Kieron Allen interviews Erica Volini, senior vice president, global partnerships at ServiceNow, as part of the Cloud Wars Partners Ecosystem Innovation series, in which he speaks with top executives responsible for the ecosystem businesses of the Cloud Wars Top 10 companies.
In this discussion, Volini details the evolution of partners — and partner programs — in the AI era, helping partners maximize their revenue on the ServiceNow platform, and the 2025 outlook.
Highlights
Co-Creation and Co-Selling (00:46)
ServiceNow recently held its Global Partner Ecosystem Summit and the evolution of co-creation and co-selling was a big focus. Four or five years ago, partners were viewed as delivery-focused implementers of its platform. Then the co-selling motion really started about three years ago, with partners and salespeople working side by side. Co-selling remains incredibly important. But over the last two years, there has been an inflection point: ServiceNow started to focus extensively on managed services and the “build” motion, having partners take their IP and put it on the ServiceNow platform for solutions that serve customer needs. The next evolution is one of partners being market creators.
Cloud vs. AI Partner Distinctions (02:23)
Convergence has been an ongoing theme in the partners ecosystem for quite a while. Partners are playing in many different spaces. In particular, AI is an inflection point that is changing everything: the fundamental approach to driving digital and business transformation. It’s a fundamental shift in terms of how partners are delivering services to customers. “There is this state of convergence and…at the core of everything is going to be this focus on AI. For ServiceNow, GenAI is the single biggest opportunity we’ve ever had,” she says. ServiceNow sees AI and agents as ubiquitous across everything it does.
Partner Program Differentiators (03:51)
The ServiceNow Partner Program has been completely reimagined. Rather than segmenting partners, the focus has been on the motions that a partner can leverage with the ServiceNow platform. They can resell the platform, build on it, and run managed services through it. They can also consult and implement. ServiceNow has asked them: “How can our platform help you drive maximum revenue and maximum profitability?” Then the partner can take advantage. There are three primary requirements:
- The capability to understand the platform
- The competency to bring it to market
- Delivering customer success with transformative value
Partners’ Need to Develop Customer Trust (05:45)
Trust is a hot topic, especially with the advent of GenAI. It’s critical for ServiceNow given its land-and-expand strategy: Not only selling one part of the platform, but wanting customers to continue to expand. That’s why the focus on customer success is so important: It’s about delivering business value, not just technology. Partners need to demonstrate success stories. The company’s vision is to be the AI platform for business transformation because it’s really trying to drive those business outcomes. Trust is foundational.
Partner Specializations (08:08)
ServiceNow has over 2,000 partners and a growing list of specializations to help partners differentiate themselves. They show where a partner has a defined set of proven expertise. ServiceNow is driving toward 10 unique partners with 20 specializations. More will come in 2025 with a particular focus on industries, customers, and GenAI. This is going to be a huge part of the trajectory for 2025.
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