When your company decides to leap into digital transformation, it’s essential to understand all that it entails. While it has been widely adopted by businesses looking to streamline their digital footprint, some ServiceNow implementation challenges have to be noted. But, if identified appropriately, each one can be resolved before any issues arise.
ServiceNow Implementation Challenges
When planning for your ServiceNow implementation, it’s important to remember that ServiceNow is more than just impressive technology. It requires a digital transformation strategy.
Companies should have a robust implementation plan, as with any new service or process. If not, the implementation timeline and cost will be negatively impacted. Therefore, it’s essential to do a thorough analysis of possible hiccups and prepare for any issues to prevent the following ServiceNow implementation challenges.
Platform Owner / Governance Model Not Identified
It is important to have a single, dedicated person that is knowledgeable and experienced who can manage the overall value of the platform. The value delivery and architecture of the software then needs to be maintained as a whole to ensure that the organization is getting the most out of the platform. The platform owner also needs support and buy-in from their executive team and supporting process owners to ensure that the needs of the platform are being met. A direct line to the executive team gives the platform owner a seat at the table and lets their voice be heard and respected.
Insufficient Resources & Experience
Integration, testing, and development is a lot of responsibility for an internal team who, more often than not, also has to juggle its core work. Creating or hiring an upgrade team can help make the most of your resources and get it done right, the first time. If the team you create doesn’t have the right knowledge or expertise to implement ServiceNow accurately, you will spend more money correcting issues that can arise. Another option is to hire an experienced, external consulting team, like Cask, to bypass the training and investment, and maximize the ROI possible from ServiceNow.
Numerous Integrations
An organization can often have an onslaught of separate systems and applications trying to run together. This can be difficult to administer and manage and can become too complex to introduce and integrate a new application such as ServiceNow. Therefore, it’s beneficial to invest in an experienced team that can adequately integrate your systems and help troubleshoot and streamline the processes.
Bespoke Process
Before considering implementing ServiceNow, the organization needs to understand the importance of keeping all your processes updated and ready for integration. Often, organizations over-customize their instance and processes making upgrading or implementing new solutions a challenge. The ServiceNow implementation process and the data streams should be updated during implementation and maintained by the platform owner according to their set governance initiatives.
Taxonomy & Categorization
An issue that organizations often face when implementing ServiceNow with an existing system or updating their current instance is understanding the differences in categorization and labeling terminology. The ServiceNow platform may list a feature under a different name than what is on your current system. Your implementation team should recognize these differences and resolve them at the beginning of the process.
Managing Licenses & Subscriptions
Depending on the new or existing ServiceNow instance, different solutions require different licenses and subscriptions. It is important to keep an up-to-date record of all licenses and subscriptions to manage who has a license, when they may be expiring, and the cost of renewal. Making updates or changes to your instance can become frustrating and time consuming if your license or subscription has expired before or during implementation.
Showcase the Value of the Platform
ServiceNow is not a cheap investment and if it you’re not implementing it in a way that drives automation or not marketing your tool internally to show value, then leadership can begin to doubt whether they really need the tool. Amazing things can be done on the NOW platform, but not if you make mistakes with implementation or your roadmap that cause you to not use the platform to the full breadth of its capabilities.
Preventing Implementation Challenges
There are many things that can go wrong when implementing any new service or system into your organization. To help prevent ServiceNow implementation challenges, consider the following:
- Create a plan – define clear objectives, goals, and roles for the entire team
- Identify best practices – what has worked in the past? Where does your team need the most help? Incorporate that into your implementation plan
- Communicate – listen to your team and their needs. Do they have the required experience for the implementation? Do they feel stretched thin? Do they need help?
- Be flexible – not only with your team but with the platform itself. Make sure the processes you implement account for company growth and extenuating factors
- Hire experts – do research before hiring a partner to help you with ServiceNow implementation. Check their track record, testimonials, and proof of performance
In a nutshell, ServiceNow helps companies become more scalable, cost-effective, and efficient in managing their systems. As the leading technical management company, ServiceNow is built to reduce costs, redundancies, and headaches.
When making the digital transformation decision, remember the potential ServiceNow implementation challenges and how they can be thwarted. It all starts with a proactive mindset and having a ServiceNow partner, like Cask, that understands your needs.
