U.S. Firms Adding ServiceNow Modules to Unify Workflows

A growing number of enterprises in the U.S., seeking to streamline workflow management, are engaging with service providers to implement ServiceNow across multiple functions, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2024 ISG Provider Lens ServiceNow Ecosystem Partners report for the U.S. finds that ServiceNow’s recent expansion from IT service management into nearly all business functions has enabled enterprises to construct a single platform to manage workflows in HR, payroll, customer relationship management, legal affairs and other areas. This type of holistic workflow solution can help businesses reduce both cost and operational complexity.

“Companies are struggling to manage a wide range of technology platforms, so most are at least thinking of consolidating them,” said Bill Huber, ISG partner, Digital Platforms and Solutions. “ServiceNow is aggressively introducing modules for every function and industry, and service providers are helping clients evaluate how they might benefit from them.”

Enterprises in the U.S. want to introduce modern workflows into more departments without taking on the technical burden of integrating new tools with existing systems, ISG says. The cost and complexity of multiple software licenses from different vendors is another concern. Many companies are looking to ServiceNow for the ability to scale workflow management horizontally, smoothly plugging parallel or complementary modules into one platform over time.

In the tight IT labor market in the U.S., companies are also trying to reduce the need to attract and retain staff with a wide range of different skills, ISG says. Maintaining separate workflow management platforms for each function requires expertise in different types of coding, database management and support, which leads some enterprises to look for a unified platform that allows for more flexible scaling of operations.

Companies in the U.S., as elsewhere, are increasingly focused on how users and developers experience workflow management platforms as modern software changes their expectations, ISG says. Users expect features such as mobile access, simple dashboards and intuitive and customizable interfaces, while developers look for advances such as simplified coding and use of composable code modules. As companies evaluate systems through this lens, they increasingly favor modern platforms like ServiceNow over legacy workflow tools. ServiceNow’s recently introduced generative AI (GenAI) component, Now Assist, may give organizations even more flexibility to optimize user experience.