them with your internal team. To do just that, check in on your internal processes and teams to ensure they’re prepared to support your Partner(s). Then, make sure to review your onboarding plan with your Partner to make sure that it will help them ramp up quickly and efficiently. By establishing that essential foundation and identifying the steps they need to succeed, you and your Partner can accomplish your goals.
Go ServiceNow Elite with Crossfuze
Are you ready to accomplish your own goals through digital transformation? If you’re searching for a ServiceNow Partner to help, Crossfuze is a ServiceNow Elite Partner, making it a top 1 percent Partner for delivering long-term, consistent success globally. Reach out to us at LetsTalk@crossfuze.com to learn more.
