The challenge comes when you are not in front of your computer. You get an escalation and then the mad dash begins. You receive an email with a link to approve or some action needed, but you are at the store getting ready to check out with your family waiting at home. Or you just need that one document that you know is in the knowledge base, but your computer won't turn on and it's after hours. Or maybe you know your new employee is waiting for an approval on something, but you're in between flights with no time to crank up that laptop and just need to respond…it goes on and on.
The power of the ServiceNow CMS is that it can be harnessed within your smartphone. Sure, you've probably seen the mobile interface of the platform UI, but for us non-fulfiller folks, utilizing CMS in conjunction with a responsive framework can build a mobile experience that directly focuses on what someone can and should be able to do from their phone.
Many organizations are utilizing the powerful responsive frameworks out there (think Bootstrap, Foundation, Skeleton, etc.) within ServiceNow CMS to take the mobile experience to a whole new level. The value is you are using one theme/layout and regardless of the device, the site will render nicely. It adjusts based on the viewport rather than the device type. It doesn't matter if it's an Apple/Android/Windows/Blackberry device or some large screen external monitor, it will adjust automatically.
Here is why you should build a responsive site when using ServiceNow CMS:
- If someone is going to view a ticket as a result of an email they received, you want the info from that ticket to be easy to read and easy to act on since the majority of people check their smartphone for email (especially after hours). With responsive you don't have to worry about special templates, it will adjust to whatever device you're on and serve up the content in an appropriate way. You can also fine-tune the experience of what a button does or looks like to make it as clear as possible.
- You can define specific actions that are hidden on mobile. Many times a CMS will have sliders or large graphics or other flashy things to draw attention to the valuable content. On a phone, you just need to get to what you want to get to. Spending time to define what areas are "hidden" on mobile will ensure the end user can get right to what they want quickly and efficiently.
- Responsive is not just for smartphones, but tablets as well. When you implement a responsive design, you then have the opportunity to determine how your site will render on somewhat larger-than-phones screens. Tablets are utilized in the enterprise space more today and should be considered when thinking through the CMS experience.
- Mobile is not going away. Most organization are noticing an up-tick in activity from mobile, regardless of whether it's ready for it or not. The ESM organization ready for mobile will create greater adoption, value, and scale.
A responsive framework can get you about 80% of the way there just by loading the script. It truly is that simple today. With all the work that goes in to keeping the ESM organization running smoothly and efficiently, take the time to ensure that no matter which device I am on, I can get the help I need.
