It is my honor to announce ServiceNow has been named a Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Vendor Risk Management Tools. This is the second consecutive year that ServiceNow has been positioned as a Leader and is recognized in the report for market understanding, product offering strategy, and sales execution & pricing. Today more than ever, third parties are key partners in business success.

Managed service providers (MSPs) need an IT help desk to address and answer the technical questions of clients. In the modern MSP environment, the IT help desk is the primary source of contact between customers and knowledgeable, responsive support personnel. Successful help desks are customer oriented and encourage clients to report IT incidents when they occur.

Nathalie Tousignant, director of ITSM product management, co-wrote this blog. For decades, work was a place we went, where colleagues gathered in person for meetings, problem-solving, and chats over coffee. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the way we thought about work changed overnight. Many tried to fit the processes of traditional in-person work into a virtual setting. The result?

These days, I keep encountering inquiries from various customers on the topic of call handling. Due to the current transformation, triggered by the increased use of home offices, it is becoming more and more important to make on-call staff more accessible. Often the already overloaded service desk is used for this purpose. Of course, this leads to a) a deterioration in the quality of the service desk and b) delays between the receipt of the problem and the start of problem resolution.

Communications service providers (CSPs) have been at the forefront of the pandemic, helping customers and entire industries make critical transformations almost overnight. When education, healthcare delivery methods, and supply chains were interrupted, CSPs stepped up and provided digital work environments and automations that became lifelines. Now, CSPs are laying the foundation for even more.

Banking institutions are risk engines. Customers know this. Bankers know this. Financial regulators know this. Although no one likes to be turned down for a loan, risk due diligence is actually a good thing. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 proved that risky practices of the past were not good for the economy, for society, or for confidence in the sector as a whole. The challenge is finding the balance to meet responsible lending criteria while ensuring consistent customer satisfaction.