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ServiceNow Review: What We Loved, What We Liked, and What We Hated
The name ServiceNow is synonymous with IT. After all, it is one of the most popular and widely used organizational IT management solutions out there.
But does it live up to its reputation?
Is the individual license-based pricing sustainable for small businesses? Is the platform as complex as they say? Does it have every feature one could need?
We’ll answer all of these and more in this in-depth ServiceNow review. Read on.
What is ServiceNow?
Via ServiceNow
It is hard to condense the full scope of ServiceNow in a few lines. But we'll try.
ServiceNow is a cloud-based enterprise platform designed to automate and streamline workflows for complex enterprise needs. It's a network of enterprise apps on multi-tenant architecture. A single instance of ServiceNow serves multiple customers (tenants) on a shared infrastructure.
The cloud-based foundation called the Now Platform is powering all of ServiceNow's offerings. It comprises a long list of AI-powered enterprise business apps for customizable workflow automation, a robust database and low/no code development tools for extensibility.
Behind every ServiceNow product, the Now Platform automates, optimizes, and modernizes everything behind the scenes. This system integrates with other major apps and platforms like SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Puppet, and more with the help of over a thousand certified, ready-to-use integrations available in the ServiceNow Store.
A Bit of History
ServiceNow began as Glidesoft, Inc., in 2003. It was only in 2012 that it received the “ServiceNow” moniker.
It wasn’t a standalone product but a business framework for building custom workflows back then. The cost of a single license started at an eye-watering $10,000+ price tag.
But the platform has come a long way since then. Now, 85% of the Fortune 500 companies work with ServiceNow. It has partnered with Nvidia to bring AI to major corporations and has acquired more than a dozen companies and startups between 2020 and 2024 alone.
Key Features of ServiceNow
Before proceeding, you need to know that ServiceNow has many features, and we mean A LOT! It can do almost too much, from advanced audit management and Agile development to contractor management and investment funding.
For a list of all ServiceNow features, refer to this document.
That’s because discussing every feature is outside the scope of this review. So we’ll focus on its biggest features.
IT Service Management
Via ServiceNow
For IT service management, reliability and scalability are essential. Speed is also necessary. We are happy to report that ServiceNow delivers on this front.
What’s good?
During our time using the platform, we found that it resolved issues quickly and quantifiably improved user satisfaction. ServiceNow is powered by platform-native AI, allowing us to accelerate tech changes quickly.
It showed the recommended actions for incoming service tickets or requests, and the enterprise-friendly chatbot was very helpful in self-service requests and automation.
As far as ITSM systems go, ServiceNow is pretty standard. It doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary. This is also its strength, as it makes the platform VERY flexible—you can make it as complex as you want.
Unlike some tools that jumble everything together, ServiceNow groups the core apps and features (ITSM-specific) into packages. You can scale these packages later as your needs change.
The Now Assist module for ITSM also deserves some attention. It is a Gen AI-powered app that helps with things like generating incident summaries and resolution notes to ease some of an IT agent's responsibilities.
Via ServiceNow
The Knowledge Generation feature, in particular, is excellent. It can quickly come up with articles on routine incidents to be published in the knowledge management system.
Agents and employees can later revisit these articles for quicker troubleshooting or learn more about systems.
What’s not so good?
Everyone who has used ServiceNow will agree on this one—it’s not the easiest to use. The product has a relatively steep learning curve. Most organizations that rely on ServiceNow for ITSM or something else have dedicated ServiceNow teams.
We also noticed that integrations with applications like Nexthing and KoreAI are unnecessarily complex. There is substantial scope for improvement in this regard.
Our score: 4.5/5
IT Asset Management
Via ServiceNow
What’s good?
Like its ITSM suite, ServiceNow’s ITAM offering is capable and comprehensive. It offers everything you’d expect in an enterprise-grade ITAM solution, tracking all your organizational hardware and software from procurement through disposal.
