As organizations look to 2025, ServiceNow continues to play a critical role in driving operational excellence, managing risks, and fostering innovation. From my 20+ years in technology leadership, I’ve seen firsthand how organizations can succeed—or struggle—with ServiceNow. The opportunities are immense, but so are the challenges. Here’s my perspective on where organizations should focus, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to unlock ServiceNow’s full potential.
The Big Opportunities for ServiceNow in 2025
1. Generative AI: Intelligent Workflow Transformation
Generative AI is set to be a game-changer for organizations in 2025, with the potential to unlock unprecedented efficiencies. Within ServiceNow, AI-driven capabilities—such as virtual agents and predictive intelligence—can automate routine tasks, accelerate processes, and enable smarter decision-making. For instance, AI-powered virtual agents streamline service requests and incidents, freeing IT staff to focus on high-value, complex challenges.
While many organizations are still in the early stages of AI adoption, those that embrace it now will see measurable improvements in efficiency, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
To assess where your organization stands and identify actionable steps to accelerate AI-driven transformation, I recommend exploring the Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2024 by ServiceNow. This comprehensive resource offers valuable insights, benchmarks, and guidance to help you navigate your AI journey with confidence.
2. Integrated Risk Management: Building Resilience Across the Organization
Risk management has moved from the background to the boardroom. Recent audits and regulatory pressures have organizations rethinking how they manage risk. ServiceNow’s Integrated Risk Management (IRM) capabilities allow organizations to centralize governance, identify vulnerabilities, and take proactive action to mitigate risks.
What makes IRM so powerful is that it doesn’t just manage risk—it aligns it with broader business priorities. By streamlining compliance processes and improving visibility into risks, organizations can build resilience and reduce the likelihood of costly disruptions.
3. Comprehensive IT Operations: Mastering Asset Management and Discovery
Many organizations have implemented IT Service Management (ITSM) but often overlook the foundational tools of Asset Management, Configuration Management Database (CMDB), and IT Operations Management (ITOM). Leveraging these tools can lead to substantial improvements in IT operations.
A well-managed CMDB provides accurate data and visibility into IT assets, which is essential for reducing costs and improving IT operations. When integrated with ITOM, it goes even further. ITOM enables capabilities like service mapping, discovery, and event management, giving organizations control over their infrastructure while improving uptime and efficiency.
The result? Synergies across processes like incident, request, and problem management—and a platform that drives operational excellence at every level.
Avoiding Common ServiceNow Implementation Pitfalls
From my experience, I’ve seen the same pitfalls arise time and again during ServiceNow implementations. Here are four key challenges to avoid:
1. Start Small: Avoid Trying to “Boil the Ocean”
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is trying to do too much, too quickly. It’s understandable—there’s so much potential in ServiceNow, and everyone wants results fast. But overwhelming your teams and your organization leads to confusion, frustration, and stalled progress.
This is especially true when it comes to change management. If too many changes are introduced at once, people can’t keep up. A phased, manageable rollout allows teams to adapt gradually, ensuring smoother adoption and better long-term success.
2. Keep it Simple: Limit Over-Customization
ServiceNow is incredibly powerful and flexible—but with great power comes great temptation. Many organizations fall into the trap of over-customizing the platform to fit their processes.
While customization might seem like a good idea initially, it creates significant issues during upgrades and can steer you away from ServiceNow best practices. My advice? Stick as close to out-of-the-box capabilities as possible. It’s easier to maintain, scale, and evolve with future releases.
3. Align Teams: Establish Clear Platform Governance
Without a solid governance framework, ServiceNow implementations quickly become fragmented. Different teams may develop conflicting workflows or prioritize competing goals, which creates chaos in the long run.
Platform governance provides structure, consistency, and alignment with business objectives. It ensures your ServiceNow instance evolves strategically rather than in silos.
4. Invest for Success: Build the Right Team and Architecture
ServiceNow is more than just a platform—it’s a strategy. To implement it successfully, you need the right people in place. Too often, organizations rely heavily on developers but lack the architectural expertise to design a long-term roadmap.
A balanced team, with both developers and architects, ensures your platform evolves strategically. A strong architecture ties every change to a broader vision, aligning ServiceNow with your organization’s long-term goals.
Unlocking More Value from ServiceNow
If your organization already uses ServiceNow, chances are you’re not leveraging it to its full potential. Here’s how to unlock more value:
- Leverage Built-In Features: Many organizations overlook tools like CMDB and Asset Management, even when they’re already part of ITSM. Integrating these features can drive cost savings, improve visibility, and strengthen IT operations. Adding ITOM to the mix enhances infrastructure monitoring and optimization.
- Engage with Experts and Communities: ServiceNow has an incredible ecosystem of experts, partners, and user groups. Tapping into this community allows you to learn from others’ experiences, adopt best practices, and avoid common pitfalls.
- Focus on Integration for ROI: Organizations that see the most value treat ServiceNow as a unified ecosystem. Integrating processes and modules eliminates silos, improves visibility, and drives measurable ROI.
One Piece of Advice for CIOs and IT Leaders
If I could give CIOs and IT leaders one piece of advice, it would be this:
Treat ServiceNow as a journey, not a one-time project.
ServiceNow evolves constantly, and every release brings new features and capabilities that can add value to your organization. The key to success lies in having a clear strategy and a long-term roadmap for your ServiceNow instance. This ensures that the platform grows with your organization’s needs and continues to deliver business outcomes year after year.
Final Thoughts
The opportunities for ServiceNow in 2025 are immense, but success requires focus, strategy, and discipline. By embracing Generative AI, strengthening Integrated Risk Management, and optimizing tools like Asset Management, CMDB, and ITOM, organizations can drive innovation, reduce costs, and enhance IT operations.
At Coreio, we’ve helped organizations across industries navigate this journey. With the right approach, ServiceNow can transform IT challenges into opportunities for growth and success. Ready to unlock the full potential of ServiceNow for your organization? Contact us today to learn how Coreio can guide your journey toward measurable business outcomes.
Steve Mifsud is the Chief Operating Officer at Coreio. With over 20 years of experience in technology leadership, Steve specializes in strategic IT operations, ServiceNow solutions, and delivering measurable business outcomes.