Scaling ServiceNow: How to Drive Enterprise-Wide Adoption

Scaling ServiceNow across a large enterprise requires more than just a well-configured platform—it demands a deliberate strategy to drive adoption, integrate processes, and keep teams aligned. Without a clear plan, even the most powerful technology can under-deliver. 

Many large organizations struggle to scale ServiceNow effectively. Competing priorities, resistance to change, and misaligned governance structures can slow progress, leaving teams frustrated and underutilizing the platform’s capabilities. But with a structured approach, strong governance, and a focus on adoption, ServiceNow can become a true enterprise asset—streamlining operations and driving measurable business impact. 

We’ve helped countless organizations navigate large-scale ServiceNow implementations. In this article, we’re sharing key strategies that have set them up for long-term success. 

Establishing a ServiceNow Center of Excellence 

Think of a ServiceNow Center of Excellence (CoE) as the difference between a well-orchestrated symphony and a middle school garage band. Without a dedicated CoE, ServiceNow deployments often suffer from inconsistent adoption, fragmented workflows, and a lack of strategic direction. A strong CoE brings together key stakeholders from IT, business units, and leadership to ensure decisions are made with long-term scalability in mind. 

How to Establish a ServiceNow Center of Excellence 

Building a successful CoE starts with securing executive sponsorship. Leadership buy-in is essential to ensure the CoE has the authority and resources needed to drive adoption across the enterprise. Next, define the CoE’s mission and scope—clarifying whether it will focus solely on ITSM or expand into HR, finance, security operations, etc. 

Once the mission is clear, establish a governance model that outlines decision-making authority, funding mechanisms, and collaboration between IT and business units (much more on this below). Appointing a dedicated team—ideally with a mix of technical experts, process owners, and business leaders—ensures the CoE can effectively guide ServiceNow strategy and execution. 

Finally, embedding a culture of continuous improvement is crucial. A successful CoE doesn’t just set standards and walk away—it actively monitors adoption, gathers feedback, and iterates on best practices to keep ServiceNow aligned with business needs as they evolve and shift. 

Figure 1: ServiceNow Center of Excellence

A well-structured CoE typically consists of five key components:

• Design Standards and Good Practices – Establishing clear guidelines for system configuration, workflow automation, and integrations ensures that all teams follow a consistent approach that aligns with organizational objectives.
• Lightweight Governance – Implementing a governance model that provides oversight without unnecessary bureaucracy enables agility while maintaining system integrity and compliance.
• Continual Improvement Processes – ServiceNow should evolve alongside the business. A CoE ensures that the platform is regularly assessed and optimized based on real-world usage, feedback, and performance metrics.
• Stable Monitored Environments – Maintaining system stability through proactive monitoring, testing, and performance management prevents disruptions and ensures a seamless user experience.
• Strong Team with Solid Knowledge – A CoE is only as effective as the people behind it. Investing in a skilled, knowledgeable team ensures that the organization has the expertise needed to support ServiceNow’s expansion, troubleshoot issues, and drive continuous improvement.

A CoE provides the foundation, but without a clear set of guiding principles, even the most well-structured governance can fall apart. These principles serve as the north star, ensuring alignment and consistency across teams. Onward.

Agreeing on Guiding Principles

Guiding principles act as the strategic framework for scaling ServiceNow successfully, ensuring decisions align with long-term business goals and user needs. Without them, organizations risk inconsistent implementations, unclear priorities, and slower adoption.

At the core of these principles is the idea of putting the experience first—focusing on usability, accessibility, and efficiency for both end users and administrators. Equally important is a culture of challenging the status quo—using ServiceNow not just to automate existing processes but to drive real transformation.

The Four Pillars of ServiceNow Guiding Principles

ServiceNow implementations thrive when aligned with four key focus areas: Architecture, Design, Data, and Governance.

• Architecture: A simplified UX and a ‘configure over customize’ approach reduce complexity and technical debt. Encouraging citizen development and reuse ensures solutions remain scalable and adaptable to future needs.
• Design: Seamless, automation-focused experiences are key. Organizations should embrace low-code/no-code solutions and health scans to ensure ongoing efficiency.
• Data: Clean, structured data is the backbone of any successful implementation. Leveraging the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) and ensuring data is treated as a strategic asset allows for better insights and decision-making.
• Governance: A governance model built on manageability, outcomes, and empowerment allows teams to move fast without breaking critical workflows. Enabling decision-making within applications ensures operational agility.

