Enterprise Cloud FEATURED ARTICLE

When it comes to companies at the forefront of delivering enterprise cloud, the list is quickly narrowed down to a few key points, according to Dave Stephens, vice president and general manager of Service Management at ServiceNow, in a recent interview with TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert). At its core, the enterprise cloud space is about delivering high reliability and availability. Otherwise, there’s no real point in shifting mission critical services to the cloud.

This is something ServiceNow (News - Alert) knows well. The company helps enterprises shift IT service management to the cloud, freeing up IT departments to focus on grander aspirations than simply keeping the lights on.

“We help IT transform,” as Stephens puts it. “[We] help them with service management, business management, delivery management—all things IT. Take a look around us at how technology is disrupting industry after industry. When you look inside the enterprise, you wonder ‘who is supposed to be the broker of this technology? Who’s supposed to shepherd the transformation?’ And it’s IT. And yet, IT is battling from behind. They’ve got a bunch of legacy systems they’re dealing with and sometimes a bunch of irate users.”

That’s where ServiceNow comes in. The company recognizes that times have changed since IT used to be just the department you’d go to when you need your laptop fixed. However, according to Stephens, IT is now where enterprises go to fix the business. It’s a radically different role and one that requires a radically different approach to match.

“So IT turns to ServiceNow and we help them get ahead of the game, put in systems to help them better manage how they interact with requestors, transform the service experience and just do a better job of delivering IT all the time,” adds Stephens.

ServiceNow accomplishes this with the power of the cloud, helping enterprises manage IT processes from a single system in the cloud, rather than multiple legacy systems that will slow down even the simplest processes. Of course, to be trusted with such a mission critical aspect of the modern enterprise means having a cloud that can keep up with even the toughest demands.

“As IT is mission critical, [customers] want an enterprise grade cloud to move it to,” explains Stephens. “We have 16 data centers across five continents with unmatched availability. [Enterprises] turn to us because we’re best-in-class in IT service management, we offer low TCO and we have enterprise cloud capability that keeps their data secure and always on.”

And that is truly what the enterprise cloud is all about, straight from one of the biggest companies dealing in enterprise cloud delivery today.