Cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) is transforming at a rapid pace, with around 200 providers offering solutions to companies of various sizes, for almost every area of their business operations. ITSM includes the discreet processes that support a service through its lifecycle, from service management to incident management, project management and asset management.

The latest innovations in ITSM are being driven by a growing focus on delivering a superior customer-like digital experience for its users in the workplace. With Chief Information Officers recently surveyed by Oxford Economics reporting that digital workflows have improved their employee performance and productivity by over 75%, there’s a healthy demand in the ITSM tools market for systems that can make our professional lives easier and more efficient.

Some providers are popular for specific aspects of their service – such as their DevOps or managed service provider (MSP) offering. But last year, enterprise ITSM platform ServiceNow ranked as a global leader in providing the best workflow experience for its suite of business service modules. Established in 2004, ServiceNow handles over 1200 client firms in the UK, with customers including Experian, National Grid and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Our pick of ServiceNow’s top tools

• IT Service Desk
  ServiceNow® Walk‑up Experience provides a self-service portal where employees can access IT support by connecting with trained staff, who can handle queries in real time via live chat. Features include online check-in, automated notifications for queue alerts, appointment scheduling and inventory management.

• HR Service Delivery
  ServiceNow can connect HR workflows with all business departments so that repetitive tasks like onboarding or orientation and completion of forms are less reliant on manual processing, freeing up HR to focus on other priorities. By integrating ServiceNow with Workday, Overstock managed to automate 115 routine onboarding tasks and reclaim 1000 days in lost productivity.

• Field Service Management
  Spreadsheets, email, and other management tools are replaced with a "light-speed" service designed for everyone in the business, enabling field staff to work effectively when on location. The module’s features include appointment booking capability, dynamic scheduling, and a mobile app which supports offline working.

• Application Development
  Business apps can be built, tested, and run with little to no coding required, using the Now Platform® App Engine. According to ServiceNow, this tool allows businesses to ‘bring new enterprise apps to the market in half the time and one-third of the cost.’ The app development module could be especially useful for businesses lacking the resource of in-house developers.

• Security Threat Resolution
  ServiceNow’s automated tools can reduce threat research from 45 minutes to under a minute. The ServiceNow Governance, Risk, and Compliance module prioritises vulnerabilities, manages incidents, and visualises the effectiveness of security investments, helping you to protect your business.

Should I be using ServiceNow?

Let's take a look at ServiceNow's top benefits:

1. Streamlined and improved processes
   ServiceNow standardises all information about IT assets and business services through its configuration management database. Only a small amount of configuration is required to get it up and running – and about 75% of your work is done once it's set up. Its open infrastructure means you can plug it into different systems or processes.

2. Business tool integration
   ServiceNow provides a suite of automation tools that can be customised and fully integrated to connect IT operations management to performance analytics, HR service delivery, customer service management, risk and compliance management, and more.

3. Increased productivity
   Automation and operational visibility improves processes for service requests, incident management, procurement, and onboarding, so that operational staff along with support teams such as IT can work more effectively, making your business more productive.
   
   The platform also reduces delays and disruptions, because tasks can be automated to notify personnel and even fix problems before they affect customers.

4. Return on investment
   Forrester Consulting’s 2019 report on the "total economic impact" of ServiceNow to customers showed that its return on investment was worth as much as 229% besides £3.4 million in infrastructure savings. Designed for enterprise businesses, this cloud-based Platform-as-a-Service can be easily scaled across multiple networks and supports high transaction volume and department-level workload.

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