Figure 2: ServiceNow Guiding Principles

Additionally, organizations should strive for the quickest path to value by leveraging out-of-the-box functionality whenever possible. Overcomplicating implementations with excessive customizations can slow down ROI and create long-term maintenance challenges.

By embedding these guiding principles into every phase of implementation, organizations can create a scalable, future-ready ServiceNow ecosystem that drives measurable business outcomes.

Establishing Application Governance

Governance is a decision-making framework that accelerates outcomes by defining:

• What decisions need to be made and when.
• Who is involved in decision-making.
• How decisions are made.

Effective governance ensures ServiceNow remains scalable, secure, and aligned with business objectives as it grows. Organizations should focus on:

• Manageability: Structuring governance to support growth without unnecessary bureaucracy, setting clear policies for configuration, customization, and integrations.
• Outcomes-Based Approach: Aligning governance with business objectives to drive efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and user adoption.
• Empowered Decision-Making: Establishing clear ownership within applications to prevent bottlenecks and streamline approvals.
• Speed to Value: Defining approval processes that allow for quick iteration while maintaining compliance and security.

To implement governance effectively, organizations should start by creating a Governance Board—a cross-functional team that sets and enforces governance policies. This board should include IT leaders, business unit representatives, and platform owners to ensure broad alignment.

Clear standards must also be defined to guide how the platform is used, including when to leverage out-of-the-box functionality versus customization. Establishing structured review and approval processes helps maintain system integrity by ensuring new configurations and integrations undergo proper evaluation before deployment.

Finally, governance should be an evolving practice. Regular audits, feedback loops, and performance assessments allow organizations to adapt their policies over time, ensuring ServiceNow continues to support business needs without introducing unnecessary complexity.

With a well-defined governance framework, enterprises can ensure that ServiceNow remains a strategic enabler of digital transformation rather than an unchecked sprawl of disconnected solutions.

Defining an Application Roadmap

A well-structured roadmap is essential for scaling ServiceNow strategically. Without one, organizations risk implementing features in a disjointed way, underutilizing the platform’s potential, and struggling to align IT with broader business goals. (Think of it like assembling IKEA furniture without instructions—technically possible, but not recommended.)

A roadmap provides a structured plan for how ServiceNow will evolve, ensuring that each phase of implementation builds upon the last. It should be developed in close collaboration with business and IT stakeholders, aligning priorities with key objectives like operational efficiency, automation, and user experience. The goal is to balance quick wins with long-term sustainability—delivering measurable value early while setting the foundation for future expansion.

To create an effective roadmap:

• Assess Current State: Evaluate existing processes, systems, and pain points to identify where ServiceNow can drive the most value.
• Define Clear Objectives: Establish specific, measurable goals—such as reducing incident resolution times or improving customer satisfaction—to keep the project outcome-driven.
• Prioritize Initiatives: Identify which projects or modules to implement first based on factors like business impact, dependencies, and resource availability.
• Establish Timelines: Set realistic deadlines for each phase of the rollout, ensuring that dependencies and risks are accounted for.
• Allocate Resources: Ensure teams have the necessary budget, personnel, and technical support to execute the roadmap effectively.
• Monitor and Adjust: Treat the roadmap as a living document—regularly review progress, gather feedback, and make adjustments based on evolving business needs.

Figure 3: Example ServiceNow Roadmap

A well-crafted roadmap does more than just outline a timeline—it provides a strategic framework that helps organizations scale ServiceNow efficiently while continuously delivering value. It ensures that ServiceNow remains an enabler of business transformation rather than just another system to maintain.

Leveraging Organizational Change Management

Organizational Change Management (OCM) is pivotal in ensuring that new processes and tools are adopted smoothly within an organization. Without a robust OCM strategy, even the most well-designed systems can face resistance, leading to underutilization and failure to achieve desired outcomes.

