ServiceNow Tools Enable Digital Transformation in Government
Dale Landowski, an ITSM product manager for ServiceNow solutions at CDW, notes that organizations need standard processes, shared data, shared applications and shared technologies to thrive in this environment. Agencies must avoid having multiple applications that perform the same function, he notes.
Sharing data is essential to transformation, he argues, and ServiceNow enables that for agencies via a shared data repository.
“That really provides the insight and the ability to modernize and provide a true modern backbone,” he says.
As citizens’ experiences with companies have grown more digital and personal during the pandemic, their expectations for how they should interact with and receive benefits from the federal government have changed. IT teams need to become strategic partners to agency mission areas as they seek to meet citizens’ desire to use government services in the way that works best for them.
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To focus on that kind of work, agencies can leverage ServiceNow to simplify and optimize IT operations by merging core operational functions into a single platform. The platform enables not just the standardization of processes but also the ability to share data to leverage shared applications.
This empowers IT teams to work in a service-oriented fashion, operating not as a cost center but as an integral element of the delivery of modern, mobile-friendly services that citizens can access whenever they need to. ServiceNow tools allow IT teams to function more like a business than a technology provider, able to forecast demand and focus on the delivery of core services.
“If you’re not thinking about services and products, and you’re not talking about services and products, and you’re not able to articulate what services and products you’re supporting in IT, you’re not going to be able to have conversations about digital transformation, because that’s where the transformation is taking place,” Landowski says.
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How Federal Agencies Are Leveraging ServiceNow
A wide range of federal agencies have turned to ServiceNow to manage highly complex projects and improve service delivery for citizens.
For example, the Department of Homeland Security used ServiceNow to track COVID-19 vaccination rates among its 240,000 employees. The platform enabled DHS to easily monitor vaccination eligibility checks, manage communications and coordinate mass vaccinations at Veterans Affairs facilities.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used ServiceNow tools to build its Vaccine Administration Management System for states to use.
Other agencies are using ServiceNow and related solutions to outsource traditional IT duties and allow IT personnel to focus more on cybersecurity or the agency’s core mission. The Air Force is a primary example, using ServiceNow to streamline its IT help desk operations.
Argonne National Laboratory is using ServiceNow to take a more service-oriented approach via not just ITSM tools but also custom-built apps designed to streamline the lab’s service delivery environment.
Most organizations have shared network and infrastructure capabilities but lack services with clear value, Landowski says. IT teams deploy those shared capabilities but are not engaged with the business or mission areas of the organizations.
“Good organizations and organizations that have a modern operational environment have services that provide value back to the business,” he says, “and they understand what it is and what they’re getting, and they pay based on a consumption model, for example.”
