I know what you’re thinking; blockchain is just a buzzword that’s been thrown around in the past few years. I’ll admit it has taken me some time to understand precisely how this technology can be used and when it might be advantageous to use over another type of technology. How does blockchain technology relate to ITSM and business process management? As a former user of ServiceNow, in a different life, I was wondering about that myself.
ServiceNow meets blockchain
ServiceNow just announced a partnership with one of the most popular blockchain networks, Hedera Hashgraph, and will be leveraging this new technology to add a ‘trust layer’ for digital workflows. This is expected to streamline complex business processes in service industries like healthcare or banking, where data can often get compromised during transmission without proper verification methods being used.
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Tasker Generes, Global Head of Strategy and Transformation at ServiceNow, was kind enough to provide us with some questions and answers about this development. Here’s what we learned:
What is ServiceNow’s aim in integrating blockchain technology in its digital workflows?
ServiceNow is committed to building a connected economy where workflows beyond the boundaries of an individual business. Today, the barrier to this kind of connected world is primarily security and ease of use – sharing workflows across multiple organizations can introduce risk to data integrity, and because organizations are disconnected, user journeys are even more complex. By introducing DLT into ServiceNow’s workflow technology, we are enabling a new level of trust that will unlock opportunities for experiences that span multiple touchpoints and organizations.
Why did ServiceNow choose to integrate with Hedera, as opposed to another provider of distributed ledger technology (DLT)?
ServiceNow is the leading digital workflow company making work, work better for people. It was a natural fit for us to work with Hedera, the most used, sustainable, enterprise-grade public network for the decentralized economy. As part of this partnership, ServiceNow has joined the Hedera Governing Council, which consists of a diversified group of organizations and enterprises, including ServiceNow customers and partners, who are collectively committed to governing and extending Hedera capabilities while bringing stability and continued decentralization to the public network. We are confident our participation in this governing council will accelerate the adoption of Hedera as the DLT of choice for enterprises.
In general, how do you think the integration of DLT will change the way businesses manage their processes?
The Now Platform from ServiceNow will deliver digital workflows that connect people, functions, and systems across an enterprise, while Hedera will enable the highest-grade security for internal as well as network transactions. Companies across industries will be able to use the Now Platform and Hedera Consensus, Token, and Smart Contract Services within their applications, speeding the adoption of DLT in four main areas of digital workflows – process & data integrity, tokenization, decentralized identity, and multi-party business processes. This means companies will be able to have transparency across their business processes, enabling optimized digital experiences.
What are some of the practical applications of Hedera’s DLT for ServiceNow customers?
The practical applications of the possibilities unlocked through this partnership include the ability to digitally link together every touchpoint in a business’s journey, creating trust that the workflow will deliver on the right outcomes and that the business is protected. For example, a company trying to create more transparency around food sourcing would be able to draw a line from sustainable agriculture, safe handling practices, and distribution, all the way through to the food that arrives at our tables. This not only creates better systems to protect against people getting sick, but it also protects the organizations all the way along the supply chain.
How will this partnership aid the digital transformation for businesses with no experience operating on the DLT?
By integrating Hedera’s capabilities directly into the Now Platform, ServiceNow and Hedera are simplifying the use of the DLT, especially for businesses with no experience operating in that space. Companies can continue operating on the Now Platform in the same way they always have, with the confidence that Hedera is enabling the highest-grade security for internal and network transactions.
What does this collaboration mean for the future of work?
Together, ServiceNow and Hedera are facilitating increased trust in cross-organizational workflows. This means that workflows will no longer be bound by the walls of an enterprise – work will flow freely across multiple touchpoints and organizations, making the world work better for everyone.
What does the roadmap for 2022+ look like?
We will continue to engage leaders on how we can help solve society’s biggest problems and improve the lives of people everywhere – from protecting our planet to helping turn vaccines into vaccinations and keeping people safe during the pandemic. Our momentum today is only the tip of the iceberg, and we look forward to working with partners like Hedera to help our customers drive new levels of business agility, create exceptional customer and employee experiences, and navigate the complexities of a new era of work.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
ServiceNow is the enterprise workflow standard, leading a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make work, work better. We connect systems, silos, and processes into enterprise workflows that deliver fast time to value and create beautiful customer and employee experiences. There is strong demand for our Now Platform, “the platform of platforms,” because siloed projects don’t deliver results at scale; ServiceNow is the platform for digital business that orchestrates all digital transformation initiatives in one enterprise-wide solution.
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We have made numerous strategic investments, like this collaboration with Hedera, to accelerate innovation on the Now Platform and provide customers with a robust toolset to streamline any workflow. The culmination of these technologies on the Now Platform is providing organizations with end-to-end capabilities to tackle any digital transformation initiative – within a single company or across multiple organizations.
Conclusion
ServiceNow has been innovating since 2003. It’s not just about IT service management anymore – digital transformation is about how all business processes are changing, and blockchain may be an interesting idea to look into in this new world of digital technology. If you’re curious about more examples of how ServiceNow and Hedera can be combined, you can also watch the recording of a recent webinar below with Nicola Attico and Nigel Clark.
YouTube: Trusted SLAs with ServiceNow and Hedera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LWlh2pySDw?feature=oembed
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Blue Planet Studio.
Editorial notice: The interview was arranged with the support of Wachsman Communications.
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