ServiceNow has been well-known as a top ITSM platform for years, and it’s easy to see why. From comprehensive problem, incident, change, and request management to predictive intelligence and mobile support, the system provides end-to-end solutions for every organization’s IT department. Now, what if we told you that your digital transformation can extend to your entire enterprise, allowing you to unlock even greater benefits and more revenue?
Expanding Beyond ServiceNow ITSM
In Q4 of 2021, Forrester named ServiceNow as a leader in enterprise service management (ESM), recognizing them as an excellent solution that allows organizations to do the following and more:
- Empower service owners to continuously improve their processes with workflow optimization
- Move customers to proactive support instead of reactive support
- Embed and integrate business management across platforms and all areas of an organization
- Consolidate processes and reduce costs
Expanding beyond ITSM is essential to scaling up and unlocking more opportunities for your business. However, it’s not always easy to know how, what, or when to launch your ServiceNow platform expansion. Let’s explore four key tips to keep in mind as you prepare to diversify your use of the powerful platform.
Treat Each Expansion As Its Own Project
If you’re looking to expand your ServiceNow use, it’s likely that there are several areas you’d like to get involved in, such as customer service management, asset management, or operations management. Instead of consolidating these goals into one major project and attempting to implement all of them at once, consider treating each upgrade as its own project. Create a detailed plan—complete with resourcing, scheduling, and roadmapping—for every development. Identify project leads and team members before jumping in.
Similarly, be sure to dive into the expansion to determine the specific features you want to implement. For example, don’t simply head into the expansion simply thinking that you want to upgrade your IT operations management. Instead, lay out the exact capabilities that you want to prioritize. In this case, that could mean upgrading anything from service mapping to event management.
Ask yourself and your team what you hope to accomplish by expanding your services? By defining your end goals and treating them as separate projects, you can ensure that you’re investing in the correct processes and setting yourself up for success from the beginning.
Identify Pain Points and Generate Use Cases
As you develop your roadmap, have conversations with your team about their most common challenges. This will help you identify major goals and generate use cases, allowing you to sort your priorities accordingly. The following questions can help guide your approach and ensure you’re on the right track:
- What elements of your workflows are still done manually? Are they inefficient?
- Which tasks are repetitive and time-consuming? If these are automated, will they free your staff and allow them to perform higher-level tasks?
- What workflows are critical to your company’s success?
- Does your team need to manually dig for data anywhere?
- What does your talent consider “busy work”?
- Who is notified of key events that occur throughout the day?
It’s important to remember that your staff may have insight into processes that you aren’t aware of, including just how many manual, redundant tasks they perform daily. Don’t look at asking your team for their input as a sign of incompetence: At the end of the day, you’re investing in the transformation to improve their lives and productivity.
Along those lines, working with your ServiceNow Partner to identify common roadblocks and challenges can help spark further use cases. An excellent partner will not only listen but also ask you additional questions to get to the root of your issues so that they can identify the best course of action. Whether your partner will be there to help you implement one solution or several, they should treat each project as their top priority.
Prepare to Defend Your Changes
On top of identifying your goals and an excellent rollout process for your ServiceNow expansion, you’ll also need to set up methods for reviewing your success—including data harvesting, monitoring KPIs, and performing customer satisfaction scores. According to Gartner, it’s important to focus on meaningful metrics while tracking success. In fact, they suggest choosing just five to nine metrics to report. The best metrics will have the following characteristics:
- Clearly defined relationship to a business outcome
- Address a specific audience
- Work as a leading indicator
- Understandable from a non-IT perspective
- Provide actionable changes
Additionally, your system for tracking success will look different from anyone else’s. When implemented correctly, your expansion will speak to your specific goals, roadblocks, and capabilities, which means it will be a reflection of your organization—not someone else’s. Your KPIs should do the same, and your ServiceNow Partner will help you ensure that.
When it comes time to defend your spending to the C-suite, you’ll have plenty of data to back it up—and be able to reevaluate your goals moving forward. One of the best parts about expanding digital transformation throughout your enterprise is that it’s not fixed; rather, it should be designed to change and grow alongside your business.
Prepare to Defend Your Changes
Perhaps the most important tip for expanding your platform from its current state at your organization is to have an incredible ServiceNow Partner backing you up. Finding a partner that supports your organization is a long-term investment, so consider their capacity from the get-go. When you chose your partner, did you do so because they specialized in ITSM and that was your priority? If that’s the case, it may be time to consider looking for another partner who’s well-versed in the entire suite.
Similarly, your Now Partner should have in-depth knowledge and expertise across industries. Their experiences will influence their processes, perspectives, responses, and support. Every implementation will come with roadblocks, so consider how they will respond to stressful situations to ensure that you still reach your goals. With more experience under their belt, they’ll be more likely to offer the cool, level-headed support you need.
Go with Crossfuze, A ServiceNow Elite Partner
Are you ready to expand your ServiceNow use? If you’re searching for a ServiceNow Partner that will help you drive your own digital transformation and achieve your goals, 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.
