The ServiceNow Store: Buy. Build. Grow Business Value.

[MichaelDortch]

Knowledge15 is over and you and your colleagues are reveling in what I've called previously "the Knowledge effect." So what's next?

For many if not most of you reading this, clues to answer can easily be found in a recent LinkedIn post from Jason Wojahn, President of the ServiceNow Business Unit at Cloud Sherpas. (His company is a ServiceNow Master Solutions Partner, by the way.) Jason's post is entitled "Looking to the Future of ServiceNow in the Enterprise," and should be required reading for every ServiceNow champion. Here's my take on some key reasons why, based on Jason's main points.

Cloud computing in the enterprise is already a reality. Cloud Sherpas' recent Enterprise Cloud Report found that 75 percent of enterprises worldwide are using or implementing at least one cloud-based application. An additional five percent of those enterprises are kicking tires in the cloud, according to the report.

ServiceNow has momentum. The company has built an impressive ecosystem of partners and a loyal, enthusiastic user base by providing innovative, effective solutions for IT service management. That success has set the stage for expanded use of ServiceNow, for IT operations management (ITOM), modernizing IT, and service management beyond IT, Jason asserts.

The ServiceNow Store is a critical inflection point. A mere two years after beginning to promote the ServiceNow Service Automation Platform as a foundation for new applications, the ServiceNow Store is now a reality. And as Jason puts it so well, the ServiceNow Store "isn't the result of a technology discussion. Rather, it's the result of a business need to launch new apps without having to spin up servers or think about infrastructure."

And in case you think the ServiceNow Store is just a bunch of user-created integrations with other solutions or geeky curiosities, look more closely at the first wave of available apps.

• Cloud Sherpas has introduced a Legal Services app and a Security Enhancement app.
• Fruition Partners, another ServiceNow Master Solutions Partner, has introduced five ServiceNow Store apps. LIFT Intake consolidates and categorizes issues reported by phone, e-mail, or self-service submission across multiple business units. Telebridge adds enhanced voice features to ServiceNow. Qualys CMDB Manager automatically synchronizes Qualys security vulnerability scan data into the ServiceNow Configuration Management Data Base. Qualys Remediation Manager creates ServiceNow incidents from Qualys remediation tickets. And a Bomgar app enables seamless, real-time remote ServiceNow support.
• Wolfpack, which was founded by winners of the first ServiceNow Hackathon at Knowledge14, has introduced FocalPoint. That app eases and speeds consolidation and integration of topic-specific enterprise content, enabling faster time to success and business value for those building and managing knowledge bases and content catalogs.

Once you've fully recovered from Knowledge15 and read Jason's great post, spend some time at the ServiceNow Store. Find some apps that offer value to your enterprise, and experiment with them. (It's very likely that there's already at least one app there already that can increase agility, resilience, or trustworthiness at your organization.) Then, start thinking about what integrations or apps you and your colleagues might make available to others via the ServiceNow Store. I'm sure you'll find all of these efforts to be time (and money!) well spent.