In the last blog we looked at the need to manage technology investments effectively in order to control costs and risks. We explored some of the capabilities of ServiceNow Application Portfolio Management (APM) in managing applications, their lifecycles, how they contribute to the business and so on. Here, we’ll look at another ServiceNow solution, and explore how a combination of solutions can optimize technology, and business performance.
Let’s start by taking a look at ServiceNow IT asset management (ITAM). ITAM helps the management of technology in multiple ways. First, it supports the effective management of hardware, cloud infrastructure, SaaS utilization and costs, as well as software licensing. It also provides visibility into all enterprise technology assets in one place and provides streamlined, automated onboarding/offboarding of technology assets. Finally, it provides consistent workflows for contract and renewal management.
These benefits provide technology leaders with a greater understanding of where their money is being invested, improves the ability to plan future investments, and enables the elimination of unnecessary costs. Now, combine ITAM with APM, and IT leaders have complete control over all aspects of technology, optimizing not just the management of the current technology environment, but also planning for future needs from both an IT and a business perspective.
Conversations between business and technology stakeholders are more easily aligned when there is transparency into how technology enables business capabilities, as well as where emerging capabilities will require new technology investment. And of course, with integration to ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM), it is simple to turn plans into roadmap items, to approve investments, and to track work to validate that business outcomes are being delivered.
This combined technology management approach allows IT leaders to ensure that they are always controlling costs as much as possible, and that they are eliminating unnecessary technology risks. But it also allows much more. In the previous blog we touched on shadow IT – technology acquired by the business without IT engagement. Business leaders will argue that they have to take this approach in order to reduce risks around lost opportunities, competitive disadvantage and inefficient operations. They will often even say that working with IT takes too long.
ServiceNow changes that. With the technology reference model in APM, IT leaders can define standards and policies for enterprise software. While that allows unapproved software to be identified and eliminated, it also means that business leaders have insight into the type of application that they need to be looking for. Combined with the automated workflows in ITAM for onboarding new vendors and applications, business leaders can now get the capabilities that they need without ‘going rogue’. Technology leaders can be confident that they are supporting the business in the best possible way – by enabling their success without increasing risk exposure or losing control of costs.
To hear from experts about how the ServiceNow solution approach can help, check out our latest Enterprise Agility podcast.
