Media solutions that break news, not cameras

In the media industry, where time is of the essence, jobs can arise unexpectedly and require quick mobilization of equipment—which means a lot can go wrong. Innovative media solutions can help.

Imagine a city’s mayor has called an emergency press conference. A local news crew rushes to city hall, only to realize they grabbed a damaged camera or forgot crucial sound equipment.

Just because an event is unplanned doesn’t mean a news team’s response must be. When a major media company approached ServiceNow about this issue, I collaborated with our IT Asset Managment and Field Service Management teams to tailor a solution that could keep up with the fast pace of breaking news.

Automation to the rescue

For the media company, mobilizing for breaking news used to be a manual process, with crew members figuring out what they needed on the fly. Thanks to an innovative solution integrating IT Asset Managment and Field Service Management workflows, field agents have a fast, easy, reliable process that’s digitized on the Now Platform.

Using their phones, field agents can automatically check out the equipment they need from the stockroom. For example, a field tech could initiate an off-site press conference workflow that would automatically check out all equipment needed to cover the mayor’s speech.

Additional automation helps ensure the checked-out equipment is in good shape. When equipment is returned to the stockroom, repair workflows can be automatically triggered if any damage is detected. In addition, automatic quality control workflows ensure equipment is routinely serviced and replaced when needed.

Taken together, these workflow solutions can help ensure news crews are fully equipped, from field mobilization to stockroom management.

Broad industry appeal

By working with the media customer and understanding their needs, we were able to develop a solution that helps ensure field agents have the tools to deliver breaking news as it happens.

This out-of-the-box solution is not limited to a media company’s field agents. It could be extended to enterprise asset management and field service management across industries. In any sector, this solution could help teams better prepare for and respond to unplanned events.

For example, in manufacturing, out-of-the-box workflows could be developed for each type of equipment breakdown. After diagnosing a problem on the factory floor, a repair tech could activate a workflow on their phone that immediately checks out the needed parts and tools from the stockroom to fix the problem.

Likewise, in healthcare, a workflow could be activated during a mass casualty event to automatically deliver extra medical supplies and equipment from an off-site warehouse. This would help ensure a hospital has everything needed to provide patient care. After the end of the crisis, workflows could help maintain the medical equipment to ensure it’s ready for the next emergency.

Across industries, automating workflows and ensuring the availability of high-quality equipment streamlines operations and allows enterprises to deliver timely, reliable, and effective content.

Find out more about ServiceNow IT Asset Management and Field Service Management workflows.