Discover the game-changing innovations unveiled at Knowledge 24 that are set to transform how organizations leverage the ServiceNow platform.

In the rapidly evolving world of enterprise technology, ServiceNow has firmly established itself as a leader in the digital transformation space. At their recent Knowledge 24 conference, the company unveiled an ambitious roadmap that puts artificial intelligence (AI) and automation at the forefront of its platform's future development. 

Powering Up the ServiceNow Engine with Raptor DB

One of Knowledge 24's foundational announcements was ServiceNow's move to replace its existing MariaDB database with a new, ultra-scalable solution called Raptor DB. This shift directly responds to the platform's exponential growth, with transaction volumes skyrocketing from 35,000 per minute to an astounding 93,000 per minute.

Alongside the technical infrastructure enhancements, ServiceNow is also strengthening its security and governance capabilities. The introduction of "deny unless" rules and more granular access control lists (ACLs) will give customers greater control over data access and permissions, helping them maintain tight control over sensitive information.

Charting the Roadmap: Self-Service and Expert Capabilities

ServiceNow's roadmap is divided into two key areas: self-service and expert/agent capabilities. On the self-service side, the company has already launched innovative features like GenAI Q&A, which can summarize articles and answer user queries. They are also enhancing conversational catalog ordering, improving intent accuracy, and developing more personalized multi-conversational experiences.

For expert and agent users, ServiceNow has introduced capabilities like chat and case summarization, alert summarization, knowledge article generation, and recommended replies. These features are designed to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and empower agents with AI-powered insights and recommendations.

Glimpsing the Future: ServiceNow's AI-Powered Vision

Looking ahead, ServiceNow is exploring even more transformative AI-driven innovations. These include autonomous AI assistants that can take on routine tasks, "my AI twin" personalized agents that understand individual user needs, simulation agents to test the impact of changes, and local models that bring AI capabilities directly to users without the need for internet connectivity.

Empowering Citizen Developers with Creator Studio

A key focus area for ServiceNow is empowering citizen developers, process owners, and service catalog teams to build and publish applications and forms more easily. The newly launched Creator Studio provides a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that enables these non-technical users to automate workflows and leverage AI-powered capabilities.

ServiceNow is also enhancing its analytics capabilities, introducing a new visualization designer, unified data sources, and the ability to generate reports and dashboards using natural language processing. These improvements will help organizations derive deeper insights from their ServiceNow data.

Collaborating with Microsoft: Seamless AI-Powered Workflows

One of the standout highlights from Knowledge 24 was ServiceNow's deep collaboration with Microsoft. By integrating their Now Assist capabilities with Microsoft Teams and Azure AI, ServiceNow enables seamless, conversational experiences that allow users to initiate workflows and access information directly from their preferred productivity tools. 

A demo showed how the tools could seamlessly work together. An employee talked to CoPilot from within Microsoft Teams and said she needed to order a PC. CoPilot would then transfer the request into Now Assist, where she was asked more about her needs. Using information already in the Now platform, the order was processed without human intervention.

AI-Powered Service Management with Elisa

The Cloud People is partnering with Elisa, a leading telecommunications and IT services provider in Finland, to drive the adoption of AI-powered service management.

As one of only two partners in Northern Europe in Microsoft's Gen AI development program, Elisa has been working closely with ServiceNow and The Cloud People to develop compelling use cases showcasing the power of AI-driven service management.

By combining the strengths of the ServiceNow platform and Microsoft's AI products, Elisa and The Cloud People have created a range of practical, real-world solutions that customers can implement today. These include automating workflows, enhancing customer experiences, and streamlining IT operations – all powered by the seamless integration of ServiceNow's AI capabilities and Microsoft's cutting-edge technologies.

Key Takeaways from ServiceNow's CEO

In his keynote address, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott emphasized the importance of leveraging AI and automation to drive business value. He highlighted 10 key focus areas, including supercharging productivity with Now Assist AI, predicting and responding to operational needs, serving customers anywhere with field service management, and upskilling employees for the future.

McDermott also stressed the importance of co-innovation with industry partners, unlocking next-generation user experiences, and modernizing every business process – all of which are central to ServiceNow's vision for the future of enterprise IT.

As the ServiceNow platform continues to evolve, the company's commitment to AI, automation, and collaborative innovation is poised to transform how organizations approach digital transformation. By empowering citizen developers, enhancing security and governance, and seamlessly integrating with leading technology partners, ServiceNow is positioning itself as a true enabler of the intelligent, agile enterprise.

Now Assist Creator Workflow

Illustration: ServiceNow's Roadmap for Creator workflow, all the functionality they have so far and looking to bring from Xanadu and forward.