Organizations are spending a lot more on purchasing software like ServiceNow and associated licenses to modernize their IT, HR, finance, etc., operations and services. This trend in the IT industry has been increasing global IT spending year over year.
According to Gartner, global IT spending is anticipated to reach $5.74 trillion in 2025, approximately 9.3% growth from $5.26 trillion as of November 2024.
-Gartner
Generative AI (GenAI), ServiceNow, data center systems, and customer communication solutions are predicted to have the highest potential for IT investments. Although software and IT spending are showing growth, most companies are struggling to manage their budgets efficiently. This article’s aim is to encourage organizations to optimize their ServiceNow costs and identify opportunities for better utilization and cost control. So, what are the best strategies that companies can implement to cut costs and manage ServiceNow applications more effectively?
Best Strategies to Implement for ServiceNow Cost Optimization
How to cut costs by managing ServiceNow applications more effectively?
Monitor ServiceNow License Utilization
Organizations tend to purchase several ServiceNow licenses for uninterrupted access to the platform and its modules. To optimize ServiceNow costs, evaluating how many users or roles are interacting and accessing the application’s features is one of the best approaches.
First, monitor active users who must be assigned the right license types, such as end-user, admin, and requester licenses. Next determine whether they need full access, limited access, or no access to it at all continuously monitor and adjust user access and module usage through the ServiceNow usage analytics. Additionally, transferring user or device licensing allocations between software entities is also an effective approach for ServiceNow cost control.
This approach helps organizations significantly reduce underutilized assets, ensure users have only been granted what they need, and align their ServiceNow investment with actual business objectives.
Optimize IT Operations and Services
Artificial Intelligence (AI) automation within ServiceNow can reduce the manual workflows and improve operational efficiency, all while improving cost management. With ServiceNow IT Orchestration, complex workflows can be automated, ensuring IT operations are less dependent on expensive manual procedures.
However, the ServiceNow platform needs to be monitored and optimized to ensure it is performing efficiently and avoiding underutilized resources. Thus, organizations can save a lot on IT operation expenses while improving overall value.
Cloud Cost Management in ServiceNow
Cloud resource management is one of the most significant strategies to optimize ServiceNow cloud costs effectively. Organizations can regularly review their cloud IT infrastructure for under or over-utilizing hardware and software resources. ServiceNow's cloud management will help businesses identify over-provisioned services and utilize right-sizing cloud resources, thereby eliminating unnecessary expenses.
Another cost-cutting strategy with ServiceNow Cloud Cost Management is to use the reserved instances rather than on-demand cloud resources. this approach helps decrease costs in the long term and optimize cloud spend for expected workloads. Proper management and optimization of cloud resources are the keys to boosting performance while cutting operational costs at the same time.
Proper Utilization of ServiceNow Modules
To optimize ServiceNow costs, it’s essential to regularly review the various features and modules available within the specific module, such as ITAM, ITSM, CSM, ITOM, SPM, and GRC/IRM. Eliminating unused modules can help reduce unnecessary licensing costs and make the entire organizational ServiceNow ecosystem easier to manage efficiently.
Additionally, by assessing applications and processes across ServiceNow, organizations can seamlessly highlight which areas need to be improved and which integrations should be removed. This analysis will give them a clear idea of the utilization of implemented modules, ensuring you will not exceed business needs and help organizations save money by preventing unnecessary spending.
Accurate Data Storage and Management
Data storage needs to be reviewed and managed for optimal ServiceNow cost management. ServiceNow uses various levels of storage according to the types of data. By archiving old records that do not require frequent access, organizations can optimize costs.
Further, data retention policies can also help limit the storage of inaccurate data from being stored, thereby preventing unnecessary storage costs. Improvements in the performance of database query management will reduce the processing time and ensure cost-effective use of ServiceNow by consuming fewer resources that are not necessary.
Third-Party Integrations
Reduce third-party integration into the ServiceNow platform as much as possible. By monitoring each integration for value and removing those that are redundant or not providing expected ROI, organizations can mitigate unnecessary complexity and associated costs.
Organizations can streamline this process by removing integrations that are underperforming and consider a less costly alternative. Another aspect is that the cost of using the integration platform within ServiceNow might be connector-based, thus, optimized integration processes would save money while maintaining the effectiveness of the systems.
ServiceNow Auditing for Continuous Optimization
Regular audits, such as reviewing the ServiceNow environment, workflows, platform performance, applications connectivity, and user engagement, play a key role in ServiceNow cost optimization. These audits will help organizations identify where improvements can be made based on inefficiencies found.
Further, enabling a feedback loop to collect feedback from the organizational ServiceNow platform users, including IT teams, may help identify areas where improvements are needed. This strategy will assist organizations in aligning functions properly with the needs of the organization, enhance the service provided by the platform, and allocate costs accurately, all while boosting ROI.
Importance of ServiceNow Cost Optimization
Why should you focus on ServiceNow cost optimization?
In today’s technological world, since the organization often invests a lot in licenses, infrastructure, and redundant applications, cost management is crucial for IT leaders. ServiceNow cost optimization helps organizations make informed decisions about how to transform the ServiceNow applications or cloud resources to be more productive, replacing or removing underutilized or retired IT assets to save investments, and avoiding unnecessary licensing costs to optimize cost savings.
Conclusion
These ServiceNow cost optimization strategies help organizations seize multiple opportunities to optimize their entire ServiceNow environment and achieve significant cost savings without sacrificing performance or service quality. V-Soft Consulting, a ServiceNow implementation and licensing partner, helps organizations experience a 360-degree view of on-premises and cloud IT assets and derive insights into software deployments, licensing utilization, and costs.
We are a ServiceNow Elite Partner. Our certified ServiceNow consultants manage license risks, reduce software costs, and track underutilized licenses.
