With the new Tokyo release, the ServiceNow platform governs business complexity

It is not easy to describe the potential of ServiceNow. Many know the Now Platform because it has been adopted by the world’s leading companies for manage processes of IT and it is significant that a company like Microsoft, which certainly has the skills to develop the necessary tools internally, has chosen ServiceNow to manage its IT processes. However, ServiceNow’s vision has always gone beyond IT and the goal is to organize and optimize the digital workflows of all business functions. That this is ServiceNow’s vision emerged very clearly during Knowledge 2022, the company’s annual event, which we attended for the European leg in May.

Today ServiceNow’s development path marks an important milestone with the release of Tokyo, major release of the platform that in the company’s objectives will be able to further accelerate the digital transformation of companies. This concept was reiterated to us by Filippo Giannelli, Country Manager for Italy of ServiceNow, whom we heard for the occasion. For Giannelli ServiceNow, in particular with the Tokyo release, is synonymous with complexity, or rather ServiceNow likes complexity, because the platform is designed to address and solve the problems that companies face when their scenario competitive proves to be intricate. It is interesting to note how this approach overcomes the normal dichotomy between large or medium / small companies, because the discriminating factor for evaluating the effectiveness of a platform like ServiceNow becomes precisely the complexity inherent in the business of companies.

ServiceNow Tokyo, the new release of the Now Platform

If it is true that ServiceNow is still adopted by most of the large global companies, such as 80% of the Fortune 500, this change of perspective becomes useful to make other types of companies understand the potential of the Now Platform. Although Giannelli confirmed to us that ServiceNow’s vision sees the platform’s potential to manage tall aspects of business operations, thus potentially replacing systems such as ERP and CRM, at the same time it is clear that the majority of ServiceNow customers have made significant long-term investments in the systems they are currently using. For this reason, the ServiceNow strategy is based on the possibility of making the Now Platform interact with a multitude of systems, to create a real integration. ServiceNow’s point of view is that through i workflow managed by the Now Platform, the level of abstraction is raised, with the processes that work “above” the other systems and that guarantee a complete view of company activities. Through the optimization of processes, with all the tools made available by the Now Platform that tend to remove the manual and repetitive components of the work, through automation, removal of silos and the connection between the various data sources present in the company , it is possible to improve the work of all employees.

The ease of integration it therefore becomes a cornerstone, with artificial intelligence becoming increasingly important to achieve real visibility on data and remove silos. In this context, Giannelli sees three objectives as primary in the development of the Now Platform, in particular with the release of Tokyo: to increase engagement and productivity with customers and employees, to accelerate intelligent data management and to respond to specific needs such as asset management, supplier life cycle or ESG issues.

Increasing attention to ESG issues

Going more specifically on Tokyo’s technical innovations, there are three tools that have seen the greatest developments:

• Enterprise Asset Management (EAM): allows you to automate the life cycle of physical assets, allowing you to reduce costs, mitigate risks and improve strategic planning. EAM is designed for the specific needs of industries such as healthcare, financial services, retail, manufacturing and the public sector.
• Supplier Lifecycle Management (SLM): revolutionizes relationships with suppliers, surpassing tools such as email and spreadsheets, with the aim of reducing operational costs and making organizations more resilient. Vendors themselves will be able to use platform-managed self-service experiences to interact with organizations.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Management: the issue of ESG compliance has become central and the Now Platform provides tools that allow you to define and evaluate specific KPIs in real time.

“Tokyo offers businesses exactly what they need right now: new solutions that generate immediate value, that are easy to implement and use, and that help them do more with less.”. He stated CJ DesaiChief Operating Officer of ServiceNow. “This is not the time to experiment. A digital platform is the only way to create extraordinary experiences, create new business value and accelerate transformation so organizations can focus on growth in the digital-first world. “.