A person in front of a white board holding a laptop A person in front of a white board holding a laptop

ServiceNow streamlines digital workflows for Microsoft with Azure

ServiceNow and Microsoft team up to integrate and optimize their products, platforms, and cloud capabilities.

May 7, 2024

Microsoft and ServiceNow continue to strengthen a strategic partnership intended to enhance the integration and optimization of the companies' products, platforms, and cloud capabilities.

After investing in multiple digital initiatives over the years that have resulted in a more streamlined flow of work for joint customers, Microsoft has officially moved their internal ServiceNow instances from ServiceNow's proprietary cloud to Microsoft Azure. Microsoft leveraged ServiceNow's expertise in digital workflows to not only facilitate the migration but also create a blueprint that other enterprises can follow to enhance operational efficiencies, drive productivity, and optimize cloud spend.

Moving to the public cloud was key to accelerating innovation

The Microsoft mission is to help organizations achieve more by delivering innovative platforms and productivity services for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. To achieve this objective, the Fortune 50 technology giant is constantly looking for new ways to innovate. That's why Microsoft pursued the opportunity to combine their trusted cloud, inclusive of their advanced data and AI capabilities, with ServiceNow's expertise in digital workflows. "As we continue our transformative journey together, ServiceNow and Microsoft have deepened our partnership to create a new era of innovation and collaboration across industries," said Paul Fipps, President of Global Industries and Strategic Growth at ServiceNow. "Together, we're empowering organizations to bring intelligence to every corner of the enterprise and drive business transformation at scale."

A tighter integration across products and services would enable Microsoft and ServiceNow to accelerate collaborative innovation and deepen the interoperability of their technology solutions. This ultimately benefits customers by streamlining business processes and reducing context switching when in the flow of work. However, to introduce these new connected experiences, Microsoft first needed to navigate the risks of moving their ServiceNow instances to Azure.

Moving critical data and resources from one environment to another without impacting the business can be difficult. And even the most prepared organizations can face compliance issues related to security configuration and data management.

To carefully plan around these anticipated challenges, Microsoft worked closely with ServiceNow on creating a tried-and-true migration plan aligned to Microsoft business objectives, company policies, best practices, and current legal and commercial agreements.

"This journey blends the robust capabilities of ServiceNow with the cutting-edge infrastructure of Azure, ushering in a new era of agility, innovation, and customer-centric solutions."

—Katharine Kennedy, General Manager, Microsoft

Meeting ambitious goals requires a meticulous, collaborative approach

Ideation and planning

Strong planning and communication are some of the most significant parts of a successful migration. That's why the first step Microsoft and ServiceNow took was to establish a virtual team with clearly identified stakeholders across both organizations who would oversee the smooth execution of the project. Roles and responsibilities were clearly defined from the start with designated contacts to proactively manage any potential complications. The team then worked together to define the guardrails governing the move to Azure and established the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success. Some of the requirements of the joint initiative included keeping business impact to a minimum, ensuring feature parity between the ServiceNow instances hosted on ServiceNow's private cloud and the instances deployed on Azure, preparing a rollback plan during migration, and aligning hypercare support post-migration.

Microsoft set an ambitious goal to move all of their ServiceNow instances to Azure within a timeframe of one month, starting with the nonproduction instances first. This fast turnaround mandated that both teams be proactive participants in the process, meeting multiple times a week to review progress, share updates, identify blockers, and openly discuss questions and concerns. Stakeholders established a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel to strengthen communication, allowing for real-time interaction and prompt resolution of issues.

Accounting for business impact

Minimizing business disruption was arguably one of the biggest priorities for Microsoft. ServiceNow conducted extensive load simulation tests to confirm that the move to Azure would not negatively affect business operations. This effort was complemented by detailed architectural reviews undertaken by the ServiceNow Architecture Team (SWAT), which was responsible for ensuring a robust and efficient transition to the cloud. Proactive monitoring by SWAT teams and the deployment of monitoring dashboards during the move to Azure also played a pivotal role in minimizing business impact. 

