ServiceNow has launched a partner-led "industry solutions" strategy initially focused on banking and telecommunications workflow automation. The IT service management (ITSM) software provider will work closely with launch partners Deloitte and Accenture, respectively, on those two vertical market automation efforts.
The new banking and telecommunications solutions are expected to be available in late 2020. Specialized solutions and more partnerships targeting healthcare, manufacturing, media, technology and others will be announced in the "near future," the company added.
It's a safe bet ServiceNow will share more details about those additional verticals and associated partners during the ServiceNow Knowledge 2020 conference, set for May in Orlando, Florida.
ServiceNow: New CEO, Accelerated Partner Strategy
The industry solutions announcement reinforces a smooth transition to current ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott from former leader John Donahoe. During Donahoe's tenure, ServiceNow was incubating multiple partnerships to drive billion-dollar opportunities in key markets beyond traditional ITSM efforts. McDermott, the former leader of SAP, succeeded Donahoe in late 2019 and is now accelerating those market specialization efforts.
In a prepared statement, McDermott said:
“Every company around the world aspires to deliver great experiences that drive fierce customer loyalty and create powerful employee engagement. And companies across many industries are turning to ServiceNow to help them transform their business to unleash productivity and fuel innovation. By creating industry-specific solutions, delivered through a partner-led model, we can better address the unique challenges that companies in key vertical markets face as they look to digitally transform their businesses.”
ServiceNow Partners With Deloitte, Accenture
The new banking solution, with Deloitte as Lead Launch partner will "simplify middle-to-back office operations to help banks move at the speed of digital business, delivering seamless customer experiences throughout the enterprise that drive customer loyalty," ServiceNow asserted. (Deloitte surfaced in a major ServiceNow financial services partnership in 2019 as well.)
The new telecommunications solution, with Accenture as a Lead Launch partner, will "align customer care and service assurance to transform how communication service providers deliver great customer experiences by proactively anticipating issues and addressing them quickly while maximizing availability and quality of service," ServiceNow added.
In a prepared statement about the partnership, Brian Johnston, financial services industry leader, and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, said:
“Our Financial Services clients are looking to leverage technology to rethink customer experiences, and banks in particular need to transform underlying operations to make that happen faster. As part of our strategic collaboration with ServiceNow, we are combining Deloitte’s industry know how with ServiceNow’s intelligent and intuitive cloud platform to deliver solutions that help our Financial Services clients move at the speed of digital business.”
Peters Suh, North America communications industry lead at Accenture, added:
“With 5G being one of the highest priorities and most significant investments for service providers, they areseeking a competitive advantage by establishing greater agility and scale in today’s cloud-first world. Through our expanded ecosystem partnership with ServiceNow, we’re better positioned than ever to help companies elevate solutions and support the transitions of the telecommunications industry.”
ServiceNow Partner Ecosystem: Help Wanted
Amid ServiceNow's rapid growth, the company has been scrambling to train and enable third-party ServiceNow consultants and deployment partners.
ServiceNow's business growth and partner shortage have combined to trigger strong M&A activity within the company's partner ecosystem. This list tracks all ServiceNow partner mergers and acquisitions.
Much of the ServiceNow partner push involves global, enterprise-class relationships. But midmarket and boutique solutions providers have also emerged in the ecosystem. Also, a growing number of small and midsize MSPs (managed IT services providers) now leverage ServiceNow to run their own businesses. And some MSPs, such as Fully Managed, have developed specialized ServiceNow solutions.
Mergers and Acquisitions: ServiceNow has also been involved in M&A, acquiring Passage AI for chatbot conversational multi-language expertise; Loom Systems for AIOps; and FairChild Resiliency Systems for business continuity. The deals strive to automate ITSM incident response while boosting platform resiliency, respectively.
