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Summary
NTT and ServiceNow recently announced a partnership that helps move the enterprise Private 5G conversation in the right direction, away from one centered just on connectivity to one more focused on productivity and how 5G has the potential to enrich the very fabric of work.
The enterprise 5G conversation must evolve beyond one focused overly on connectivity
Conversation and commentary around enterprise 5G has primarily centered around faster speeds, connectivity, and potential use-cases. While this all makes for some exciting network-focused conversations, focusing on the tangible workplace benefits often gets lost among the technology hype. Businesses now need to hear less about the promise of 5G from a connectivity perspective – the speed and latency benefits, for example - and more on how 5G will transform and shape the way employees work, products produced, and services delivered.
'Levelling up' digital workflows with 5G connectivity
Over recent years, ServiceNow has evolved into a feature-rich and versatile enterprise platform that helps businesses integrate, digitize, and automate workflows to improve employee and customer experiences. ServiceNow is no longer just an IT support tool – it is now an engine driving digital transformation for many businesses, with workflow automation at its core. The Now Platform helps organizations integrate disparate data sources and systems of record that are foundational elements of the digital enterprise. This integration delivers a single data layer across different business areas, including IT, HR, customer services, facilities management, sales, and finance functions. Businesses can exploit this data foundation in many ways, including automating cross-functional processes and workflows by democratizing data to provide operational insights that help guide more efficient working methods. This integrated data layer is an essential differentiator of the broader Now Platform and ServiceNow value proposition. In many ways, the ServiceNow partnership with NTT will make Private 5G connectivity an integrative component designed to create new workflows and employee experiences. For example, secure, private 5G networks could be rapidly set up for construction projects with workflow automated between civil engineers, architects, field operations, and project management. The combined NTT and ServiceNow capabilities make connectivity and the network a configurable element in the composable enterprise, which businesses can now directly leverage in developing digital workflows and experiences.
It is also important to note that this digitization and workflow opportunity is not only limited to human tasks - numerous edge automation applications can also be provisioned. Examples include providing and managing machine vision for inspection and surveillance, automated guided vehicles, and enabling employees (particularly frontline workers), with AR/VR devices. These scenarios center around the workflows that integrate devices (at the edge), the network, employees, and customers. The Now platform will help businesses orchestrate services built on these different assets, enable enterprises to monitor and trigger events associated with the digital workplace, and automate the provision and activation of services and devices end-to-end.
The value of this partnership extends well beyond just making private 5G networks easier to provision
This partnership will see Private 5G capabilities provisioned in-line with the use-cases and business outcomes that matter to enterprises, enabling businesses to make 5G connectivity and the services it powers more accessible and integrated. ServiceNow has a strong heritage in provisioning; indeed, a core feature of the Now Platform is how it makes it easier for employees to access the support and resources (software, hardware, knowledge, etc.) required for people to work efficiently. This partnership will make it easier for organizations to automate NTT's provisioning process for private 5G networks. In much the same way an employee can request a new laptop or smartphone via the Now Platform, users can request their own private 5G network. However, the potential here is more than making 5G another service catalog item. It is helpful to think about enterprise 5G connectivity as an element of a broader solution based on business outcomes. This partnership will enable enterprises to provide private mobile solutions, including 5G service and network assurance, devices, applications, and security through ServiceNow's centralized platform.
This partnership is as much about defining enterprise 5G use-cases as it is about technology
ServiceNow has a long history in defining, digitizing, and automating end-to-end processes. This heritage will provide NTT with new insights in business operations and digital transformation; furthermore, NTT can provide ServiceNow expertise in enterprise 5G adoption. Consequently, this will allow both vendors to market how private 5G networks can offer new business value through compelling use-cases and workflow automation. This reinforces ServiceNow as an essential digital platform and differentiates NTT from mere network connectivity.
A further ace in the hole for NTT is to capitalize on the industry-specific solutions ServiceNow has developed over the years and retrospectively equip them with 5G services. ServiceNow delivers a range of dedicated industry-specific solutions, including banking, healthcare, manufacturing, and supply chain logistics – industries where private 5G networks are likely to gain significant adoption.
Finally, by adding NTT Private 5G connectivity as a "building block" to its catalog, ServiceNow increases its differentiation as a composable enterprise platform and strengthens its value as an engine for digital transformation in businesses.
Appendix
Author
Adam Holtby, Principal Analyst, Digital Workplace
