To help enterprises effectively overcome emerging challenges, digital workflow technology leader ServiceNow has released the latest iteration of the Now Platform under the code-name Tokyo following its tradition of naming releases after major cities and in alphabetical order. This is the second major release of the Now Platform coming after the San Diego release in March early this year. Apart from delivering improved customer and employees experiences, the ServiceNow Tokyo release focuses on supply chain, enterprise assets and environmental, social, and governance management capabilities.
According to ServiceNow the enhancements and introduction of new capabilities in the Tokyo release is based on customer requests for solutions that help them become more agile and resilient enterprise-wide to tackle the complex compliance and risk management landscape.
ServiceNow's response is targeted more at Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chief Operating Officers (COOs) and sustainability teams to justify their investments using new, purpose-built capabilities in the Tokyo release for automating asset management, streamlining complex supply chains, and providing auditable, investor-grade sustainability data.
In this blog we will discuss the enhancements and key innovations in the Tokyo release.
Employee Experience
Managing and retaining employees is a challenge that organizations must address especially when also faced with talent shortages. Enhancements in the Tokyo release are aimed at boosting employee productivity and engagement.
Manager Hub – Provides a single place for managers to be notified of actions required in response to employee requests. It also allows managers to follow the team’s journey and view daily stats and important dates. This can significantly improve the management experience and complements the HR Service Delivery (HRSD) capabilities of ServiceNow.
Admin Center – As part of ServiceNow Impact, Admin Center facilitates and expedites the digitization of complete business operations across the Now Platform. Finding, installing, and configuring ServiceNow solutions are all simplified with this solution.
Issue Auto Resolution – Automates routine employee requests to rapidly resolve them using artificial intelligence. It utilizes Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to distribute self-service content through Microsoft Teams, SMS, and email while analyzing unstructured queries. When necessary, critical or sensitive cases can be identified and sent to a higher-level agent for resolution.
Increased Security and Compliance
ServiceNow recognizes the importance of having a robust security posture to tackle the growing threats against an organization’s assets. In the Tokyo release, AI-powered automation capabilities and enhanced data security controls help organizations proactively mitigate cyber threats.
ServiceNow Vault – This solution introduced in the Tokyo release helps organizations protect their sensitive data by adding an extra layer of security by providing flexible key management and strong government-approved encryption standards. With this solution, organizations can protect sensitive data, ensure data security, and increase data compliance. Additionally, ServiceNow Vault categorizes and anonymizes data fields and objects for ServiceNow instances—as well as streamlines and manages digital credentials throughout the whole enterprise.
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
Enterprise Asset Management is a new solution introduced in the Tokyo release to help businesses maintain oversight over the full lifecycle of their physical business assets. Through increased visibility into all company assets, leaders can better plan their strategies, cut expenses, and manage risks. To support businesses in running their stockrooms effectively and making better use of their current assets, enterprise asset management also optimizes business inventory levels.
Supplier Lifecycle Management (SLM)
The Supplier Lifecycle Management solution is aimed at helping organizations simplify their work with suppliers using digitizing workflows. With this capability organizations can quickly onboard suppliers and collaborate with them in a single workspace and automated workflows. Furthermore, by integrating third-party intelligence and data sources, supplier activities can be streamlined.
Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Management
The new Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Management solution has been introduced to help organizations adopt a more efficient and accurate tool to manage sustainability goals. With the ESG Management tool, collecting auditable, investor-grade data and managing program objectives has never been easier. Calculating greenhouse gas emissions can be done using actionable insights in ESG performance and formula-based metrics. Carbon accounting is one of the key capabilities of the ESG Management solution.
Summary
Apart from these key innovative solutions, Tokyo release brings with it numerous enhancements to existing products and services.
