Transformation: Rethinking How the Business Actually Works

[Jamie L Douglas]

This post is part of a 4-part blog series: Rethinking Transformation with ServiceNow

1. We Digitised. We Didn’t Transform
2. Iteration: Clean Up the Chaos
3. Innovation: When Doing It Better Isn’t Enough
4. Transformation: Rethinking How the Business Actually Works ← you are here

We’ve reached the final post in this series—where the real work begins. If iteration was about stabilising, and innovation about creating new value, transformation is about changing the game entirely.

Transformation Isn’t a Project – It’s a New Way to Operate

Most organisations don’t reach this step. They stop at delivery. Or maybe they improve some experiences and call it “done.”

But transformation isn't a toolset. It’s a shift in mindset.

It’s when ServiceNow stops being the system that supports the work, and starts becoming the system that runs the work.

It’s not just about optimising—it’s about asking better questions:

• Why does this team even exist in this form?
• What would this service look like if we built it from scratch today?
• What decisions could be automated—not just steps?

This is where we stop tweaking processes and start redesigning the operating model.

What Transformation Really Looks Like

Transformation moves you:

• From tickets to products
• From reactive teams to accountable service providers
• From custom fixes to shared capabilities
• From delivery to enablement

This is the point where ServiceNow becomes a strategic engine—not just a workflow platform.

But that only happens if you restructure how work flows, who owns what, and how value is defined.

Real-World Scenarios

1. Internal Teams Become Service Providers

Imagine an internal IT or HR team that starts acting like a service provider—not just a resolver of tickets.

• They have clear offerings (with outcomes, not just forms)
• SLAs and commitments are defined and tracked
• They report on performance and quality
• They take feedback and continuously improve

In ServiceNow terms:

• Structured service catalog with lifecycle management
• Scoped apps or modules that reflect business capabilities
• Dashboards tied to customer satisfaction and value delivery

That’s transformation. Not because the forms changed—but because the relationship changed.

2. ServiceNow Becomes a Business Platform

You’re no longer just using ServiceNow internally—you’re delivering services to external customers through it.

Whether you’re a franchised organisation, a shared service, or a productised delivery model—ServiceNow is no longer the “tool behind the scenes.” It is the customer-facing service.

This could include:

• Customer portals for self-service and case tracking
• Automated entitlements and workflows tailored to contract
• Scaled delivery across multiple clients using the same core capabilities

You’re not just managing work. You’re running a business model on the platform.

3. Platform as an Operating Model

Some of the most mature orgs stop building things for teams—and start enabling teams to build for themselves.

That means:

• Guardrails, not gates
• Shared libraries and reusable patterns
• Automated testing and governance
• Standardised deployment models

Now you’re acting like a platform team, not a delivery team. ServiceNow becomes a foundation others can build on safely and consistently.

Signals That You’re Ready for Transformation

You may be closer than you think. If these sound familiar, you might be ready:

• “We’ve cleaned up the basics, but we’re still solving team-by-team.”
• “We’re duplicating logic across different apps that should be shared.”
• “We want to make services feel consistent, not just functionally complete.”
• “We’re delivering well—but now we want to enable others to deliver too.”

What Transformation Requires

This isn’t just a platform challenge—it’s an organisational one.

Here’s what it takes:

• Executive Sponsorship – Not just approval, but vision and accountability
• Platform Governance – Architecture, standards, and ongoing enablement
• Business Alignment – Services that reflect how value is actually created
• Capability Thinking – Moving away from modules and towards reusability
• Patience and Discipline – Because transformation is never “quick”

How to Measure Real Transformation

Transformation metrics look different than iteration or innovation.

You're measuring:

• Service adoption across functions (not just usage stats)
• Time to deploy new capabilities, not just new forms
• Reduction in duplicated logic, apps, or integrations
• Increase in platform self-service or federated development
• Strategic outcomes: faster onboarding, reduced handoffs, higher NPS

This is where platform maturity becomes a growth driver—not just a delivery enabler.

Voice of Experience

Transformation is usually where customers get nervous. It feels big. Messy. Uncomfortable.

And it is.

But it’s also where the payoff lives.

I’ve seen organisations spend years trying to build better workflows—only to realise the real constraint wasn’t the workflow. It was the way they were structured.

Once you shift from features to capabilities—from process to platform—the conversations change. And so do the results.

You stop doing digital projects.

You start building a digital business.

The Catch with Transformation

You can’t skip straight here.

You can’t build a strategic platform on top of tactical thinking. You need iteration first. Then innovation. And then—when the ground is steady—you can scale.

That’s what transformation is.

It’s not an end state. It’s a new way of thinking about how you operate—and how your platform supports it.

Final Thoughts

Transformation is not a feature. It’s not an app. It’s not even a roadmap.

It’s a decision to stop improving processes and start redesigning outcomes.

You don’t do transformation to the business. You do it with the business.

And when it’s done well, the platform doesn’t just support the work—it becomes the work.