Beyond ITSM: The ServiceNow and Microsoft Power Play

Most organizations think ServiceNow is a ticketing tool and Microsoft is a productivity suite. Both assumptions are wrong—and they’re why enterprise work still breaks under pressure. In this episode, we unpack why ITSM was only the entry point, why tickets don’t control outcomes, and how real enterprises need an operating layer that turns human intent into governed execution. This is a deep dive into workflows, orchestration, and why Microsoft and ServiceNow aren’t competitors—they’re two halves of a necessary system. 🔍 Opening Thesis Ticketing was never the destination—it was the doorway.
Microsoft is where intent is created: chats, emails, meetings, documents.
ServiceNow is where intent must become execution: routing, approvals, state, and evidence.
Workflows don’t fail in theory—they fail at org-chart boundaries. 🧠 Key Ideas & Mental Models 1. Digitally Rich, Operationally Fragmented Enterprises have plenty of tools but no shared operating layer. Work moves through inboxes, chats, portals, tickets, and spreadsheets—none of which own end-to-end state. The result is visibility everywhere and progress nowhere. Insight: The real problem isn’t tool sprawl. It’s workflow fragmentation. 2. Tickets Track Pain—Workflows Control Outcomes Tickets log problems. They don’t enforce solutions.
When tickets become the operating model, organizations optimize for logging instead of execution, and humans improvise the real process in side channels. Insight: Enterprises aren’t punished for missing visibility. They’re punished for missing execution. 3. Systems of Record vs Systems of Action

• Systems of record (ERP, HRIS) preserve truth
• Systems of action route work, enforce sequence, and capture evidence

Trying to make one replace the other produces friction, bypasses, and audit pain. Insight: Documents aren’t state. Chat isn’t governance. A mailbox is not an audit trail. 4. The Microsoft / ServiceNow Split (in Plain Terms)

• Microsoft owns engagement: where humans work and express intent
• ServiceNow owns execution: where work becomes a governed state machine

One captures pressure. The other enforces outcomes. Insight: One experience, two authorities. 5. Events → Workflows → Decisions → Outcomes Most enterprises drown in events and improvise the rest.
A real operating layer converts events into executable workflows, enforces decisions with identity and policy, and produces defensible outcomes. Insight: Read can be fast and forgiving. Write must be governed. 🧩 Real-World Scenarios Covered

• Employee onboarding without email chains or orphaned access
• Security incident response: Teams for war rooms, ServiceNow for control
• Finance approvals without policy erosion at quarter-end
• Major incidents & emergency change without turning chat into a control plane

Across all cases: collaboration stays human, execution stays deterministic. 🤖 AI in the Operating Layer Copilot and Now Assist are not rivals—they have different jurisdictions:

• Copilot understands human context
• Now Assist understands operational state

AI proposes. Workflows enforce. Humans authorize. Insight: AI without workflows creates noise. AI inside workflows creates outcomes. ⚠️ Common Failure Modes to Avoid

• Workflow entropy (“temporary exceptions” that become policy)
• Shadow automation outside governance
• Permission drift through overscoped connectors and agents

Insight: Entropy always wins where enforcement is optional. 🚀 The Operating Model That Scales

• Microsoft = intent capture and collaboration
• ServiceNow = execution, routing, approvals, and evidence
• Start read-heavy, move to governed writes, then controlled agentic execution

Insight: Enterprises don’t need smarter chat. They need execution throughput. 🎯 Final Takeaway The real power play isn’t Copilot versus Now Assist.
It’s building an operating layer where human intent reliably becomes governed execution—every time, under pressure, with proof.

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If this clashes with how you’ve seen it play out, I’m always curious. I use LinkedIn for the back-and-forth.