ServiceNow Review 2023: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

ServiceNow is a popular centralized ITSM tool that large enterprises can leverage to manage IT operations. 

It has everything you need under one roof, from IT Service Management and Customer Service Management to IT Business Management. 

But is it the right platform for you?

In this ServiceNow review, we'll dive into the inner workings of the software and look at its main features. We'll also mention the pros and cons and see what real users are saying about using the platform.

ServiceNow review 2023: Is ServiceNow any good?

After writing this detailed ServiceNow software review, we can safely say this is one of the market's best information technology service management (ITSM) tools. ServiceNow has great ease of use and a user-friendly user interface that makes it easy to navigate the platform. In addition, the knowledge library is great.

Even if you find the software confusing, there's an extensive knowledge base with many technical articles that can assist you with the user experience. In addition, there's detailed product documentation that explains every function of the software. 

Setting up and configuring different sorts of workflows is easy, especially regarding flexibility. It has visual task boards that look like Kanban boards, so if you're a fan of that type of project management, you'll like what ServiceNow offers. 

Another cool thing about ServiceNow is that it has a lot of process mining capabilities. It can help you visualize and track how processes are working within the system, identify any bottlenecks, what the variations to that process are, and more. This can be critical in optimizing your business processes, making sure you're as efficient as possible.

ServiceNow pricing plans

First of all, how much does ServiceNow cost? Let’s first review ServiceNow prices:

How much does ServiceNow cost for nonprofits?

ServiceNow doesn’t provide public pricing. All organizations interested in using the software must reach out to a sales representative, including nonprofits. According to the community forum, the pricing is flexible and tailored to your budget, geographic location, needs, etc. 

Are there any ServiceNow coupon codes or promo discount vouchers?

We did the research, and it seems there are no ServiceNow coupon codes or discount vouchers at this time.

ServiceNow free vs paid: what’s the difference?

ServiceNow doesn't provide public pricing. The company's pricing is flexible and tailored to your requirements. There are scalable packages for all stages of business growth, including Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. You must talk to a ServiceNow representative to receive a custom quote. As the company's target customers are enterprises, you can expect pricing to be on the higher end. 

ServiceNow overview: what is ServiceNow & what is ServiceNow used for?

ServiceNow is a robust service management provider that targets mid to large-enterprise companies worldwide. Unlike some of its SaaS competitors, such as BMC, ServiceNow is a cloud-based Application Platform as a Service (aPaaS) that provides the infrastructure, platform, applications, and workflows required to support a business's IT needs. 

The platform comes with a robust suite of applications that are functionally categorized into four primary modules: IT workflows, employee workflows, customer workflows, and creator workflows. These categories are divided into subcategories, targeting a company's specific needs. Even if you need help finding an out-of-the-box application that supports your business's unique requirements, you can build one within the platform. 

It's a unique type of product that differs from anything else that exists on the market. It's not a typical CRM system like Salesforce, a help desk like Zendesk, or an ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics 365. 

It's commonly used for IT help desks as a ticketing system to track customer inquiries and complaints. It can be used to track workflows with employees. For example, if you have a new hire that needs to go through an onboarding process or you have an employee who needs to request approval for the acquisition of certain assets, ServiceNow can be used to track all of those workflows. 

It's commonly used in industries like the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and telecommunications sectors, where many customers interact with the company daily. It's also used by companies with large IT departments, like software development, and other tech companies, as it lets them track some of the workflows associated with software development. Government and education companies can also use the software to track their day-to-day workflows.

ServiceNow features list

The main features of ServiceNow are:

• IT Service Management

• IT Operations Management

• Customer Service Management

• HR Service Delivery

• IT Business Management

• Field Service Management 

• Configuration Management Database

• Performance Analytics

• Knowledge Management 
   

1. IT Service Management (ITSM)

With the ITSM feature, you can quickly detect and fix IT incidents. You can use AI to increase agent efficiency and resolve IT issues. Your IT team will have fewer things on its plate as incidents can be auto-assigned to the correct resolution team. You can also automate DevOps change approvals. 

Additionally, you can automate support for common requests with virtual agents that understand human language. You can continually improve your IT processes with built-in dashboards and real-time analytics. 
 

2. IT Operations Management (ITOM)

The ITOM feature serves to help you identify and fix problems before they happen with cross-team automation workflows. It helps you more easily find the incident's root cause and share actionable insights across teams. The software will guide you on how to reduce outages in the future. 
 

3. Customer Service Management (CSM)

The CSM feature lets customer service agents automate service requests, proactively address issues, and deliver effortless customer experiences. It can empower employees to assist customers with their needs proactively and solve problems by connecting the entire organization. 

The software intelligently routes cases to the best employee and lets you see the entire case lifecycle. Additionally, you can automate common customer requests, provide answers with an AI-powered chatbot, and embed self-service on any website.
 

4. HR Service Delivery 

With HR Service Delivery, you can give your employees the service experience they deserve. This feature makes it easy for employees to get HR services and increase their satisfaction. Employees can find answers, make requests, and get help via the Now Mobile app, whether it's employee onboarding, booking a conference room, or payroll issues. 

You can integrate with existing HR management systems (HRMS), identity providers (IDP), background checks, e-signature, tax forms, and other services to improve operational efficiency. And you can simplify any process by using intelligent and automated answers to guide employees.
 

