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To reset or not to reset, that is the question...
We often find ourselves discussing platform refreshes or resets whenever we have a group of customers together; it never fails to spark lively and passionate discussion. We aren’t known for sitting on the fence, but on this topic there’s always an element of client specific consideration that needs to be factored into an answer.
The start of a new year is the optimal time to take a look at your platform and think about whether it might need a reset. Below we’ve shared our thoughts on a few of our most commonly asked questions surrounding this topic.
Why might you need to consider a platform refresh?
Typically, those who consider doing a ServiceNow platform refresh are long serving customers of the tool. It’s likely that they first purchased the platform when it had fewer out of the box features meaning not enough sophistication to fulfil their IT needs. As a result, it’s likely that the organisation has built up technical debt as a result of having to customise many different aspects of their ServiceNow instance.
Alternatively, a business needing a refresh might be because their ways of working have fundamentally changed; for example, your company has switched to hybrid or fully remote working which has inevitably affected your internal processes. In the case of changing ways of working, the team would be in need of a reset to ensure that their ServiceNow investment is aligned to and able to support their new strategy. When reading on, keep in mind what your prime reason is for considering a refresh.
What are the different approach to a refresh?
Two different types of platform refresh exist: Brownfield and Greenfield. Which will be best for you is highly dependent on your current ServiceNow investment.
So what do we mean by Brownfield vs Greenfield?
Brownfield: This involves taking a “fix forward” approach, making major changes to your existing platform.
Greenfield: This means building a brand new environment on a clean ServiceNow instance.
How do you know whether a Brownfield or Greenfield approach is best for you?
Essentially, Brownfield adheres to improving the processes and workflows that you have in place already. It may be less disruptive to do this, in small incremental steps, than to start entirely afresh – Brownfield refreshes are popular with customers who originally did a very simple out of the box build.
On the other hand, Greenfield presents an opportunity to start with a clean instance, using the latest OOTB capabilities and only configuring where the latest product capabilities don’t offer the required functionality. This is a popular approach for customers with complex environments, who are more likely to prefer a single “big bang” transition.
It all depends on how much work you’ve put into your current instance, the levels of maturity you are looking to implement and how much you essentially want to change.
Key points to consider when weighing up Brownfield and Greenfield
As emphasised above, there’s no right answer here, but below are some things we think are crucial to consider:
The technical maturity of your platform
By this we mean your business process maturity: how sophisticated is your ServiceNow as it currently stands, and how much more sophisticated would you like it to be?
The cost of investing in a platform refresh
The general umbrella of “cost” could include licences, business change activities, and technical delivery. What else might need to be addressed in terms of your IT budget?
Your internal resource availability
Resources needed for a major transformation project like this will include business-side experts, including technical teams, program and project delivery resources. You will also need an engaged customer base who can actively test the new platform and provide brutally honest feedback.
Potential timelines and deadlines
Plan out a hypothetical timeline for both a Brownfield and Greenfield implementation. Will it take longer to start all over again with a new environment (Greenfield)? Or will it actually take less time than it would to change your current processes (Brownfield)? Comparing the potential timelines will help you to see which approach is most realistic and feasible.
When is a good time to consider a platform refresh?
If you’re feeling that a major platform or business revamp will leverage your investment in the ServiceNow platform, then it’s as good a time as any.
A pivotal point to remember is that you will need to have the bandwidth to speak with specialists. This is not the sort of project that can be done in isolation or by your internal business teams only.
Some benefits of investing in a platform refresh
The end result is a platform better aligned to and able to meet your business goals
You will leverage a stronger foundation to be able to build and grow your investment in ServiceNow
You’ll have the ability to adopt new features and capabilities more easily through simple adoption of latest ServiceNow concepts, including CSDM, NextUI and Agent Workspace
Unifii have extensive experience in platform reset projects, having completed them for several clients recently and currently being in discussion with others. When you engage with us, we take the time to analyse in detail your current processes, ways of working, what you want to achieve and whether a Brownfield or Greenfield approach would be best to get you there.
If you'd like to learn more about resetting your platform, please do get in touch with us here.
