Embedding proactive IT to drive innovation

As global operations become increasingly digitized, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd (Nissan) is rethinking its enterprise architecture strategy to meet new business needs, accelerate innovation, and standardize operations. The goal? To shift from reactive IT to proactive IT.

“We tasked the Systems Development Department with creating an architecture framework that could be applied across the entire group,” explained Kenichi Yomogizawa, General Manager, Global Enterprise Architecture Department, Digital Transformation Promotion Division, Nissan. “That framework will serve as the foundation for all new systems proposed by all parts of the business.”

Replacing manual tracking reports with real-time visibility

For years, individual Nissan facilities managed their systems independently, leading to a fragmented view of the global IT landscape. Producing an accurate report on the state of global enterprise architecture took as long as three months. Teams relied on spreadsheets and email, a process that was labor-intensive and prone to errors.

“When management requested reports on system usage, we couldn’t respond until we had compiled them by hand,” explained Naoyuki Ujiie, Deputy General Manager & Chief IS Architect, Global Enterprise Architecture Department, Nissan. “By the time we’d pulled the information together, it was often out of date.”

To address the issue, the Global Enterprise Architecture Department developed a custom private cloud solution that collected information about systems and applications used by each department and site. However, the reporting functionality was complicated, and integrating with external systems was complex. Compiling lists of the applications running in each business department also required customizations that took up valuable development resources.

“We couldn’t see the relationships between our systems and the business processes they support,” explained Subana Thanasegaran, Assistant Manager of Digital Transformation Promotion Department, Nissan. “We wanted to build a new solution on a platform that came with that capability as standard.”

Improving system management with CMDB

With all the needed improvements in mind, the Nissan team replaced the home-grown system with a new solution built on ServiceNow Enterprise Architecture and uses ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to manage systems and applications.

“We saw an opportunity to significantly improve operational efficiency and data accuracy with ServiceNow,” said Ujiie. “ServiceNow CMDB makes it easy to identify all our systems and which teams are using them. Information on processes and applications supported by these systems is collected automatically by ServiceNow IT Operations Management (ITOM) Discovery, and consolidated with data imported from other systems. When configuration content is updated, information is synchronized in real time. We don’t need to pull and correct reports manually to get an accurate picture of system status.”

Nissan already used the ServiceNow AI Platform in other areas of the business and saw the potential of using the built-in CMDB, with additional visibility provided by ServiceNow ITOM, to manage systems and applications more efficiently. Yomogizawa explained: “It made sense to use technologies we’d already introduced at Nissan.”

Creating global visibility of applications across the business

With the new system, Nissan can visualize all systems and applications used by each area of the business and apply consistent, rigorous governance standards  across the group.

As Subana said, “The previous system offered only limited visibility into systems and applications, but the new system built on ServiceNow CMDB provides end-to-end coverage across all our global operations.”

The ServiceNow AI Platform simplifies the import and integration of data from external systems using APIs, enabling the system to capture more comprehensive data without manual input.

“Today we have much more granular information about external systems, including OS support end dates, development and operational costs, and security statuses,” said Ujiie. “We can see all that information in real time on a single screen.”

Consistent visibility also helps teams respond faster by reducing system downtime and minimizing service impacts. “Reporting on the global enterprise architecture now takes just one week instead of more than three months,” Ujiie continued. “That’s a 90% reduction in time spent.”

Embracing agentic AI to refine operations management

With ServiceNow CMDB laying the foundation for continued improvement, Nissan plans to modernize its enterprise systems by proactively identifying and replacing aging legacy technology.

“The data captured in the system helps to prioritize updates,” explained Yomogizawa. “We can identify when OS support is reaching end of life or simply flag when something has been operating for a considerable length of time.”

Nissan is currently considering the implementation of ServiceNow Now Assist, using agentic AI to speed up the identification of systems and applications nearing the end of OS support. Now Assist can also suggest approved architecture blueprints and application names, and detect issues with systems and applications before they cause disruption.

“The goal “is to proactively propose system upgrades instead of reacting when something becomes a risk to operations,” says Yomogizawa.

*Division and department names mentioned are as of March 2025