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Unlock Your Business’s Potential with ServiceNow Automation

Imagine unlocking your business’s full potential by streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs, all with the help of ServiceNow Automation. Sounds too good to be true?

Well, it’s not! In this blog post, we will explore the ins and outs of ServiceNow Automation and how it can revolutionize your business.

So buckle up and prepare for an exciting journey into the world of automation!

Short Summary

  • ServiceNow Automation is a tool that streamlines processes, unifies data, and reduces manual reporting.
  • Professional and citizen developers play an important role in implementing automation successfully.
  • ServiceNow provides features such as Integration Hub, RPA Hub, Automation Center & Document Intelligence to facilitate hyper-automation across the enterprise.

Understanding ServiceNow Automation

ServiceNow Automation

Automation uses technology to carry out tasks with minimal human input, thus enabling personnel to concentrate on other duties. In the ever-evolving business world, automation can have a considerable beneficial effect, facilitating elimination of unstructured processes, fragmented data, and manual reporting.

But how does ServiceNow Automation fit into the picture? Let’s dive deeper and explore the definition and advantages of automation.

Definition of Automation

Automation is the use of technology to complete tasks with minimal human involvement. It plays a critical role in business process management (BPM), which refers to the techniques utilized by companies to evaluate and assess their business processes for greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

With automation, businesses can streamline their processes, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. But what are the advantages of automation, and how can it transform your business?

Advantages of Automation

Automation can generate efficiencies, creating opportunities for business innovation and eliminating routine, user interface-oriented tasks that can impede workflows. Research shows that a staggering 45% of work activities can be completed with technology.

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Some challenges associated with automation include the potential to lose the human element when interacting with customers and associates and the possibility of employees being unable to adapt to automated systems.

Despite these challenges, the benefits of automation often outweigh the risks, making it an essential tool for modern businesses.

The Role of Developers in ServiceNow Automation

robot, automation, factory

Professional and citizen developers are integral to the creation and implementation of automation. These individuals possess the necessary skills and expertise to design, configure, develop, troubleshoot, and implement baseline and custom applications to enhance the ServiceNow platform.

But what sets professional and citizen developers apart? Let’s explore the roles of these developers in more detail.

Professional Developers

Professional developers in ServiceNow Automation are responsible for designing, configuring, developing, troubleshooting, and implementing baseline and custom applications to enhance the platform. They must possess extensive knowledge of JavaScript, familiarity with UI, SQL, HTML and CSS, XML and structural programming concepts, and experience using the ServiceNow platform and ITIL processes.

As experts in their field, professional developers collaborate with other departments to ensure the successful implementation of automation so that organizations can reap its benefits.

Citizen Developers

Citizen developers are users who possess the capability to create and execute automation without the need for professional coding skills. They can leverage the ServiceNow platform to develop automation without writing code. Citizen developers are digitally-literate employees capable of designing and delivering simple automated processes.

Employing citizen developers can be advantageous for businesses, as they can expedite creating and customizing of applications that streamline business processes, resulting in cost and time savings. Furthermore, they can enable businesses to remain agile and responsive to changing market conditions.

With both professional and citizen developers playing crucial roles in ServiceNow Automation, businesses can harness the power of automation to drive growth and innovation.

Evaluating the Impact of Automation on Your Business

servicenow automate

Before diving headfirst into implementing automation, evaluating its impact on your business is essential. This involves identifying processes that could benefit from automation, calculating the potential time and cost savings, and assessing the return on investment (ROI).

Let’s explore these critical factors in more detail.

Identifying Processes for Automation

Ideal processes for automation are rules-based, routine, well-defined, and require high manual effort. Additionally, processes that use structured and standardized data input are suitable for automation. Businesses can strategically implement automation in areas with the most significant impact by evaluating processes based on these criteria.

This can enhance efficiency, reduce mistakes, and improve customer service.

Calculating Time and Cost Savings

To evaluate the time and cost savings associated with ServiceNow Automation, businesses can examine case studies and success stories of organizations implementing the technology. These studies provide valuable insights into the time and money saved by automating various processes.

