ServiceNow is a leader in the area of customer support for IT service management, business process automation, and digital transformation, which is increasingly important for companies competing in the global market. Created in 2004 by four enthusiasts, the ServiceNow platform today offers jobs and growth opportunities to millions worldwide.
Many people interested in IT jobs misunderstand the market as a place only for experienced developers and technical experts. There are many more opportunities for growth and available paths. I will present those offered by ServiceNow in the article.
Pre-sales Specialist
People working in a particular area forget that their work would be impossible if the product or technology did not exist. The statistical Developer uses at least one programming language that was previously created and later popularized in the IT industry. Similarly, ServiceNow, which was originally a tool for end-user support, has become, years later, a huge combination that integrates technologies, processes, and services.
Administrators and Developers maintaining ServiceNow don’t think about the fact that before they started supporting a customer, that customer made a series of business decisions. Application change in global companies does not fall into place in one meeting. The choice of the right platform and the scope of the change is dictated by a lot of analysis and research.
At this stage, pre-sales representatives have the most work to do. The end customer is looking for the best solution at the time, but also one that is stable and future-proof, since subsequent changes would be time-consuming and costly. Major IT companies specializing in consulting maintain large teams of Pre-sales Specialists who are crucial from the very beginning of the process. ServiceNow offers special certifications of product knowledge and competence in a specific area, the validity of which is verified by an exam every six months.
Sales Specialist
The actual sale is the final stage of the agreement between the parties, which determines the choice of a particular solution. ServiceNow is a platform that changes its products according to market needs as well as customer expectations. An experienced Salesperson will advise which licensing model will be the most advantageous in a given situation. The right relationship and trust are the most important in this area, as signing a contract is often only the beginning of cooperation.
Sales teams are looking for people to help customers choose the best option that meets their needs. That’s why the help of a Sales Specialist is important, both in decisions to automate more processes and in lesser dilemmas. Experience and subject-matter knowledge of the available products allows them to offer solutions that are crucial from the customer’s point of view.
It is worth mentioning that ServiceNow offers courses and accreditations to employees to confirm their knowledge of the product and current licensing plans. This knowledge is very important, because a new version of ServiceNow is released to customers twice a year, and changes are sometimes significant. Each certification is for a specific version, so we can be sure we are working with competent people.
Business Analyst
After signing the contract, the next step is to implement the solution at the client’s site. Analysts respond to the needs of the business, which knows best what it expects at any given time. Sometimes these expectations do not coincide with the scope of work in the contract, or worse, the technical functionalities of the platform. The Business Analyst is the liaison between the world of the business and the client’s needs and the Developers, who are responsible for the final implementation of the solution according to best practices within the agreed project timeframe.
Business analysis is not reflected in ServiceNow’s official certifications, but the people who occupy these positions in consulting firms are high-level professionals. An experienced Analyst will convince a client to change a requirement or process if its implementation requires too much work for the expected benefits or is outright inappropriate for the case. Familiarity with the ServiceNow platform and the ability to work with people makes such people in demand on the job market and great for supporting the operation of implementation teams during long-term projects.
Administrator
Running projects and implemented solutions usually require maintenance. This is most often the responsibility of an Administrator, for whom both system configuration and simple platform modifications are not a challenge. The Administrator’s job is much easier if you have technical experience, for example, as a Developer. Many modules and applications run on JavaScript, knowledge of which helps. In addition, ServiceNow from the Tokyo version released in the third quarter of 2022 supports ES6.
ServiceNow also allows people without technical skills to customize instances. The Low-Code and No-Code approach promoted in recent years attempts to solve the notorious shortage of specialists by using various types of configurators and high-level mechanisms. Automating processes through the use of available function blocks is easy and error-proof. While a process can still be incorrectly defined, learning and efficiently using Flow Designer will be much faster than learning a programming language.
Knowledge of the available solutions and capabilities of the platform to a basic degree determines the Certified System Administrator (CSA) certification. ServiceNow is often used by users from different locations and with different experience. The granting of administrator rights comes with great responsibility, as such a user has broad authority to make changes to our system. They must be experienced and qualified.
