Unlocking Full Platform Potential: Core Lessons for ServiceNow Investment

As I approach my 10th anniversary working within the ServiceNow ecosystem, I’ve reflected on the platform's incredible growth and strategic importance to so many organisations around the world. While the platform has deepened its capabilities across the enterprise, the fundamentals for success remain constant.  

Below are the 10 critical lessons to unlock the true potential of the ServiceNow platform and drive tangible business value.

1. Identify the Right Strategic Partner: Partner selection is critical. Choose a journey partner who really understands your long-term business goals, not just the technical deployment, and can act as a true business advisor.  If you’re not sure I know the best one!! 
2. Define a Clear Vision and Business Alignment: Start by defining specific, measurable business outcomes (e.g., reduce support costs by 15%). Align the platform activities directly to the business value they generate; avoid technology for its own sake.
3. Build a Value-Based Portfolio and Plan: Quantify the Return on Investment (ROI) for your platform commitment. Implement mechanisms to measure this value within the platform and report it consistently to key executive stakeholders.
4. Establish Value-Based Governance: Implement a right-sized governance model. This is critical for controlling scope, managing the demand pipeline, and ensuring the platform's evolution continues to align with changing strategic needs of the business.
5. Prioritise Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) Functionality: Configure, don't customise. Minimise deep customisations, which create technical debt and complicate future platform upgrades. Prioritise OOTB features for a stable, innovation and maintainable platform.
6. Invest in Organisational Change Management (OCM): Transformation is all about people.  Successful adoption hinges on user buy-in. Involve stakeholders early and implement a robust OCM plan to address resistance, train users, and communicate quick wins and ongoing success.
7. Utilise ServiceNow as an Enterprise-Wide Platform: Realise strategic value by extending the platform beyond IT. Break down departmental silos (HR, Finance, Customer Service, etc.) to create seamless, end-to-end digital workflows across the enterprise
8. Invest in High-Quality Data and CMDB/CSDM: Accurate, governed data is the foundation for automation and strategic decision-making. Prioritise the development and maintenance of a reliable Common Service Data Model (CSDM).
9. Leverage AI, Automation, and Process Mining:  Identify and automate high-volume, low-value work using tools like Flow Designer, Virtual Agents, and AI capabilities. This is the primary driver for maximising efficiency, speed and value.
10. Treat ServiceNow as a Continuous Improvement Journey: The platform is not a static project. Establish a dedicated long-term team, maintain an evolving product roadmap aligned with business leaders, and use Performance Analytics for perpetual optimisation.
11. Engage with the ServiceNow Community: Tap into the collective knowledge of organisations that have already executed similar strategic deployments. Participate in the ServiceNow Community, forums, and events to learn from shared experiences.

Okay, I know it was 11.  However, in my experience, you get these right, you’ll unlock the true potential of the ServiceNow platform.