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ServiceNow touts Now platform as AI engine for transformation

At the ServiceNow World Forum in Melbourne, company executives touted the transformative power of AI in streamlining workflows, improving user experiences and driving business value

Stephen Withers
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Published: 23 Oct 2024 11:45

ServiceNow has declared artificial intelligence (AI) as central to its platform’s future, promising to simplify complex digital environments and unlock new levels of productivity.

At the ServiceNow World Forum in Melbourne, the company unveiled its Xanadu release, which includes AI capabilities designed to streamline workflows, improve user experiences and deliver tangible business value.

Opening the event, the company’s ANZ vice-president and managing director, Barry Dietrich, predicted that AI platforms will soon inform every business decision. This sentiment was echoed by CEO Bill McDermott, who declared AI “table stakes” in a video message.

ServiceNow’s chief innovation officer Dave Wright acknowledged the shortcomings of past digital transformation efforts, emphasising that while “digital experience promised everything”, it often resulted in fragmented systems and poor user experiences.

Wright positioned ServiceNow’s Now Platform as the solution, calling it the “AI platform for business transformation” focused on improving employee and customer experiences through a unified interface. He said a superior user experience hinged on interconnected applications, making an integrated platform like ServiceNow the “perfect catalyst for AI”.

The Xanadu release reflects this vision, boasting over 360 new AI features tailored to specific industries, including dedicated AI modules for banking, retail, insurance, IT services, and the telco, media and technology sectors.

Xanadu also introduces the RaptorDB database for enhanced performance, new AI-powered modules for security and IT service management, improved sales and order management, a revamped enterprise architecture, and simplified dashboard creation. Other enhancements include Microsoft Copilot integration, AI-driven email and chat replies, a Leader Hub for skills gap analysis, and proactive Now Assist prompts to minimise human intervention in workflows.

Opportunities to apply AI

Tim Hogarth, chief technology officer of ANZ Bank, an established user of ServiceNow, sees opportunities to apply AI in a range of areas, including software development, parsing documents such as home loan applications that may include 1,000 pages of supporting documents, and improving internal processes and customer engagement.

Wright emphasised that ServiceNow’s approach goes beyond simply layering AI onto existing systems. The Now platform is designed for complex workflows spanning multiple systems, such as onboarding new employees, which often involves HR, finance, IT and facilities. He claimed that by baking AI into the platform, ServiceNow allows employees to accomplish more in less time, creating opportunities for growth and innovation. 

“AI is speeding things up for people,” he said, allowing them to complete a given number of tasks in less time, or more tasks in the same time. Beyond that, it provides an opportunity to think about what previously could not be done, and then do it. “AI is the only technology that gives you the gift of time,” added Wright.

He also addressed concerns about AI’s energy consumption, pointing to ServiceNow’s use of smaller, more focused language models and its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030. He envisioned a future where AI designs user interfaces and facilitates “text to workflow” integration, allowing users to describe a business problem and have AI generate the necessary digital workflows.

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Dietrich emphasised the need for simplification and cost reduction in the current business climate, highlighting ServiceNow’s focus on providing AI-powered offerings that address these needs while enhancing productivity and personalisation.

In the public sector, he noted strong interest from Australian government agencies in adopting AI to streamline services and empower employees, citing ServiceNow’s Protected Platform, which offers local data hosting and support.

ServiceNow recently signed a three-year state purchase contract (SPC) with the Victorian government to standardise Now Platform adoption across government departments and agencies, including the creation of a VicGov ServiceNow CIO Forum and a ServiceNow Centre of Excellence.

“ServiceNow and the Victorian government have a longstanding relationship, and this SPC will lead to a new era of efficiency, innovation and productivity for the government and citizens of Victoria,” said Dietrich.

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