ServiceNow Improves Digital Workflows with Now Platform Utah Release

ServiceNow is adding a series of new workflow and workforce optimization and management capabilities as part of the Utah release of its Now Platform, announced on March 22.

This is ServiceNow's first major release of its flagship offering since September 2022, when it introduced the Tokyo update of its Now Platform with new enterprise asset, supplier, and environmental management capabilities.

In the Utah update, ServiceNow is aiming improve not just IT service management (ITSM) but also adjacent areas such as workforce optimization and capabilities for health and safety.

Related: ServiceNow Reports Growth as Digital Transformation Demand Continues

A key theme of the release is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the various Now Platform modules to improve automation.

Among the core feature enhancements in the Utah update are:

Dave Wright, chief innovation officer at ServiceNow, said the company updated its Now Platform to improve organizational agility, add purposeful automation, and also improve the overall experience.

The need for agility is kind of part of the hangover from COVID," Wright told ITPro Today. "People saw things rapidly change, and I don't think anyone wants to get burned by that again."

ServiceNow Now Platform Utah Update Looks at Human Side of Automation

A key part of the Utah update is its focus on employees and how they work.

For example, when the Now X division of ServiceNow was developing the new Health and Safety Incident Management module that allows organizations to report, resolve, and track issues from a governance perspective, it took into account feedback from an early set of users, Wright said.

Related: ServiceNow Brings Workplace Scenario Planning to ITOps

The Utah update also integrates a new Workforce Optimization module that helps organizations understand and take inventory of employees' skills. The new workforce module benefits from technology that ServiceNow gained via the acquisition of Hitch Works in June 2022. Wright explained that the module also provides capabilities to help an organization assist employees in developing skills that align with corporate requirements.

Workforce automation also benefits from AI capabilities that Wright said will aid human resources (HR) department processes.

"We found this weird thing where whenever someone was creating a human resources case, they were almost always misclassifying it," he said. "We realized that we could actually apply artificial intelligence to do this classification and make sure things go to the right people."

In addition, the new ServiceNow platform update provides enhancements around workplace space management. ServiceNow has had capabilities in its platform for several years that allow people to see what's happening in an office. However, organizations are now starting to look at contracts for office spaces and want to make more informed decisions around office spaces, according to Wright. That's where the new Workplace Lease Administration fits in — to help organizations optimize their office space contractual commitments.

Process Automation Efforts Expand in ServiceNow Now Utah Update

Process optimization also got a boost in the latest ServiceNow platform.

ServiceNow-Field-Service

"We've gone beyond some of the traditional modules, all the way down into things like field service management," Wright said. "So this allows people to look at the processes they're going through, understand where they've got bottlenecks effectively, and look at how they can then apply a summation of different techniques to try and get around those bottlenecks."

The overall goal with the ServiceNow Now Platform updates is to continue to enable organizations to optimize both technical and human processes needed to help a business be successful in a challenging economy.

"The people I speak to are looking at how they prioritize tech investments, and a lot of it is based on ROI and time to value," he said.