5. IT Business Management Service (ITBM)

With the IT Business Management feature, you'll be able to anticipate critical business requirements, allocate resources, and evaluate the value of your portfolio. You can prioritize new requests and deliver products more quickly and efficiently. 

The feature lets you assess top-level investments and adapt to make adjustments. You'll manage strategic and operational work from one central space and reduce bottlenecks to get to market faster.
 

6. Field Service Management

The ServiceNow Field Service Management feature helps organizations manage work tasks on location. It matches tasks to agents based on geographic territory assignments, skills, and available inventory. Agents can record details on their assigned tasks, like time spent, travel time to jobs, completion status, and more. 
 

7. Configuration Management Database

With the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) feature, you can build logical representations of assets, services, and the relationships between them that make up your organization's infrastructure. Details about these components will be stored in the CMDB, which you can use to monitor the infrastructure.
 

8. Performance Analytics

ServiceNow Performance Analytics is an in-platform process optimization solution to create management dashboards, report on KPIs and metrics, and answer key business questions to help increase quality and reduce the costs of service delivery.
 

9. Knowledge Management

The ServiceNow Knowledge Management (KM) feature provides self-help resources to employees and customers. Using this feature, you can create knowledge bases that will contain technical articles and other resources for self-help, troubleshooting, and task resolution. 

ServiceNow pros and cons

Here are the advantages and disadvantages of ServiceNow:
 

ServiceNow advantages

Even though it has its core competencies, which are workflow management and customer experience, ServiceNow recognizes that it's not a complete enterprise-wide solution; that's why it offers seamless integration with other systems. It integrates with third-party apps like Jira, DocuSign, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. 

Another advantage is that the platform is entirely customizable. It's one of the most flexible products that lets you fine-tune it to fit your business. It's focused on creating workflows that fit your organization. It’s highly customizable as per organizational needs and establishes service links between IT and employees with minimal configuration.

Organizations can set up self-service portals using this easy-to-use tool; it is low code and easy to configure as most features are readily available out of the box.

For the end-user creating tickets, raising incidents, and CRs is as easy as filling out a form.
 

ServiceNow disadvantages

Considering ServiceNow is not an ERP system or accounting software, not a CRM system or full-blown inventory management—it's built to track general processes and workflows. As such, you will need to tie ServiceNow into other systems to create a complete solution for your entire organization. 

Another downside is that some of the software's reporting and business intelligence capabilities are less powerful than some other systems on the market. 

Some organizations may also find that setting up the workflows and processes can be a bit complex. It may present companies with a lot of complexity if they don't have the appropriate internal IT capabilities to manage such a solution. Configuring and setting up the platform takes time, which is due to its robust suite of features and flexibility.

ServiceNow complaints & praise (ServiceNow reviews from real customers)

Positive reviews of ServiceNow say the tool is sufficient and useful for helping customers with their IT-related questions. Many companies use it as their primary ITSM tool and like the capabilities it offers, such as Change Management, Incident Management, and Problem Management. Another thing customers like is the ability for the software to integrate with a range of third-party systems. 

More than a few verified users say the software can help you create large, easily searchable knowledge base articles to train employees and enable customers to help themselves with simpler issues. 

Several positive reviews mention how ServiceNow IT Service Management adapts to different areas and divisions, so it's not tied to the IT department. They say having everything in the cloud facilitates communication with clients. Users seem to like using the ITSM, ITBM, IT Asset Management, and CMDB features. 

All these features help users manage clients, services, and assets. They like how there is so much one can do with the software, and once users start adopting it, it can really make a big difference in how IT can assist the business.

Negative ServiceNow reviews talk about how the system can sometimes be very slow and buggy. Other users say the software can become an administrative nightmare if it is not maintained well. A few users complain about the ticket search system needing to be more intuitive. Some users say it would be great if the visual task board had more Trello-like features, especially features like the Power-Ups.
 

Review of ServiceNow support

You can contact the customer support team for information about the platform or request a demo. You need to share a few details, and a sales rep will be in touch within two business days. Additionally, you can chat with a Virtual Agent that can help you with simple issues and requests like a locked account, forgotten password, upcoming conferences, and payment and invoice questions. 

Also, there's a vast knowledge base that contains a good deal of learning and self-help resources, including technical articles, how-tos, and solutions. You'll also find detailed product documentation for the functionality of each release. There's an active community forum where you can connect and collaborate with fellow ServiceNow users. 

Is ServiceNow worth it? Our conclusion

ServiceNow is a powerful platform perfect for large IT departments. It has several modules that can enhance a business's efficiency and IT productivity. It integrates with other tools and can be used by large enterprise companies across different industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, and government. 

But is ServiceNow worth it?

We say yes, but under the right circumstances. Companies should keep in mind that this is a heavyweight platform with a hefty price tag. This is not the right platform for you if you're a smaller business that deals with only a dozen tickets per week. 

But if you're an enterprise with a large customer base that wants an excellent customer experience, you need to consider moving to the ServiceNow platform. Start with a smaller package and then add on modules as your company grows. Remember, you can always contact the sales team to request a free demo.

If you found ServiceNow is not the right platform for you, take a look at this best service desk software post that compares 20 of the top help desk and ticketing software solutions available today. 
 

Our final ServiceNow rating

4/5