ServiceNow’s Greatest Competitor is ... Microsoft Excel

[Rob Greeley]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a ServiceNow platform owner, it’s hard to get people to migrate away from their comfort zone and onto ServiceNow - and that comfort zone is Microsoft Excel. It’s the trusty multi-purpose tool for managing everything from project plans to to-do lists. People love it for its flexibility, ease of use, and how it’s always been there when they needed it.  They'll happily continue creating new tracking spreadsheets for everything.

ServiceNow is the solution the business needs, offering a centralized, collaborative platform and enterprise workflows. But let’s be real—getting folks to make the switch is not easy and automatic. The moment I mention moving away from Excel, the first thing I always hear is, “Can I keep using my spreadsheet and then you upload it to ServiceNow for others to see?” It’s clear that Excel has a strong grip, and it’s hard to let go of something so familiar.

Why?  Excel allows people to be creative with their data. They can tweak, twist, and turn rows and columns however they like, making it fit their needs. As a structured database, ServiceNow asks for data to be defined at an enterprise level and consistently entered, which can feel a bit restrictive if you’re used to the freedom of a spreadsheet.

So, how do we help people feel comfortable making the leap to ServiceNow? Here are a few ideas: (Hint, it all has to do with Change Adoption...)

1. Talk About the Limits inherent in Excel:   While Excel is great for some things, it has its limits.  It struggles with real-time collaboration.  It has limited ability to control data accuracy and consistency, It doesn't scale scaling as the organization grows.  It doesn't integrate well with other processes and departments.   You can use examples to show how ServiceNow's integrated data model and workflows are better in the long run.
2. Show the Everyday Benefits of ServiceNow: Rather than just talking about the platform, show how it can make their daily tasks easier. Whether it’s better tracking, enhanced collaboration, or fewer errors, give them real-world examples they can relate to.
3. Provide Lots (...and Lots) of Support: Change is hard, and learning something new can be intimidating. Offer plenty of training, create easy-to-follow guides, and be there to answer questions. Even then people will need to be hand-held.
4. Focus on the Early Adopters: Begin with a few departments or teams and gather success stories that highlight the positive impact of the switch. When others see the benefits, they’ll be more inclined to give it a try.
5. Get Management to Switch: As soon as management starts using SeviceNow dashboards instead of asking for PowerPoint reports, this drives teams to switch quickly.  Unfortunately not all managers are willing to switch.  (Replacing PowerPoint with ServiceNow dashboards may the next challenge to think about...)

It's a challenge we all have to face, and we'll get there, expanding ServiceNow to cover one process at a time.  Meantime I'm off to my next meeting with a team to review their current process and how to migrate it to ServiceNow.  I'm sure their first statement will be "We have this shared spreadsheet...".

How's your experience?  Any suggestions to add?