Implementer
More experienced people are responsible for properly expanding the platform. The implementation of further modules, depending on the client’s requirements, can be more or less successful. Therefore, in addition to personal ambition, substantive preparation is important. A several-day course preparing for the CIS (Certified Implementation Specialist) exam, will not make us experts in a given area but will protect us from basic mistakes during implementation.
Passing the exam culminating in the issuance of a personal certificate confirms that a given employee is theoretically prepared to work in a specific area. However, it is only with time and subsequent implementations of the selected module for often different customer requirements that we become the experts that the business usually expects from the very beginning of the project. Currently, ServiceNow offers 17 unique paths for implementation specialists.
The true potential of the ServiceNow platform is not only the wide spectrum of supported business processes but the possibility of virtually any customization of the service. Preparing a standalone application using built-in functionality has never been easier. The App Engine Studio tool allows you to conveniently create and develop solutions tailored to specific stakeholder requirements. Collection and processing of various data, creation of processes and complex information flow, and integration with external tools and services are just some of the functionalities offered. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly boldly supporting more areas supported by ServiceNow.
Those interested in such tasks have CAD (Certified Application Developer) training and several dedicated micro-certifications at their disposal. Obtaining a CAD certificate is the best proof of our technical skills and knowledge of the ServiceNow platform, the validity of which is currently verified once a year, so it applies to two versions of the platform.
Architect
Very often the complexity of projects requires the presence of Architects. In general, such people are responsible for the proper design of a solution that will be implemented in the future, and in the end, stably maintained and developed. Many people mistakenly perceive the position of an Architect as a consequence of being experienced and the next stage of a career. Such a possibility exists but is not necessarily the rule.
An Architect is a person whose skills are sometimes the product of many years of experience, but the key to this role is the right approach. The Developer is interested in the technology and the implementation of the solution. The Architect answers questions about why a solution is appropriate and why he or she recommends it. Implementation details are secondary when the focus is on the solution’s broader context, interdependencies, and impact on the rest of the system. The Architect thinks globally, not locally.
ServiceNow introduced two development paths dedicated to architects a few years ago. Certified Technical Architect and Certified Master Architect training are elite programs aimed at the most experienced people. Not only the prices of the training, but also the conditions of participation and the effort required to acquire them and, in the future, maintain them, mean that only a few will be allowed to join the ranks of these specialists.
Consultant
The consulting industry deals with specific projects and tasks that mainly involve advice and support in a specific area. Depending on the company, such a position bears different names, as well as requiring different competencies. However, in general, a Consultant combines the skills necessary when working as an Administrator, Implementer, and even Architect. In the case of ServiceNow projects, the client always requires experienced people who will guarantee the highest quality and timeliness.
The larger the project, the more often specific responsibilities and tasks are assigned to specific roles and individuals. Sometimes smaller implementations do not have a very large team and such a Technical Consultant performs the duties of a typical Business Analyst and Implementation Specialist at the same time. Many times, savings on the part of the client force versatility during the project and perform tasks of an Architect or leader, whose presence was simply not foreseen at the sales stage.
Summary
ServiceNow as a platform offers many growth opportunities, both for the companies that use it and for the professionals associated with the tool. Technical experience is important for Administrators and Developers, but the other roles also offer many interesting challenges.
Working in IT is not just about monotonously staring at a monitor screen and looking for bugs in code. Today’s tasks require creativity, flexibility, and an individual approach, and soft skills are as valuable as a popular programming language.
Links to courses and training
General
Sales
CSA – ServiceNow Administrator
- Certified System Administrator (CSA) Learning Path
- ServiceNow Administration Fundamentals
- ServiceNow Administration Fundamentals On Demand
CIS – Implementation Specialist
- Certified Implementation Specialist – ServiceNow Training and Certification
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Implementer
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Fundamentals
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Implementation
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Fundamentals On Demand (Tokyo)
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Implementation On Demand (Tokyo)
CTA & CMA – Expert Program
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