An IT leader’s take on the changing role of IT
Recent research by ServiceNow took an in-depth look at how IT leaders are embracing AI to drive business transformation today and innovate for tomorrow. As the chief digital information officer at ServiceNow, I’m inspired by the results: They show the growing role of IT as a strategic partner and business driver.
On ServiceNow’s digital technology (DT) team, we’ve been operating this way for years. We’re innovators, thought leaders, change agents and revenue generators helping ServiceNow scale for growth.
The world around us keeps changing, and so does my team as we redefine what it means to work in IT. In addition to owning traditional IT—systems and functions, data, policies, risk management, support and infrastructure—our DT function drives growth by innovating and championing ServiceNow products as customer zero.
For example, by automating requests through the service catalogue and our Now Support portal, we saved $20.3 million in one year.
We also partner closely with every ServiceNow department to unify our tech and business strategy and make everyday moments easier. Aligning on shared goals helps us deliver amazing experiences and outcomes.
The AI game changer
According to our research, 50% of IT leaders say AI has had the greatest organisational impact of all their technology investments in the last two years. And 75% are prioritising AI over the next two years.
We know that AI starts with data and ends with experience. With this core tenet in mind, we’ve been putting AI to work at ServiceNow for more than seven years to help our employees and customers be more productive.
We’re not just automating a handful of manual tasks and processes across a department or two. We’re infusing AI everywhere to transform how we work and to drive measurable value. Using AIOps, for example, we’ve proactively prevented 25% of IT operational issues. And we’ve completed 96% of Virtual Agent chatbot conversations.
Every day, we’re dialling into different AI capabilities that are built into the Now Platform. We’re mining processes across every department to discover inefficiencies. Then we’re figuring out how to eliminate these process loops through task automation.
If the AI capability doesn’t exist, ServiceNow DT leans into our customer zero role. We find ways to innovate on our AI platform, turning error-prone manual tasks into streamlined, automated steps or fully reimagining the work with AI.
Prioritising people
People are the heart of every great company. At ServiceNow, we require all our leaders to be customer-first, self-aware, inclusive and courageous — so they can advance our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.
In DT, our leaders model this in everything they do. They take the long view and build trust by putting people first, rolling up their sleeves, going fast while paying attention to detail and delivering exponential results. They’re also player-coaches who inspire their teams to achieve excellence and understand that we win together while serving others.
Gain more insights on the changing role of IT leaders in our complimentary research report.