Advanced automation, AI, and machine learning capabilities are all long-term solutions to boosting productivity, as well as freeing up employees from mundane, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
The pandemic gave enterprises the ability to access talent that they normally wouldn’t have been able to recruit, informs Chris Bedi, chief information officer of ServiceNow, in an email interaction with Toolbox’s Neha Pradhan. Speaking about the war for IT talent, Bedi believes that talent wars for AI roles are heating up as AI expertise becomes mission-critical to be successful.
In this edition of Tech Talk, Bedi shares why workflow automation is viewed as a top priority by most CIOs. He also points to people and processes as critical steps, which tech leaders should not miss at the start of any digital transformation journey. Bedi believes that only after tech leaders will align all stakeholders on KPIs and measure progress consistently, the organization will see real impact.Â
Key Takeaways on Why Automation and Talent Wars for AI Roles Are Mission Critical:
- To unify systems, silos and processes into automated workflows, using one architecture, one data model, and one platform.
- To visualize customer service process flows that identify hidden opportunities for automation.
- To have a bold vision for digital transformation and show top workers exactly how they will do this.
Here are the edited excerpts from our exclusive interview with Chris Bedi:
1. From pureplay IT to covering business areas like HR, marketing, finance, operations and so much more, ServiceNow’s journey has been evolutionary. Could you talk about how ServiceNow fueled growth and drove business resilience pre- and during-pandemic?
COVID-19 was a catalyst for digital transformation, and according to IDC, worldwide digital transformation investments will total more than $7.4 trillion by 2024. At the onset of the pandemic, ServiceNow had the advantage of being a born-in-the cloud, digitally transformed organization, putting us in an ideal position to help both our own employees as well as our customers make the shift to remote work and operations via digitization.
As a result, ServiceNow achieved unprecedented organic growth during these challenging times, with our digital workflows helping customers overcome the barriers of disconnected, legacy technologies and truly creating new ways of working and doing business. This is because our Now Platform, is uniquely able to unify systems, silos and processes into automated workflows that deliver fast time to value and create great customer and employee experiences, using one architecture, one data model, and one platform.
Moving forward, we are continuing to innovate rapidly to help customers to drive new levels of business agility, create exceptional experiences, and navigate the complexities of this new era of work.
In fact, at our recent Financial Analyst Day, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott confirmed that we will be a $10 billion plus revenue company by 2024, and that we’re in hot pursuit of becoming a $15 billion plus company in 5 years.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
Innovation is at the core of our strategy, and we’ll go even further with next-generation solutions, all built on a common core platform.
2. Workflow automation is viewed as a top priority by most CIOs. However, there are barriers to company-wide adoption due to change management. What are the critical steps tech leaders should not miss right at the start of any digital transformation project that could pose a challenge to company-wide adoption?
Introducing new technologies, including automated workflows, via a proof-of-concept is generally the best way to test and validate whether it will enhance operations company-wide. That means defining what success looks like from the start – be it speed, experience, ease-of-use, or something else – and measuring accordingly to avoid deploying technology for the sake of technology alone.
Always record the “before†situation so that you can measure improvements, because it’s easy to forget the pain once it goes away. Additionally, people and processes are where automation initiatives go wrong, so it is vital to quantify the value of these projects, while also standardizing a common language across functions.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
This tends to be one of the biggest barriers to change. By getting all stakeholders to align on KPIs and measure progress consistently, that’s when organizations start to see real impact.
Also read: Why Hybrid Cloud Is Today’s Business Imperative: Tech Talk With the CTO, IBM Cloud
3. When manufacturing and supply chain customers are on a journey of process optimization, which 3 pain points were identified and managed by ServiceNow. Could you explain how did you go about fixing them?
Current process optimization methodology is often time-consuming, expensive, and bears uneven results. Often, manual process analysis takes 12 weeks on average to execute and costs around $120,000 per process, while the accuracy is usually low at a 46% success rate.
Our process optimization solution provides visibility into a process with one-click. It uncovers process bottlenecks and weak spots, as well as and finds areas for optimization potential. This enables proactive process assessment and continual optimization of IT service management (ITSM) processes based on data.
Additionally, our process optimization helps customer service leaders identify hidden delays and opportunities for automation by quickly visualizing customer service process flows, performing in-depth root cause analysis, and viewing the most-traveled paths, path volume, and elapsed time through each path.
4. Robotic process automation (RPA) is challenging the overnight enforced remote work business environment. How is ServiceNow automating the return to workplace with workflows that optimize employee experience?
We are utilizing our Workplace Service Delivery apps. These apps are helping to safely bring our global workforce back into the office in a hybrid capacity, as well as support our customers with this shift. When you think about “workplace policies,†you normally think slow.
However, with the Workplace Service Delivery apps, the experience for enterprises and employees are made frictionless. This includes workflowing tasks such as conducting return-to-office readiness surveys, health screening, workplace PPE inventory management, and workplace safety management.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
These apps manage all essential needs and services for the future of work.
Also read: Can Robotic Process Automation Boost Revenue? Q&A with Richard French of Kryon
5. Data scientists who are the pillars of the digital transformation journey, are exceedingly scarce. These are tough positions to find and fill for the CIOs. What are the key initiatives around sourcing AI talent to power growth?
Talent wars for AI roles are heating up as AI expertise becomes mission critical to be successful in the IT field. But an opportunity the pandemic gave enterprises is the ability to access talent that they normally wouldn’t have been able to recruit. Companies that were once restricted to specific geographies may have more flexibility to hire talent with the right skills, regardless of where they physically live.
And to attract top AI talent, it is imperative that you outline the growth opportunities available at your company, as employees want to work on big problems that have a real impact on an organization.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
By having a bold vision for digital transformation, you are showing top workers exactly how they will do this. And as CIOs, it’s our job to create opportunities for our employees to reach their full potential and drive enterprise-wide innovation.
6. What necessary steps CIOs need to take post-COVID-19 to navigate this new landscape, where IT and other businesses can turn to workflow automation as an ally?
CIOs need to ensure we’re making the right technology investments that set our companies up for success. Technology is at the heart of every business strategy, whether it is growing the top line, increasing productivity, or managing risk.
The key is communicating an outcome-based plan that inspires confidence in the technology strategy and investments across the C-suite.
— Chris Bedi, chief information officer, ServiceNow
Advanced automation, AI, and machine learning capabilities are all long-term solutions to boosting productivity, as well as freeing up employees from mundane, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks.
The rest of ServiceNow’s C-suite and I are in full alignment that digital transformation will be the defining business theme of the 21st Century, with workflow technologies playing a critical role in powering hybrid workforces from anywhere and enabling business resilience.
About Chris BediOpens a new window
Chris Bedi joined ServiceNow in September 2015 and currently serves as the company’s chief information officer. Prior to joining ServiceNow, Bedi served as CIO of JDSU from August 2011 to March 2015 where he was responsible for IT, Facilities, and Indirect Procurement. Prior to JDSU, Bedi held various positions at VeriSign from April 2002 until August 2011, including CIO, VP Corporate Development, and VP HR Operations. Bedi began his career at KPMG Consulting from June 1996 to April 2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.
About ServiceNowOpens a new window
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is making the world of work, work better for people. Our cloud‑based platform and solutions deliver digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for employees and the enterprise.
About Tech Talk
Tech Talk is an interview series that features notable CTOs and senior technology executives from around the world. Join us as we talk to these technology and IT leaders who share their insights and research on data, analytics, and emerging technologies. If you are a tech expert and wish to share your thoughts, write to [email protected]Opens a new window .
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