ServiceNow Consulting Solutions

ServiceNow is a cloud services provider offering Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to a variety of industries. ServiceNow offerings help businesses modernize their processes through automation and digitization by connecting people, functions, and systems using a single cloud platform.

ServiceNow applications and modules are built on top of the ServiceNow platform, which provides a common data model and set of services to deliver applications focused on stakeholder experiences, frictionless flow of work, integration into the broader application landscape, service performance data, event detection, automation, and embedded AI/ML.

Yes, ServiceNow is built on a common services platform, which enables core services (e.g., workflows, integrations, automation, notifications, etc.) that allow organizations to optimize the “driving of work” across the organization. This minimizes friction caused by miscommunications or dropped balls and minimizes wait time in processes. This becomes a powerful platform on which organizations can deploy ServiceNow applications, cross-functional workflows, or use ServiceNow’s low-code/no-code app engine to build company or industry applications rapidly with solid governance.

Yes, ServiceNow is built on a common data model that includes:

1. Foundation Data: Including user, department, cost center, etc.
2. Service-Level Reporting Data: Measures performance of delivery against service-level targets.
3. A Configuration Management Database (CMDB): Includes all of the physical assets an organization manages; this could be limited to traditional IT assets, but also includes the ability to track operational assets such as controllers, machinery, engines, pumps, remote health monitoring devices, etc.
4. The Common Services Data Layer: Provides a “business context layer” linking business capabilities and required processes to business, application, and technical services, which then can be linked to the physical assets in the CMDB.

ServiceNow’s common data model that is leveraged across apps provides the following benefits:

• Allows for a comprehensive view of the business without multiple, complex app integrations.
• Prevents loss of data fidelity as it is mapped from one system’s data model to another. 
• Applies business context consistently across all data.

The common data model provides an organization with increased visibility with a line of sight from business capabilities, processes, and the services that enable them through to:

• Service Costs: Manage incidents, changes, problems that may affect budgets, etc.
• Level of Service: Maintain availability, reliability, and service delivery performance against targets.
• Application Coverage: Enables portfolio management and rationalization decisions.
• Project Portfolio Investments: Oversee how projects within a portfolio align to business capabilities, corporate strategy, and objectives.
• Risks and Compliances: Understand possible impact on business continuity and security threats.

ServiceNow does recognize that it needs to coexist with other systems, and as such, has a robust integration hub and automation architecture to facilitate integrations with other systems that may exist within the environment.

ServiceNow consultants can play multiple roles, based on expertise and experience:

• An advisory architect can assist in developing a transformation blueprint and roadmap for streamlining and integrating the business capabilities a company delivers, providing new capabilities and ways of working to improve customer, employee, or supplier experiences, maximizing technology and operational excellence, or using the platform to build game-changing apps to provide competitive advantage or enable new business models.
• Business Process Consultants (BPC) conduct workshops to gather customer requirements for implementing ServiceNow modules and apps, and document those requirements as user stories that the client can then sign off on to define the scope for an implementation. During the build phase, BPCs perform internal QA testing, document and reconcile clarifications to requirements, and help prepare user acceptance testing scripts.
• Solutions architects have extensive experience with ServiceNow and understand business challenges and solutions. They define the technical solution that fits the requirements, while ensuring the solution is consistent with other apps within the platform and that customizations are minimal and will not impact upgrades and total cost of ownership. They also lead sprint planning and daily technical standups to ensure the development team is on track and all questions and blockers are addressed.
• Developers are responsible for configuring the solution, which includes implementing service portals, defining services and record producers, configuring SLAs and notifications, etc. Configuration can also include implementing business rules, client scripts, and UI policies.

To effectively work with ServiceNow as a consultant, considerable knowledge of the ServiceNow platform and applications are required, in addition to workflow and integration skills:

• Platform and application configurations
• Scripting of business rules, UI policies, client scripts, and script includes using Javascript and Node.js
• Implementing workflows using flow designer
• Customizing portals using angularJS and CSS
• Implementing integrations utilizing ServiceNow’s Integration Hub Spoke architecture and REST APIs

A solid understanding of Agile methods, including user story development, sprint planning, show and tell sessions, and development in short sprints is also necessary.

For senior-level resources, strong understanding of managing complex transformation programs, process engineering and optimization, requirements gathering, and solution design are also required.

ServiceNow provides both Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings, but is most commonly provided as SaaS. 

• SaaS: ServiceNow hosts a suite of domain, vertical, and horizontal applications built on top of the ServiceNow platform that cover a broad set of business capabilities and imperatives grouped into Customer Experience, Employee Experience, Technology Excellence, Operational Excellence, and Build and Automate. ServiceNow provides applications covering ITSM and IT operations management, asset management, operational technology management, HR service delivery, patient portals, customer service management, field service management, and more.
• PaaS: ServiceNow’s low-code/no-code app engine allows users to rapidly build custom business applications leveraging a ready-built environment with built-in components.