Whenever we assess any ITAM solution, we pay the most attention to asset information completeness and accuracy. These are the foundations of modern asset management. ServiceNow has this foundation nailed. The range of things it can manage and monitor with full accuracy within your organization is nothing short of impressive.
Apart from your usual software and hardware asset management apps, you also get separate apps for Enterprise asset management, SaaS license management, cloud cost management, onboarding and onboarding automation, contract and renewal management, and more.
Via ServiceNow
The Enterprise Asset Management platform stood out to us. Its indoor asset mapping is a godsend when tracking critical assets using precise and accurate location information. The platform even uses predictive intelligence to automate tasks and resolve asset-related issues faster with ML-powered workflows.
The ITAM suite also works hand-in-hand with the ITSM system. This makes assisted workflows much more viable, and even reporting becomes more accurate.
What’s not so good?
Once again, the steep learning curve will be a sore point if your IT team is unfamiliar with ServiceNow products. You’d at least have to allocate your team a sizable amount of time to understand the various aspects of the platform.
As you add inventories and different asset types, the configuration becomes more complicated. In such cases, performance takes a slight dip.
Our score: 4.5/5
IT Operations Management
Via ServiceNow
ServiceNow’s ITOM suite gives you full visibility into your multi-stack IT environment and lets you visualize your IT infrastructure in a business service context. The predictive AIOps system, powered by generative AI, minimizes user impact and speed remediation.
ITOM itself is very broad; you will be doing service mapping, event management, discovery, audits, and reporting, and that’s only touching the surface. We like how Now Assist makes this part less challenging.
Via ServiceNow
In ITOM, Now Assist primarily triages alerts faster and more accurately with generative AI. It replaces cryptic alert descriptions with simple, plain-language summaries so that operators quickly grasp what an alert indicates.
We found it even more impressive that ServiceNow developed its own LLM, called the Now LLM specifically for IT Operations. This assistant enabled us to identify issues much faster and perform probable root cause analyses during our time with it.
We also appreciate how ServiceNow provides a holistic view of IT operations flow within both on-premises and cloud (Azure) environments. This alone makes monitoring current operations so much easier.
What’s not so good?
You saw it coming but once again the learning curve puts up a challenge. Initial set-up is no less difficult. Even IT admins would have to scratch their heads to do something as simple as create custom reports. In other words, it could be a confusing software and without necessary guidance, feels like fiddling around in an airplane cockpit.
ServiceNow’s Achilles’ Heel is its complexity. The dedicated team needed to operate and manage the platform is an extra expense most organizations cannot handle. Plus, a good chunk of time is lost training staff with the platform.
The total cost of implementation and maintenance would also concern smaller organizations.
Our score: 4/5
Interface and Usability
ServiceNow was not made for small teams or amateurs. It is strictly for IT professionals, and that is evident in its user interface. Instead of just one UI experience, you get to choose from multiple.
Via ServiceNow
The Next UI Experience UI is ServiceNow's flagship UI system. It unifies all your instance apps and reduces clicks to access commonly used items. You are not locked in; you can easily switch between classic environments, apps, and configurable workspaces. The Next UI also lets you create custom menus for your end users.
Via ServiceNow
However, the Next UI misses out on things like Live Feed, custom header menus, Javascript console log, etc. For these, you would have to revert back to CoreUI.
Another issue that has plagued ServiceNow users for years is the lack of a dedicated back button. Sometimes, users are not too thrilled with the sticky banner frame.
Overall, although Next Experience has largely fixed the biggest issues with the UI to some extent, it has not reached its maturity yet. We have seen more intuitive interfaces in competitors but then again those did not have half as many features as ServiceNow.
Security and Compliance
If you are feeding all your critical organizational data to a platform, you want it to be safe and protected. Luckily, ServiceNow has not left any doors open regarding security.