Calculating the monetary value of automation can be achieved using a simple formula. Time spent on a single manual task multiplied by the frequency of performing the task per day, multiplied by the cost per hour, and then multiplied by 12 months.

This calculation can help businesses understand the potential yearly savings of implementing automation.

Assessing ROI

To assess automation’s return on investment (ROI), businesses can utilize the ServiceNow Value Calculator. This tool can help identify the advantages of automating business processes, such as cost savings, time savings, revenue generation, and productivity improvements.

By calculating ROI, businesses can make informed decisions about implementing automation and ensure they maximize the benefits of this powerful technology.

Selecting the Right Automation Platform

servicenow automation platform

Selecting the right automation platform is critical, as it should be able to accommodate the specific requirements of your business. Factors such as the level of service, reviews, case studies, and demos should be considered when choosing an automation platform. Additionally, scalability, flexibility, reliability, and usability are essential aspects to consider.

Let’s delve into these factors in more detail.

Scalability

Scalability is a key factor when selecting an automation platform, as it permits the platform to accommodate a growing workload as the business expands, provides the ability to add new processes and functionalities, and enables the organization to provide additional services to its customers without increasing its resources.

The ServiceNow Automation Engine offers scalability through its low-code platform for building workflow apps, enabling hyper-automation on a single platform, and providing a comprehensive suite of automation tools.

Flexibility

analysis, automation, business

Flexibility is essential when selecting an automation platform, as it facilitates customization, scalability, and adaptation to evolving business requirements. Additionally, it allows for producing varied products without investing time in reprogramming.

A flexible platform enables businesses to tailor their automation efforts to their unique needs and objectives.

Reliability

Reliability is paramount when selecting an automation platform, as it guarantees consistent performance and minimizes downtime. Frequent outages, inadequate support options, bugs, and other issues can harm the automation solution, making reliability a crucial factor.

Usability

Usability is critical when determining an automation platform, as it needs to be sufficiently intuitive and user-friendly for everyone to create successful automation. It is also beneficial to opt for a platform tailored toward citizen developers.

By considering usability, businesses can ensure their automation efforts are accessible and efficient for all users.

ServiceNow Automation Engine Features

ServiceNow Automation Engine is a platform that facilitates hyper-automation across the enterprise, integrating RPA, intelligent document processing, and unified insights on a single platform. It offers features such as Integration Hub, RPA Hub, Automation Center, and Document Intelligence to simplify hyper-automation across the enterprise.

Let’s explore these powerful features in more detail.

Integration Hub

The Integration Hub is a Now Platform application that provides process automation and integrations through common protocols. It allows for the execution of third-party APIs in response to specific events occurring in ServiceNow.

Businesses can seamlessly integrate new processes and applications by utilizing the Integration Hub, boosting their automation capabilities.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub

The RPA Hub in the ServiceNow Automation Engine is utilized to facilitate the integration of legacy systems and enable the automation of repetitive tasks through robotic process automation. RPA should be employed when the application does not have an API and is only UI-based, access is available, and the provided API does not have the necessary capabilities.

By leveraging RPA, businesses can automate time-consuming manual tasks and free up resources for more strategic initiatives.

Automation Center

Automation Center is a centralized repository for managing and monitoring all automation in ServiceNow Automation Engine. It serves as a command-and-control center for all automation lifecycles, providing a comprehensive repository for discovering, managing, and evaluating all automation.

By utilizing Automation Center, businesses can maintain full visibility and control over their automation initiatives.

Document Intelligence

Document Intelligence is a feature in ServiceNow Automation Engine that utilizes AI to automate data capture and seamlessly integrate it into ServiceNow workflows. It allows organizations to automate and expedite the processing of variable documents, such as forms, invoices, and IDs, without coding.

Businesses can create a comprehensive automation solution that drives efficiency and growth by leveraging Document Intelligence with other Automation Engine tools.

