Digital transformation is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a strategic imperative. For IT leaders, success hinges on more than just selecting the right technologies; it requires a resilient operating model equipped to handle both current needs and future growth. Whether you’re leveraging tools like ServiceNow, Salesforce, or Azure, defining a robust operating model and adhering to clear guiding principles is fundamental. Explore how IT leaders can establish an operating framework that ensures long-term success, efficiency, and governance, regardless of the platform.
Why Your Operating Model is the Key to Success
The stakes for IT leaders are higher than ever. Companies face mounting pressure to deliver fast results, maintain cost efficiency, and align technical initiatives with broader business goals. Yet, without an effective operating model, teams run the risk of disjointed strategies, escalating implementation costs, and missed opportunities.
Key Questions Organizations Often Face:
- Why are we struggling to adopt platform updates effectively?
- Why don’t our capabilities align with our business priorities anymore?
- Why are implementation costs continuing to balloon?
The root of these challenges often lies in the absence of guiding principles and a well-documented, widely adopted operating model. IT leaders must think beyond basic implementation; their approach must be cohesive, forward-thinking, and flexible enough to accommodate change. Here’s how to get there.
The Role of Guiding Principles in Shaping Success
Before jumping into the operating model, defining clear guiding principles is essential. These principles act as scaffolding, ensuring that every decision—from platform integrations to governance policies—supports long-term goals.
1. Align Technology with Business Priorities
Every dollar spent on technology should directly serve business objectives. This means prioritizing high-impact, outcome-based use cases over shiny new features or isolated modules. Utilize Gartner frameworks like Business Value Mapping and the Pace Layering Model to align investments with business value.
Business Value Mapping:
- Business Outcomes – Defines strategic goals & measurable business impact.
- Business Capabilities – Identifies key operational capabilities that drive outcomes.
- IT Initiatives – Maps technology solutions that enable capabilities.
- Technology Enablers – Specifies the platforms, tools, and integrations supporting initiatives.
The Pace Layering Model:
- Systems of Record (Slow-Changing, Foundational): Core functions like ERP and compliance tracking contribute to operational stability and efficiency.
- Systems of Differentiation (Moderate Pace, Adaptable): Unique processes that give you a competitive edge, like customer engagement workflows or in-house innovations.
- Systems of Innovation (Fast-Changing, Experimental): Agile, experimental technologies that drive innovation and responsiveness to market shifts.
2. Establish Strong Governance Frameworks
Governance ensures consistency, security, and reliability. Without it, data integrity and platform scalability can spiral out of control. IT leaders must apply guardrails for:
- Platform Upgrades: Plan and execute upgrades without disruption.
- Regulatory Compliance: Align with frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, or NIST.
- Autonomy with Oversight: Allow business units the ability to customize workflows within defined governance structures (e.g., low-code/no-code governance).
3. Maintain Controlled Flexibility
IT leaders must strike a balance between central control and decentralization. Controlled flexibility allows business units to innovate within guardrails while maintaining an enterprise-wide standard.
For example:
- Developers can iterate rapidly within predefined DevOps frameworks.
- Teams can deploy low-code apps, but platform admins retain oversight to prevent rogue configurations.
Clear, actionable principles like these unite teams, technologies, and business goals under a sustainable strategy.
Creating an Effective Operating Model
Once guiding principles are in place, implementing a structured operating model becomes your next priority. This model will determine how your organization uses its resources, platforms, and governance to achieve business goals.
1. Select Operating Model
Decide on an operating framework that fits your organization’s culture and objectives. For instance:
- Centralized Models: One core team oversees implementation, governance, and strategy alignment.
- Decentralized Models: Each business unit independently manages its own ServiceNow instance, configurations, and workflows with minimal central oversight.
- Hybrid Models: Centralized governance is paired with distributed teams that manage specific aspects like product configurations or regional workflows.
2. Finalize Governance Structure
Define roles and responsibilities for stakeholders across IT, business units, and external consultants. Clear accountability ensures smooth operations during platform upgrades, incident response, and compliance checks. Hybrid Governance Structure structures may provide the most flexibility for complex organization with a broad platform user base
- ServiceNow Executive Steering Committee (CIO, CTO, VP of Operations, Compliance Officer)
- Defines enterprise-wide vision, funding, and strategic priorities while allowing business units flexibility within governance frameworks.
- Enforces regulatory compliance (HIPAA, NIST, GDPR) at a corporate level but allows limited adaptations based on business unit requirements.
- Balances standardization with agility, ensuring platform security while supporting innovation
- Platform Governance Board (ServiceNow Process Owners: ITSM, ITOM, HRSD, etc.)
- Establishes core governance policies but allows business units to adapt workflows within predefined guardrails.
- Reviews and approves significant system changes while delegating minor modifications to process owners within business units.
- Ensures enterprise-wide alignment while accommodating department-specific needs.
- ServiceNow Center of Excellence (CoE)
- Develops best practices, training programs, and reusable components that business units can adapt.
- ServiceNow Executive Steering Committee (CIO, CTO, VP of Operations, Compliance Officer)
3. Develop Standards & Policies
Create documentation for policies such as:
- Instance Management
- Security & Compliance
- Change Management
- Development Model
- Customization Guardrails
- Testing Policy
- CMDB (Configuration Management Database) Policy
- Data Retention & Archiving
- User Access Control
These standards ensure consistency across teams while allowing flexibility for unique departmental needs.
4. Focus on End-User Adoption
End-user adoption is a key pillar of operating model success. A platform, no matter how powerful, is only effective if it’s embraced by the people who use it daily. Invest in training, create user-friendly guides, and encourage feedback loops to increase adoption.
5. Establish Metrics for Success
Track performance metrics aligned with your business goals to continuously improve the operating model. Example metrics include:
- ROI from specific initiatives
- Time-to-value for platform implementations
- Efficiency is gained from automation by using metrics to assess success, you ensure a constant feedback loop for iteration and improvement.
ServiceNow Operating Model Applied
While much of this framework applies broadly, platforms like ServiceNow exemplify how a strategic operating model can drive success. Its flexibility and power offer opportunities to enhance governance, improve agility, and deliver results—but only if deployed thoughtfully.
For instance, many organizations fall into the trap of using ServiceNow modularly, implementing components in isolation. This approach often creates bottlenecks, conflicting priorities, and fragmented roadmaps. Avoid this pitfall by applying the guiding principles and operating model outlined here as a foundation for scalable success.
Practical Starting Points for Action
- Audit Your Current Frameworks: Review your current operating model and governance policies to identify gaps or inefficiencies.
- Engage Stakeholders Early: IT leaders must involve both technical teams and business leaders in operating model discussions to ensure alignment.
- Prioritize a Unified Strategy: Avoid the temptation to cater to isolated requests. Instead, evaluate each initiative against your overarching business objectives.
Building for Long-Term Success
Implementing a resilient operating model isn’t just about solving today’s challenges—it’s about preparing your organization for the demands of tomorrow. Whether you’re leveraging ServiceNow, Salesforce, or another enterprise platform, clear principles and structured governance can transform your IT strategy from reactive to proactive.
Strategic IT leaders don’t just support business goals; they define them. Take the first step today by evaluating your current operating model and making governance part of your organization’s DNA.