Customizing the move to Azure

Microsoft and ServiceNow took a balanced approach to the move to Azure, combining automated and manual methods that were customized for each ServiceNow instance. The team also made strategic timing decisions in advance to ensure business continuity while ensuring stakeholders have enough time to perform pre-go-live testing and validations before sign-off. Robust contingency plans, including rollback strategies, and the efficient use of a digital war room during the hypercare phase further exemplified the project's meticulous organization. The culmination of these efforts was a remarkably smooth and effective move, accomplished over an intensive four-week planning period.

Key lessons learned throughout the move to Azure:

  • Plan with the user in mind: The end user's experience remained the primary focus for Microsoft throughout the planning stage. 

  • Clearly document everything: Microsoft and ServiceNow made sure that all identified stakeholders were able to sign off on business objectives and key results with a well-documented scope in place to guide the project forward. 

  • Establish a strong communication channel: A consistent communication cadence was pivotal to success, and it was helpful to establish a virtual Teams channel dedicated to the project. 

  • Prepare for testing and rollbacks: The process included a dry run in a sandbox environment and ensured the team had a well-structured rollback plan in place. 

  • Execute the move in phases: The move was executed in phases, beginning with smaller instances to ensure manageability and minimize risks. 

  • Anticipate downtime and failure: Microsoft and ServiceNow planned for potential downtime and system failures with a hypercare team on standby to provide immediate support. This support team gave Microsoft greater peace of mind knowing there was a plan in place to contain unforeseen problems without risking the complete breakdown of critical infrastructure. 

Person at a desk with a keyboard and monitor Person at a desk with a keyboard and monitor

"[The move to Azure saw] no major impacts or changes to internal work processes. We keep leveraging all the incredible capabilities inherent to the ServiceNow platform with zero disruption."

—Miguel Meza, Director, Partner Technology Strategist, Microsoft

Enhancing experiences for both employees and customers

ServiceNow and Microsoft have been partnering since 2019 to jointly innovate for both their United States commercial customers and highly regulated markets in the United States, Singapore, and Australia. 

Joint customers are able to benefit from these solutions and leverage Azure's data protection, security, and privacy to keep their businesses running. ServiceNow on Azure was introduced to United States commercial customers in 2023 and is available on the Azure marketplace. ServiceNow has worked closely with Microsoft as one of the first customers to move their digital workflows to Azure, while continuing to reap the benefits of integrating products across both ServiceNow and Microsoft portfolios. 

The move from the ServiceNow cloud to Azure was completed in less than 45 days, and the team remarked on the seamless transition, which was devoid of any problems. "Our decision to move the ServiceNow platform to Azure has proven to be a game-changer," said Katharine Kennedy, General Manager at Microsoft. "This collaborative journey seamlessly blends the robust capabilities of ServiceNow with the cutting-edge infrastructure of Azure, ushering in a new era of agility, innovation, and customer-centric solutions."

For many team members, the lack of change and disruption to existing business processes post-migration was the most significant benefit achieved. "The ServiceNow integrations are incredible and allow us to have full control over our data and cloud infrastructure. I can see everything from a single pane of glass," said Miguel Meza, Director, Partner Technology Strategist at Microsoft. "Since moving ServiceNow to Azure, there have been no major impacts or changes to internal work processes. We keep leveraging all the incredible capabilities inherent to the ServiceNow platform with zero disruption."

Beyond these advantages, the internal move to Azure ensures that Microsoft employees are in a position to benefit from tighter integrations between the ServiceNow platform and Azure services. Microsoft continues to work with ServiceNow to introduce more Azure capabilities to the platform, accelerating innovation and expanding use cases. ServiceNow and Microsoft unlock innovation, industry solutions, and financial value for their customers. 

With more than 80 native integrations, ServiceNow and Microsoft have no intention of slowing the rate at which they're releasing new, integrated experiences. The two technology partners continue to collaborate and intend to bring more cognitive services and intelligence to products across the NOW Platform® with Microsoft 365 and Azure. 

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