We verified that ServiceNow meets the highest security and privacy standards in all operational regions. Certifications include ISO/IEC 27017:2015, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SSAE 18 SOC 1 and SOC 2, CSTAR Level 2, FedRAMP High P-ATO, PCI DSS, and more.
For a full list of certifications, visit this link.
ServiceNow is also GDPR compliant, which is a given since the platform helps other organizations achieve GDPR compliance. In addition, there are strict policies for responsible AI usage, customer data privacy, and end-to-end encryption. In fact, the platform participates in the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) program, which is a joint continental initiative to provide organizations with reliable mechanisms for data transfers and more.
Pricing
ServiceNow’s pricing structure is opaque.
Not only that, not a lot of users talk publicly about the pricing. The NDAs must be strong. We can give you a rough idea of what you can realistically expect to spend.
First, pricing will vary based on how you buy it, what products you need and how many licenses you need for a given product.
Via Reddit
Second, you pay for not just for the product but also for services such as consultation, installation and set-up, annual maintenance, etc.Combined, ServiceNow even basic packages can cost upwards of $10,000 annually. And it shoots up quickly as you add integrations, training, support etc. Realistically, a moderately sized company can start using basic ServiceNow services at around the $50,000 mark.
It can quickly reach the million-dollar mark as your needs and organizational size scale, making it out of reach for most SMBs.
User Feedback and Reviews
Via G2
ServiceNow’s Now platform is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars in G2, based on over 2,100 real-user reviews. All of ServiceNow’s individual products, like the ITSM and ITOM platform, are also consistently rated above four stars in all major user review sites.
Users praise ServiceNow for its extensive suite of apps and solutions for every IT use case possible. Users also like robust integrations, helpful customer support, and intelligent AI systems that improve productivity in routine IT tasks.
Here’s what they’re writing about ServiceNow:
Via Reddit
Via Reddit
Final Verdict: Is ServiceNow Right for You?
ServiceNow can fit into the workflows of almost all industries, be it HR, finance, media, or entertainment. The recent gen AI-based apps and capabilities do not feel gimmicky (which is mostly the case with AI implementations) and actually add value.
However, it would massively benefit from feature streamlining and ease-of-use additions. At its current stage, it feels overwhelming, at least to newcomers.
The bottom line is that ServiceNow is one of the most feature-rich enterprise-facing platforms in the market, and you’re likely to find whatever niche features you need for your organization here. However, you’ll need to be prepared for a steep learning curve and a prohibitive price tag if you’re a small business.
Try Workwize: A Simpler Alternative for IT Asset Management
While ServiceNow is a capable enterprise-grade platform, it’s got its problems. If you’re looking for a simpler, cleaner platform for IT hardware lifecycle management, Workwize is the perfect tool.
Unlike ServiceNow’s broad capabilities, Workwize specializes in automating IT lifecycle management. It’s one platform for the entire IT hardware lifecycle: procurement, deployment, management, retrieval, and disposal.
Here’s a look at some of Workwize’s top features:
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Automation: Reduces manual workloads by 40%, streamlining processes like onboarding/offboarding and repairs. Yes, Workwize combines full-fledged IT services (device procurement, IT help desk, one-click retrievals and safe disposals) and offers a dedicated platform to manage everything.
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Global Scalability:
Workwize offers operations in over 100 countries with local warehousing and rapid delivery. We can also partner with local suppliers to minimize logistical fees and carbon footprint.
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User-Friendly Interface:
Forget complexity or learning curves. Workwize is incredibly simple to use, and you’ll not need more than a couple days to know how to use it fully. You manage everything from a centralized dashboard and we take care of everything from behind the scenes.
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Best for IT Asset Management:
Ideal for distributed workforces and businesses prioritizing efficient hardware management without the need for broader ITSM capabilities.
Cost-effective and transparent pricing tailored for IT teams and mid-sized organizations.
See how Workwize makes a difference. Schedule a Workwize demo now.
