Application

development
without the
sprawl

Five ways Creator Workflows on the Now Platform

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can support your enterprise architecture
Enterprise architects are in a constant fight against
application, data, and cloud sprawl.
They are balancing the value of new ideas and technology with the burden of keeping them all optimized. In addition,
organizations that have embraced the cloud are now struggling to manage cloud sprawl with cloud services being
delivered by multiple internal and external providers. Businesses that are new to the cloud are simultaneously coping
with cloud migration and sprawling server and network environments.

Beyond the cloud, virtually all businesses have some degree of application sprawl, from overlapping enterprise
applications to the rapid proliferation of mobile apps. Most organizations are also experiencing data sprawl, a close
cousin to application sprawl wherein data is distributed across different databases, platforms, and clouds.

It’s not unusual for companies to unintentionally keep multiple copies of the same data. Enterprise architects (EAs) are
combatting sprawl through IT transformation projects that seek to rationalize applications and data sources, control
and standardize development across functional siloes, and make technology choices that support future growth.

ServiceNow is here to help

ServiceNow can effectively support EAs’ efforts with five ways the Now Platform® helps EAs achieve their IT
transformation goals while minimizing sprawl.

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How we help #1: Have a single,
well-connected source of truth
Use existing data without creating new, redundant data sources
or spreadsheets

Data sprawl is insidious. New applications often come with new

data sources and repositories. And when application functionality
overlaps, data may be inadvertently duplicated. Repeat this process
multiple times across multiple functions and you get data sprawl,
which makes it extremely difficult to know if your business is making
decisions based on the latest and most accurate information.

EAs are adopting multiple strategies to manage data sprawl.

• They are looking at new ways to improve visibility into data

throughout their company.

• They are consolidating data and eliminating out-of-date or

redundant data sources.

• They are requiring developers to implement an API strategy,

allowing them to use data in existing data stores.

These strategies can all be supported when using ServiceNow as a

low-code development platform.

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Low-code applications built on the Now Platform can access
data stored on the cloud and on the company network. This kind
of holistic access makes it vastly easier to identify potentially
duplicative or inaccurate data sources. It also allows EAs to provide
a C-level view of data sources and related challenges.

In addition, Integration Hub allows application developers to build

integrations with any data source in your company, including those
associated with popular enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS)
applications like Salesforce and Workday. Additionally, Integration
Hub offers a growing library of out-of-the-box process automation
activities for popular third-party apps, as well as cloud deployment
requests such as AWS CloudFormation. This means applications
built on the platform can address a wide spectrum of process
automation and reporting needs without contributing to sprawl.

Many of our customers build process automation applications that

integrate data from all their major "islands of automation" such as
enterprise resource planning (ERP), fulfillment, and sales enablement
systems. And with Automation Center, customers can govern and
manage multi-vendor, cross-enterprise automation in a single
workspace.

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How we help #2: Give teams
a better alternative
Allow business units to help themselves without resorting to
third-party cloud services

As technology becomes increasingly important to business

operations, many departments across the enterprise ask more
from IT. Often, they demand more than IT can safely deliver and
ultimately decide to go it alone as “shadow IT.” Shadow IT often
works great—until something breaks and the department lacks the
expertise to fix it.

The only way to avoid this state is by giving constituent

stakeholders what they need. With ServiceNow, EAs can address
the concerns of multiple groups that have a vested interest in
application development, facilitating what the end users want in
automated processes, while also providing operational efficiency
for IT operations and more capacity for app dev teams. The
software becomes the workhorse thanks to delegated low-
code development and full-featured professional development
environments. They can leverage predefined functional libraries
and drag-and-drop interface building, which are best suited for
departmental development efforts.

While the Now Platform offers a great deal of flexibility, it also

offers substantial governance, preventing low-code users from
breaking existing applications or integrations as they learn. It also
gives IT complete visibility into all applications under development
and the option to approve new apps before they are released
into production.

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 Building the apps on the Now Platform.

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How we help #3: Agility benefits
Imagine the right app from a single platform
for your business
Provide a productive environment for professional developers
2 While EAs are concerned about shadow IT, they are also
concerned about choosing the right development platforms
Design workflow to for their professional developers. In general, they are looking for
automate process platforms that integrate with company security solutions and
offer developers tools that save time without sacrificing testing
or code quality.

