ServiceNow’s Utah release focuses on solving hybrid space challenges

Workplace lease administration

Last week ServiceNow introduced its latest platform release, Utah, with a focus on helping its growing customer base perform in the face of ever-present uncertainty. The new update includes AI‑powered process mining, robotic process automation (RPA) capabilities and additional search enhancements, designed to help organizations perform and grow with agility.

Utah also includes the new Workplace Lease Administration (WLA) tool, which allows facility managers to track physical assets effectively and make informed decisions while continuing to build a positive employee experience for their workers.

“Organizations no longer need to choose between speed and innovation, or great experiences and business growth,” according to CJ Desai, president and chief operating officer at ServiceNow. “Our latest release is designed for this moment – empowering organizations to maximize efficiency, accelerate ROI on digital spend and create simplified, connected experiences across their entire value chain.”

One area that Now has focused on in the new release is the post-COVID hybrid world of work and the needs of organizations and employees across physical and remote workspaces.

Workplace lease administration in Utah

ServiceNow continues to plug the ‘no normal’ line about how employees can expect more personalized working conditions that allow maximum productivity for the individual and the business. Still, it also recognizes the challenges this presents for business leaders trying to push ahead in the midst of trying economic conditions.

While workers favor a hybrid approach to their job, some employers still struggle with the idea of a productive workforce out of eye-shot. But with talent shortages raging across many industries, a helpful medium will need to be met and intentional decisions about the role of office space need to be made.

The Now platform’s new WLA tool allows managers to track various lease contracts and spaces, workplace assets and services, allowing greater control and spending whilst also giving customers the ability to provide the modern hybrid working experience that keeps employees happy and productive.

For those businesses that operate in multiple locations, the WLA allows for precision insights across their entire real estate landscape.

Simon Morris, area vice president, Solutions Consulting, ServiceNow, tells ERP Today that the WLA feature comes as part of Utah’s Workplace Service Delivery offering, which provides productive employee experiences and drives shared services efficiencies. Other elements within this include Workplace Space Management, which helps customers provide a full digital experience to remote workers while allowing facilities and real estate teams manage their location spend. The feature includes health and safety reporting, reservation, visitor, space and maintenance management.

“This unlocks insights for leaders to redesign workspaces that respond to employee needs,” Morris explains. “Meanwhile, Workplace Maintenance Management automates the creation and planning of workplace maintenance. It enables managers to create and track workplace leases in a centralized workspace. This includes tracking spaces, workplace assets and services along with their associated costs as part of a contract. An overview of metrics can provide users with the most important items to work on, including both draft and active contracts and deadlines, with a configured notification cadence for upcoming lease expirations.

“We know that business leaders are looking for flexibility amid ongoing uncertainty around hybrid work. As we bring people into the office to encourage productivity, we need to cater for the ‘moments that matter’ – quiet spaces that replicate the home environment for calls and vibrant collaborative spaces for team working.

“All of these new innovations come as part of our goal to create these moments and simplify experiences for smarter ways of working in the hybrid world,” Morris adds.