ServiceNow network transformation starts with Mist AI

ServiceNow has an aggressive set of goals, all marked by zeroes: zero outages, zero incidents, and to achieve net zero by 2030. To reach these goals, the company is automating its network to deliver 100% availability and outstanding user experiences with cloud-based software, infrastructure, and services.

“We wanted to find our North Star for a customer-centric experience,” says Venkat Lakshminarayanan, vice president, infrastructure and operations at ServiceNow. “While elements in our tech stack might fail, we didn’t want our users to experience any disruptions.”  

Lakshminarayanan expects that automation will solve many of ServiceNow’s current network challenges, including complexity in design and Day 2 operations, lack of visibility, limited configuration management, expensive hardware and support costs, and an overprovisioned network.

ServiceNow expects to realize massive benefits. Once the LAN and WAN are transformed, the data center footprint will decrease significantly, switch ports will sit unused, and OpEx, CapEx, and deployment times will start to shrink.

Reaching its goals called for a strategic plan to shut down data centers, remove underutilized wired networks, and move to a cloud-managed network.

Moving to a full-stack Juniper wired, wireless, and SD-WAN network was a 13-month journey that is delivering amazing results for ServiceNow. Thirty sites moved from the legacy network to a modern AI-driven network.

Included in those savings was eliminating the cost associated with overprovisioned switches in today’s mobile-first world. Rightsizing the wired network with Juniper reduced the port density by 60%.

AIOps has reduced the support workload. “When we first implemented Juniper, we saw a 90% drop in issues related to wireless,” Lakshminarayanan says.

ServiceNow has continued to see OpEx savings as it has advanced its Juniper deployment to include wireless, wired, and SD-WAN. In fact, deployment times have decreased by 50%.

Altogether, ServiceNow is forecasting a cost avoidance of 60% of network CapEx/OpEx over a three-year period. A Juniper network is supporting the company’s sustainability goals, and has significantly reduced its carbon footprint.

Lakshminarayanan is most proud of the improved employee experience.

“We have visibility from laptop to application, streamlined self-service, and excellent performance,” he says. “Our employees can deliver the services and support that our customers need to work smarter, faster, and better.”

Watch as the ServiceNow team discusses how they realized network automation was a necessity to accelerate their own business transformation. ServiceNow has teamed up with Juniper to migrate its network to a next-generation, full-stack wired, wireless and SD-WAN solution.