How Agencies Can Enhance Their IT Workflows
ServiceNow started as IT service management platform to help agencies and organizations with services such as IT help desks, but it has grown into much more than that. Just one of its many enhancements is the ability to automate workflows.
This is critical in the federal government. Think about how much work has to flow within an agency and between agencies for missions to be effectively carried out, whether that is in IT procurement, cybersecurity, cloud computing or document management. Sometimes workflows need to be automated. Whenever an IT leader needs to approve something, there is a workflow.
Using ServiceNow, IT leaders and staff can go into a self-service workflow portal that allows them to check on workflows themselves. Users can also start workflow requests so that messages flow to the right people. This can be done on a desktop PC or a mobile device.
Another aspect of IT management that ServiceNow can help with is IT asset management. The government manages millions of different IT assets, including hardware solutions and software. To keep track of them, ServiceNow has an asset management module.
There is also a facilities management module that allows facilities managers to automate their workflows. Such staff should be able to go into a single portal and note that a lightbulb is out or request a laptop for a particular room. ServiceNow enables all of that via one portal instead of users having to call three different people.
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Agencies Already Using the ServiceNow Workflow Approach
Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses ServiceNow to understand the relationships and interdependencies of its large network of equipment, applications and data.
The lab has a vast network of devices and applications, which made it impossible to keep track of data source and configuration items. Oak Ridge also had a lack of configuration mapping, which made it difficult to make timely decisions. Additionally, the lab lacked a configuration database and had weak incident, problem and change management processes, which caused users to circumvent the systems.
Oak Ridge worked with ServiceNow to automate service delivery across its 27,000 systems and devices, running hundreds of complex applications. The lab currently relies on its automated platform to replace siloed request management systems for groups such as human resources, training and facilities.
IT managers can now more easily account for equipment and better understand relationships between services and applications, resulting in fewer inaccuracies and greater efficiency. It is also easier to for Oak Ridge to determine whether hardware and applications meet compliance requirements, helping ensure that no fees for noncompliance are incurred.
The Energy Department has projected that using ServiceNow’s cloud‑based IT service management platform would save 40 percent over the cost of upgrading its legacy ITSM software. The agency wanted to enhance service delivery, and ServiceNow has given the department a single system of record and better process automation than the legacy system allowed.
By working with ServiceNow and its elite partners, such as CDW, agencies can streamline their workflows and focus less on IT asset and process management and more on serving citizens.
This article is part of FedTech’s CapITal blog series. Please join the discussion on Twitter by using the #FedIT hashtag.