Key Steps to Implement OCM:

• Prepare for Change: Assess the organization’s readiness and identify potential barriers. Develop a clear communication plan to articulate the vision, benefits, and impact of the change to all stakeholders.
• Manage the Transition: Provide training and resources to equip employees with the necessary skills and knowledge. Establish support structures, such as help desks or change champions, to assist during the transition period.
• Sustain Momentum: Continuously gather feedback, monitor adoption rates, and address any issues promptly. Recognize and reward teams and individuals who embrace the change to reinforce positive behavior.

Figure 4: OCM Defined

By proactively managing the human aspects of change, organizations can enhance user adoption, minimize disruptions, and realize the full potential of their ServiceNow investment.

Managing Developers

Developers play a critical role in ensuring that ServiceNow remains scalable, maintainable, and aligned with business objectives. But without clear guidelines and effective collaboration, customizations can quickly spiral out of control, leading to technical debt, inconsistent configurations, and long-term headaches.

To keep development streamlined and strategic, organizations should focus on five key areas:

Set Clear Development Standards

Without established guidelines, individual developers may take different approaches to solving problems, creating a patchwork system that becomes difficult to manage. Standardizing development best practices ensures consistency and long-term maintainability.

• Configuration Over Customization: Whenever possible, prioritize out-of-the-box functionality and configuration options instead of heavy customizations. This approach minimizes upgrade risks and keeps the platform flexible.
• Modular and Reusable Code: Encourage a structured, modular approach to development, ensuring that scripts and workflows can be repurposed across different teams and use cases.
• Performance Considerations: Developers should follow best practices for query efficiency, caching, and API usage to prevent performance bottlenecks as the system scales.

Implement Rigorous Testing Practices

A strong testing framework is crucial to maintaining a stable and high-performing ServiceNow environment. Before changes go live, they should be thoroughly vetted through multiple layers of testing:

• Unit Testing: Each function or script should be tested in isolation to confirm it behaves as expected.
• Regression Testing: Updates should be checked against existing workflows to ensure that new changes don’t break anything already in place.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): End users should be involved in validating whether new features meet business needs and function properly in real-world scenarios.

Manage Update Sets and Deployment Process Thoughtfully

ServiceNow development involves frequent updates, and without a structured approach, deployments can become chaotic. To keep things smooth:

• Organize Update Sets by Feature: Instead of bundling all changes into one set, separate them by functionality to make debugging and rollback easier.
• Avoid Overlapping Changes: Developers should communicate about in-progress work to prevent conflicts when multiple people are modifying the same records or scripts.
• Version Control and Documentation: Keep clear records of what’s being changed and why, ensuring that future teams can understand and maintain the work.

Foster Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing

ServiceNow evolves rapidly, and keeping development teams up to date is critical. Organizations should:

• Encourage Active Participation in the ServiceNow Community: Developers should engage with user groups, online forums, and ServiceNow documentation to stay current on best practices.
• Invest in Ongoing Training: Regular workshops and certifications help developers deepen their expertise and stay ahead of new platform capabilities.
• Promote Peer Reviews: Code reviews and collaborative troubleshooting sessions can help teams catch potential issues early and share knowledge across developers.

Figure 5: NOW Learning, Sample of ITSM Training Courses

Enable Cross-Team Collaboration

Developers don’t work in isolation—aligning development with IT operations and business teams ensures that work is strategic and impactful.

• Regular Stand-ups or Syncs: Establish a cadence for development teams to check in with IT and business stakeholders, keeping everyone aligned on priorities and roadblocks.
• Clear Communication Channels: Whether it’s a dedicated Slack channel, ServiceNow dev forum, or internal knowledge base, teams should have a centralized place to discuss issues and share solutions.
• Empowerment with Guardrails: Provide developers with autonomy to build and innovate, but ensure they’re operating within a governance framework that maintains security, performance, and long-term scalability.

Keeping Development Scalable

Managing ServiceNow developers effectively isn’t just about writing better code—it’s about building a development culture that prioritizes strategic growth, collaboration, and maintainability. By implementing clear standards, structured testing, and knowledge-sharing practices, organizations can ensure that their platform evolves in a way that’s efficient, scalable, and aligned with business goals.

What’s Next?

Scaling ServiceNow requires careful planning, strong governance, and an emphasis on user adoption. If your organization is embarking on a large-scale rollout or struggling with adoption challenges, we can help.