The developer-friendly code tools offered by ServiceNow are

designed to make professional developers more productive
3 with an on-platform integrated development environment (IDE),
debuggers, integration with source-code repositories, and more.
Also included are a wide array of existing functional libraries,
Build your app without
APIs, an automated testing framework, and context sensitive
writing code
documentation. The platform supports employee use anytime,
anywhere and on any device, so developers can avoid the pain
4 of building an app and then rebuilding variants for mobile, tablets,
laptops, smart refrigerators, etc.
Connect apps, data, IT has complete visibility into all applications from a single vantage
and people point. This means EAs can see their entire portfolio of development
projects, from smaller low-code apps developed by citizen
developers and departments through more ambitious professional
development projects, in one place. This kind of visibility
makes it easier to identify duplicative development as well as
5 opportunities to serve multiple stakeholder groups with a common
set of applications.

Tap into real time Additionally, EAs can also govern and manage multi-vendor, cross-
analytics enterprise automation in a single workspace with ServiceNow®
Automation Center.

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Move your business
forward
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How we help #4: Keep things
smooth for end users
Replace legacy collaboration systems and improve the experience

Legacy collaboration systems present a major challenge for EAs.

While some enterprises still rely on them to connect departments
and regions, they generally don’t play well with the cloud, and
contribute to sprawl by allowing the rapid creation of ad hoc data
sources and applications with virtually no control. These systems of
record are a valued and needed engine for an enterprise, but the
interfaces are often unwieldy for employees. ServiceNow adds an
activity layer to your technology, integrating your departments
with these legacy data sources with consistent experiences that
users love.

This layer can also insulate your employees from changes when
an organization sheds dated legacy solutions and migrates the
data. For example, many enterprises need to make periodic shifts
and transitions within legacy environments that can be massively
disruptive—such as SAP customers transitioning to S/4HANA. In
these cases, data sources can shift and user experiences change.
ServiceNow allows you to navigate integrations during
back-end transitions while delivering consistent and undisrupted
user experiences on the front-end, preserving and elevating
user productivity.

With ServiceNow, it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to provision

new applications and make them accessible globally. An effective
collaboration application developed by one team could be quickly
delivered to another. And it works seamlessly with most enterprise
security, availability, and capacity management solutions.

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How we help #5: Removing
friction
Break down barriers between siloes with cross-functional apps

At many companies, individual departments and functional

siloes behave independently, often requesting new software
without considering the cross-functional implications. Because
this can contribute to application sprawl, EAs prefer to look at
departmental requests more holistically so they can account for
cross-functional processes and avoid duplicate solutions.

For example, let’s say the sales team, the legal team, and the
compliance team all need some way to digitize and manage
contracts. Each of these organizations might separately ask IT for
a contract management system. Rather than evaluating these
requests individually, an EA might consider how these needs might
overlap, whether they can be met with existing systems, and if
processes span multiple teams.

This is where it's critical for EAs to have enhanced app and
developer visibility. With ServiceNow App Engine Management
Center, not only do you obtain that enhanced visibility, but you also
have the means to govern low code efficiently.

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ServiceNow allows you to build workflow apps that can operate
unabated across functional department boundaries. Instead of
continuing to build redundant vertical silos of applications and
workflows, you can pivot those silos to operate horizontally across the
enterprise. Applications built on the platform can integrate information
from multiple data sources and easily automate cross-departmental
workflows, improving productivity and sometimes eliminating the
need for silo-specific solutions. Applications built on the platform can
integrate information from multiple data sources and easily automate
cross-departmental workflows, improving productivity and sometimes
eliminating the need for silo-specific solutions.

Even better, the platform lets developers reuse code, data, and
integrations with other systems, which dramatically accelerates the
pace of development over time. In fact, ServiceNow app templates
can now be established with fine-grained access control and built with
richer features. And with access to multiple data sources in one place,
you can build applications to provide cross-functional intelligence and
drive continuous improvements across the whole enterprise.

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A platform for the entire enterprise
The Now Platform is ideally suited to help EAs and senior-level IT executives reduce sprawl while
planning to meet tomorrow’s business needs. If you currently own a ServiceNow solution, you already
have the ability to begin building your own low-code applications. You don’t incur any costs to develop
those apps. Costs are only accrued if and when you choose to push those apps into your production
environment.

ServiceNow low code accelerates app delivery without the burdens and risks of application and data
sprawl.

LEARN MORE

About ServiceNow
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) makes the world work better for everyone. Our cloud based platform and solutions help digitize and unify organizations
so that they can find smarter, faster, better ways to make work flow. So employees and customers can be more connected, more innovative, and
more agile. And we can all create the future we imagine. The world works with ServiceNow®. For more information, visit: www.servicenow.com.
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