Dive deeper into ServiceNow: Discover how this cloud-based platform transforms business workflows, simplifying IT services, customer operations, and more.
Optimizing digital workflows is at the heart of ServiceNow. The cloud platform facilitates automated and intelligent workflow experiences to drive organizations of all types into the digital age, enabling businesses, employees, consumers and others to have a more streamlined and efficient work process.
What is ServiceNow?
ServiceNow's goal is to provide information technology (IT), automate tasks, leverage analytics, make better predictions and calculations, and more through a single cloud platform.
All of this with the aim of maximizing productivity, improving innovation and connecting people and systems. Organizations can become more agile and flexible when using software. They also improve your decision-making capabilities, making more informed choices about your business and saving time thanks to their automatic workflows.
The multifunctional platform incorporates tools such as:
- Chat bots
- Predictive intelligence
- Performance analysis
- AI Research Tools
- KPI composer
Configuration and Customization
ServiceNow distinguishes between configuration and customization, 2 methods of changing platforms. Configuration refers to leveraging the native capabilities of the software ecosystem to meet the specific and unique complexities and needs of the business. In other words, you are expanding the software's capabilities to better meet your individual goals. You can also change the functionality of the software.
Configuration does not require changing the ServiceNow codebase itself. For example, you can add additional forms, change layouts, leverage plugins, or configure notifications. Because these changes are usually quite basic, they often do not require support from an external software vendor, although this is not always the case.
Customization, on the other hand, involves changing the actual codebase. This is the essence of customization in ServiceNow – what sets it apart from configuration. This is the ideal path for companies where ServiceNow doesn't meet their core needs.
- Create and facilitate new integrations, unique to your business and needs
- Create new features for the application
- Change ground rules
- Use table extensions to create new applications
ServiceNow advises against over-configuring or over-customizing the application. The company also establishes several guidelines, best practices and standards for each of these options. For example, it advises documenting and creating tests for all customizations, as well as running HealthScan to identify customizations that are not necessary for your software needs.
Should you customize or configure?
The configuration will be sufficient for some companies. But remember that even if you choose to simply configure the platform to meet your business needs, you may still want to use the support of an expert software team to offer guidance on the best options for you.
If you can't meet your unique needs through simple configuration, customization is the best option — that is, changing the code itself. This involves completely changing, rather than just extending, the functionality of ServiceNow.
If you choose to customize, you must establish a clear methodology to govern any procedures applied to the software.
We recommend working with a team specializing in software development to build an effective system for measuring the need for customizations. They can help you assess the importance of the changes to the platform and your overall business. For example, you can establish a numerical scale to assess the critical importance of each change.
Customization is, of course, a more involved and time-consuming approach to changing ServiceNow software. Depending on how extensively you need to customize your system, you may end up changing the very nature of the application.
There are a number of caveats to keep in mind when customizing ServiceNow. For example, you may end up delaying updates. This is why it is critical to rely on vendors or in-house software experts with extensive experience working with ServiceNow software – unless you have strong technical knowledge with the program, you could end up interfering with the software's functionality.
ServiceNow advises users to opt for configuration over customization whenever possible, but that doesn't mean it's not necessary in some circumstances – those that add clear value to your business and operations.
For example, you may need to customize the platform to remain compliant or meet industry standards.
Personalization partnership: is it right for your business?
One final word of caution: Excessive customization — or customization without the necessary knowledge — will inevitably complicate and interfere with the functionality of your ServiceNow platform. That's why it's absolutely essential to work with a software development team that has the necessary qualifications and specific experience in customizing ServiceNow.
We'll also create a framework to help you maintain your platform and identify when new updates and customizations are needed, as well as facilitate integrations with your other software whenever necessary.
