Businesses are constantly seeking ways to streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and elevate user experiences. While deploying the ServiceNow platform is a significant step, realizing these benefits requires a well-structured Center of Excellence and Innovation (CoEI).
Drawing from successful transformations, like the one Ateko is driving at Bell Canada, here are four best practices to guide your CoEI setup and maximize your ServiceNow investment.
1. Business-Led Transformation with Transversal Governance
Too often, technology implementations are driven solely by IT departments. For ServiceNow to truly transform your organization, the initiative must be led by the business units themselves.
This means identifying key business challenges and opportunities that ServiceNow can address. However, business-led doesn’t mean operating in isolation. A transversal governance structure is essential to ensure alignment. This framework promotes cross-functional synergies by establishing common standards, shared capabilities, and unified technologies across all departments.
For example, a transversal governance structure ensures alignment between residential and enterprise services. Both units utilize ServiceNow’s field service capabilities to dispatch technicians for equipment installation and maintenance at client locations (e.g., homes, office buildings).
2. Don’t Assume That You Require Customization
It’s a common misconception, whether you’re a system integrator servicing a large enterprise or directly part of a large enterprise, that an organization’s needs are entirely unique and require extensive customization. While genuinely unique requirements do exist, over-customization is a trap, leading to the accumulation of technical debt and long-term operational issues.
To avoid this, enterprises should partner with a trusted advisor who understands your industry (e.g., telecom, finance) and business objectives. Have them review your requirements and challenge your assumptions, providing clear guidance on leveraging the platform’s out-of-the-box capabilities to minimize customization.
Many enterprises over-customize to the point where they can no longer benefit from platform updates, forcing them to migrate to a new, out-of-the-box instance. If your system integrator readily implements customizations without suggesting best-practice alternatives, it may be wise to reconsider whether they are truly acting in your best interest.
3. Scalable Governance: Crawl, Walk, Run
Governance is essential, but too much too soon can stifle innovation. Adopt a “Crawl, Walk, Run” approach to governance. Start with a minimal viable governance framework and gradually expand it as your ServiceNow CoEI matures and the scope of your implementations grows.
This iterative approach ensures that governance remains effective and adaptable to your evolving needs. Clearly define the goals of the CoEI across the business and align all decisions and strategies to these goals. This prevents siloed solutions while maintaining agility and streamlining development.
For example, during the initial “crawl” phase of establishing the ServiceNow CoEI, focus on prioritizing initial deployments and project delivery governance, building strong foundations while minimizing customization. As the CoEI matures into the “walk” phase, implement a more robust demand intake process with clear evaluation criteria. This ensures the company prioritizes high-value transformation projects over those driven by vocal stakeholders.
Governance is essential, but too much too soon can stifle innovation. Adopt a “Crawl, Walk, Run” approach to governance.
4. Measure and Communicate Value
Embrace an agile mindset to continuously improve your ServiceNow implementations. Adopt a planning cadence to review your automation roadmap, prioritize new projects, and adjust your strategy based on business feedback and platform updates. This iterative approach allows you to quickly adapt to changing business needs and maximize the value of your ServiceNow investment.
This regular review should also include a review of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Define how business value will be measured and communicate these KPIs to business stakeholders regularly. Refine these measures as your CoEI matures to ensure they accurately reflect the impact of your ServiceNow implementations and demonstrate the return on investment.
Transformation projects should incorporate clear, measurable performance indicators, defined at the outset and evaluated upon completion. Tangible results demonstrate a clear return on investment, strengthening the business case for future investments.
Final Thoughts
Building a successful ServiceNow Center of Excellence and Innovation requires a strategic approach that aligns technology with business goals. By embracing these four best practices – business-led transformation, limiting customization, scaling governance, and measuring and communicating value – you can unlock the full potential of ServiceNow, drive significant business value, and ensure a meaningful return on investment.