Building Low-Code Workflow Apps with ServiceNow

servicenow integration

ServiceNow offers the Creator Workflows feature, enabling developers and builders of all experience levels to construct apps quickly with best practices from application development experts. ServiceNow’s App Engine is also widely recognized as a powerful low-code application.

Let’s explore how App Engine and Hyperautomation on a Single Platform facilitate a people-centric approach to automation.

App Engine

ServiceNow App Engine is a low-code development tool that enables users of varying proficiencies to construct applications rapidly and with ease. It provides enhanced visibility into the incident management process and facilitates the detection of potential areas for enhancement.

With App Engine, users can create custom processes and workflows, offering greater control and precision and ultimately allowing businesses to tailor their automation efforts to their unique needs and objectives.

Hyperautomation on a Single Platform

Hyperautomation on a Single Platform is a feature of ServiceNow that facilitates people-centric automation. It enables users to create automated workflows customized to their requirements and objectives.

This feature also facilitates the swift and effortless creation, deployment, and management of automated processes, allowing users and businesses to accomplish desired outcomes with minimal effort.

Summary

In conclusion, ServiceNow Automation has the potential to revolutionize your business by streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs. By understanding the roles of professional and citizen developers, evaluating the impact of automation on your business, selecting the right automation platform, and leveraging the powerful features of the ServiceNow Automation Engine, businesses can unlock their full potential and drive growth and innovation. So, what are you waiting for? Embrace the power of ServiceNow Automation and propel your business to new heights!

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ServiceNow have automation?

ServiceNow has automation capabilities with its Now Platform, Automated Test Framework, and Process Automation applications. The System to ServiceNow Automation Engine also helps extend ServiceNow’s capabilities for connecting to any system and automating UI-centric work.

Is ServiceNow an RPA tool?

No, ServiceNow is not an RPA tool. It provides powerful automation capabilities and enables organizations to improve their business processes but does not function as an RPA tool. Therefore, other RPA solutions are needed for more advanced automation capabilities.

Exploring the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine

In the digital age, automation has become a key strategy for improving efficiency and productivity. One tool that stands out in intelligent automation is the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine. This powerful platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to automate routine tasks and streamline business processes.

A. Understanding the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine

The ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine is a part of the ServiceNow platform, a cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) solution. This engine uses AI and machine learning to predict outcomes, automate tasks, and drive efficiencies. It’s designed to help organizations reduce manual work, speed up processes, and improve decision-making.

B. Key Features of the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine

The ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine boasts several key features:

  1. Predictive Analytics: The engine uses machine learning to analyze patterns and predict future trends. This can help organizations anticipate issues before they occur and take proactive measures.
  2. Intelligent Workflows: The engine can automate routine tasks and processes, allowing staff to focus on more strategic work.
  3. Performance Analytics: The engine provides real-time insights and analytics, helping organizations measure performance and make data-driven decisions.

C. The Benefits of Using the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine

Using the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine can bring numerous benefits:

  1. Increased Efficiency: By automating routine tasks, organizations can save time and resources, increasing efficiency.
  2. Improved Decision-Making: Organizations can make more informed, data-driven decisions with predictive analytics and real-time insights.
  3. Enhanced Service Delivery: Organizations can streamline service delivery processes with intelligent workflows, improving customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, the ServiceNow Intelligent Automation Engine is a powerful tool for any organization looking to leverage the power of AI and machine learning for business process automation. Whether predicting trends, automating tasks, or providing valuable insights, this engine can significantly enhance an organization’s ITSM capabilities.

Author

  • Fredrik Filipsson

    Fredrik Filipsson possesses 20 years of experience in Oracle license management. Having worked at Oracle for 9 years, he gained an additional 11 years of expertise in Oracle license consulting projects. Fredrik has provided assistance to over 150 organizations worldwide, ranging in size and tackling various Oracle licensing challenges, including Licensing Assessments, Oracle audits, Oracle ULAs, and more.