Navigating the Path to ServiceNow Excellence in 2024

2024 is poised to bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges for ServiceNow platform owners in the dynamic landscape of service management. As the platform's technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, so do the complexities in maximizing investments, ensuring efficient governance, and harnessing the power of emerging trends. In this blog post, we'll pair common challenges with corresponding expert recommendations to help you Thrive with ServiceNow in 2024. 

Resource and Financial Friction

Challenge

Tightened budgets and resource scarcity can hinder platform optimization. Recent research from Gartner suggests that IT budgets are only expected to increase marginally above inflation in 2024 – meaning CIOs need to find ways to deliver more value and efficiency from technology investments.

Recommendation

Strategic prioritization is crucial. Identify mission-critical initiatives and leverage ServiceNow platform management solutions, like Thirdera Thrive, to achieve more with less.

Platform Governance and Product Ownership

Challenge

Efficient governance is often overlooked, impacting overall product ownership.

Recommendation

Nurture a healthy Center of Excellence and Innovation (CoEI) with clear product owners. Gartner reiterates this in their March 2023 report “How to Govern and Fund Platforms in a Product World”, stating that platform teams need to treat the platform as a product and consider the product or feature teams as their customers. Furthermore, by implementing governance protocols to streamline workflows, you can ensure every enhancement aligns with business objectives.  

Well-Governed Data Models (the CMDB and more)

Challenge

Poorly governed data models can lead to inefficiencies and data integrity issues.

Recommendation

Prioritize data governance. Start with a CMDB strategy that incorporates a strong CSDM aligned to the business and industry in which it works. Define clear data ownership, establish data quality standards, and leverage ServiceNow's capabilities to enforce these standards across the platform.

Speed and Productivity

Challenge

Teams struggle with agility, slowing down the pace of innovation and progress overall.

Recommendation

Embrace DevOps principles – a recommendation shared in Gartner's July 2023 "Hype Cycle for Agile and DevOps". Integrate development and operations to accelerate release cycles. Leverage automation to streamline repetitive tasks, increase team productivity, and enhance visibility, traceability, auditability, and observability across the DevOps pipeline.

AI Trust and Confidence

Challenge

Organizations are cautious about AI adoption due to concerns about trust and safety.

Recommendation

Foster a culture of transparency. Clearly communicate how AI is used, ensure ethical practices, and provide training to instill confidence in the responsible use of AI within the platform. Gartner recommends adding GenAI to your product roadmap now, so as not to risk falling behind peers in the conversational AI and Data & Analytics markets. To hear how ServiceNow is managing the fluidity of AI and GenAI, watch our on-demand webinar: Beyond Traditional AI: Explore GenAI on ServiceNow.

Foster sustained platform value

ServiceNow platform owners face a unique set of challenges that demand strategic foresight and adaptability as we head into 2024. By addressing resource constraints, fortifying governance, optimizing data models, enhancing speed and productivity, and building trust in AI, organizations can overcome hurdles and emerge stronger than ever. The key lies in embracing innovation and leveraging the right platform management solutions to propel your ServiceNow journey toward unprecedented excellence. 

Read our 2024 Platform Management Guide to discover how to maximize your business maturity, unlock long-term success, and get continuous value from your ServiceNow investment in the new year.