ServiceNow to acquire Fairchild Resiliency Systems to help companies better manage risk at scale

Companies can leverage the Now Platform to plan so work can still happen during service outages

Organizations are betting on digital initiatives to drive competitive advantage, and it is difficult to generate value if they don’t take risks.

Risk comes in many forms - from hurricanes and hacks – and poorly managed risks can have serious consequences for a company: at stake are an organization’s reputation, profit margins, and customer satisfaction and retention.

To help organizations be more resilient and mitigate risks, ServiceNow has signed an agreement to acquire Fairchild Resiliency Systems^[1], a business continuity management (BCM) company headquartered in Boston, MA.

Fairchild’s BCM solution helps companies plan so that work can still happen during service and business process outages. With Fairchild, ServiceNow plans to extend its Risk portfolio by bringing together Fairchild’s business continuity capabilities with ServiceNow’s operational, vendor and IT risk management capabilities to give organizations the visibility and flexibility they need to better manage risk and become more resilient.

Business Continuity 101

IT disruptions and natural disasters are realities that organizations around the world must plan for and be able to quickly recover from. Service outages can also lead to regulatory action, including costly fines. Building resilience can help organizations address both types of risk.

Fairchild’s BCM solution currently integrates with ServiceNow^® IT Service Management (ITSM) and Integrated Risk Management. Together, ServiceNow and Fairchild help customers be more resilient and protect critical enterprise workflows by automating disaster recovery planning, exercising and management.

With Fairchild, customers can leverage the strength of the Now Platform^® to perform business impact analysis, identify gaps between IT capabilities and business needs that increase exposure, manage service outages and practice what-if scenarios.

Here at ServiceNow, we use Fairchild’s technology to support our own BCM program.

Integrated Risk Management

Built on the Now Platform, Fairchild complements ServiceNow’s Risk portfolio, including risk management, audit management, vendor risk management and corporate compliance and oversight, which help organizations take an integrated approach to managing risk.

Gartner has recognized the importance of an industry category called Integrated Risk Management (IRM), which is about “combining technology, processes and data to enable the simplification, automation and integration of strategic, operational and IT risk management across an organization.”

The ServiceNow Integrated Risk Management product helps organizations manage risk more effectively by connecting IT, operational and other types of risk and compliance activities on a single platform. The resulting data sharing and increased visibility can help organizations improve their decision-making and performance at the highest levels of the organization, and often reduce duplicative tools and efforts.

ServiceNow is a Leader in the Gartner 2019 Magic Quadrant for Integrated Risk Management Solutions^[2] and Fairchild is a Challenger in the Gartner 2019 Magic Quadrant for Business Continuity Management.^[3] Business Continuity Management is a core component of an Integrated Risk Management program.

Celebrating what’s possible on the Now Platform

At ServiceNow, our focus is on delivering digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity. Together with our partners, the Now Platform represents a true ‘force multiplier’ for our customers, helping them accelerate their digital transformation journeys and drive business value.

As a ServiceNow Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partner, Fairchild’s business was built entirely on the Now Platform. This is the first time ServiceNow has acquired an ISV partner.

The Now Platform includes powerful capabilities that drive cross-functional communication and processes, including a single data model to eliminate silos, automated workflows to reduce bottlenecks, and knowledge management to manage policies in one location.

Today, we celebrate what’s possible on the Now Platform.

ServiceNow expects to complete the acquisition by the end of Q4 2019. 

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Forward‑Looking Statements
This blog contains forward‑looking statements about the expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions and strategies relating to ServiceNow’s acquisition of Fairchild. Such forward‑looking statements include statements regarding future product capabilities and expected benefits to ServiceNow. These statements reflect the current beliefs of ServiceNow and are based on current information available to the ServiceNow as of the date hereof. ServiceNow does not assume any obligation to update the forward‑looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. The forward‑looking statements in this blog are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in such forward‑looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the inability to further assimilate or integrate Fairchild’s technology into our platform; the inability to retain key employees of Fairchild after the transaction closes; unanticipated expenses related to Fairchild’s acquired technology; disruption to our business and diversion of management attention and other resources; and potential unknown liabilities associated with Fairchild’s business.

^[1] Fairchild Consulting Services does business as Fairchild Resiliency Systems.

^[2]Gartner, ‘Magic Quadrant for Integrated Risk Management Solutions’ by Jie Zhang, Brian Reed, July 15, 2019.

^[3] Gartner, ‘Magic Quadrant for Business Continuity Management’ by David Gregory, Roberta J. Witty, September 12, 2019.