Tom Smith sits down with Alix Douglas, group vice president, global partner solutions, ServiceNow, as part of the Cloud Wars Agentic AI Definition Series, analyzing this fast-moving AI category. The series will also include podcasts, articles, and reports. Smith and Douglas talk about the transformative potential of agentic AI, the critical role of ISVs and partners in delivering vertical-specific use cases, and how ServiceNow is investing in platform extensibility and the ServiceNow Store to accelerate innovation across the ecosystem.
Highlights
Douglas’ Role and Responsibilities (00:56)
Douglas’ role is focused on ISVs and the store channel. She has extensive experience with top software vendors and a long-standing focus on ISVs and partners. There’s a massive opportunity around agentic AI and its rapid adoption in the enterprise.
The Impact of Agentic AI on Business Models (01:51)
Douglas explains the role of ISVs in ServiceNow’s AI strategy, focusing on the proliferation of agent skills on the ServiceNow platform. Enterprise software companies need to value partner ecosystems in an agentic world. ISV ecosystems have been underappreciated in the past, she says, and agentic AI is changing this. Thought leadership, advice, technology, and tooling support ISVs’ agentic visions and ambitions.
Key Differentiators for ServiceNow Partners and ISVs (06:19)
Douglas outlines three key differentiators for ServiceNow partners and ISVs from an AI technology perspective: visibility into ServiceNow’s investments, the platform’s extensibility, and investment in the ServiceNow Store. Open borders help partners build specific use cases and achieve greater value for customers. She also discusses the platform’s extensibility, allowing partners to build products and connect to purpose-built capabilities, creating actionable workflows.
Investment in the ServiceNow Store (08:46)
There’s been heavy investment in the ServiceNow Store, which will serve as the digital front door for agentic offerings. It offers benefits like personalized recommendations, enhanced customer experiences, and improved discoverability. Douglas mentions the importance of the expertise of consulting and implementation partners and the innovation driven by ISV partners in agentic AI.
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Opportunities for Partners in Agentic AI (09:47)
The most significant opportunity lies in ISVs’ use cases, while consulting and implementation partners should focus on advising and implementing agentic AI. Douglas emphasizes that customers must be enabled to get more out of their ServiceNow investment through agentic AI. Douglas mentions that the opportunity varies by partner persona, with ISVs focusing on their use cases while consulting and implementation partners on advising and implementing.
Vertical Industry Component of Agentic AI (11:04)
Douglas explains that the skills and agents for use cases are often specific to industries or sub-industries. Douglas explains the role of consulting and implementation partners and managed service providers in building agents for identified use cases in mature industries like telco, tech, healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. Douglas mentions the importance of ISVs in bringing agentic AI to industries where ServiceNow has a nascent footprint.
The Broader Perspective on Agentic AI (13:23)
Douglas compares the current agentic AI landscape to the dot-com boom in the 90s, where many startups and approaches emerged. Douglas mentions that it will take a few years for the market to separate the wheat from the chaff and for the best approaches to emerge.
Near-Term Horizon for Agentic AI (14:30)
Douglas mentions several upcoming announcements, including Knowledge25 in May. Douglas highlights the importance of ServiceNow supporting its partners through advisory services, tooling, and technology to accelerate their visions and strategies. Douglas emphasizes the excitement around workshops, guidance, playbooks, and access to technology for partners in early 2025.
