5 Common Challenges of a ServiceNow Implementation and How To Avoid Them
ServiceNow is a productivity tool that automates business processes by creating a single, centralized system within an organization, bringing various applications and data sources together. While ServiceNow is a powerful solution for modern enterprises, there can always be challenges when integrating a new technology. Below are 5 common challenges that can occur in the ServiceNow implementation process and what you can do to avoid them for the best results.
1. Over-Customization of Processes
While organizations are shifting to agile development models, some are failing to properly implement ServiceNow. Customization can make it difficult to expand ServiceNow to new departments or organizational units. When a process is overly customized, it demands a customized code and process to update any changes. This is not only time-consuming, but also expensive to maintain and can lengthen the upgrade cycle.
To prevent an over-customization, evaluate your demands for customization clearly to ensure you are only focusing on the processes that will provide the greatest value to your business.
2. Complicated Workflows
The more complex a workflow is, the more difficult it is to implement an IT Service Management (ITSM) solution like ServiceNow. Project managing officers face many challenges in project management and must work to set deadlines, manage tools, and most importantly, make sure the project stays on budget.
To address these projects and their inherent problems, be sure to take care of important configuration tasks before deploying the system. Failure to ensure that processes are up to date and ready for integration can affect the entire ServiceNow implementation process and data flows from various business processes.
3. Lack of Professional Support
Defects can occur after a project is completed, which may require the assistance of experienced ServiceNow service providers. Developers must be available to support both planned and unplanned work, such as incidents assigned to them by ServiceNow. Consider including a sufficient support period in your project strategy and make sure your ServiceNow Implementation Partner is aware of this need.
Otherwise, you won’t get all the benefits of ServiceNow, and your implementation will be more expensive and time-consuming than planned. Working with an official ServiceNow partner or hiring a certified ServiceNow developer is key to a successful ServiceNow implementation.
4. Lack of Training
ServiceNow is vast. Its users may include employees, IT experts, and several customer workflows. Without training in place, the use of ServiceNow may never reach its full potential.
To ensure a seamless process, all users need to be trained to be efficient on the platform. A qualified implementation team is a major factor that contributes to a successful implementation by providing the proper training of the platform to all users. Employing a highly skilled team will not only benefit the users involved, but the value of ServiceNow to your business as a whole.
5. Unable to Accept Change
ServiceNow implementation can help your business in several ways. It upgrades and streamlines IT, Human Resources (HR), and customer workflows. However, when users are not open to change, benefits will take a back seat. To accelerate the process, provide employees with an insight into the benefits and use cases of ServiceNow. When benefits are tangible and expressed, employees tend to adapt to the change and work hand-in-hand with the platform, or any other new innovative technologies for that matter.
Conclusion
As with any technology implementation, challenges can arise, and implementing ServiceNow is no different. Whether customizing the software or simply communicating with other departments, the sheer size and complexity of the ServiceNow platform can make it difficult to know where to begin at times. To prevent issues in the future, be sure to clearly line out your strategy before you begin your implementation – know what you want to customize, prepare for complexities, utilize technical support, provide training, and be open to the change.
