A Tenth Revolution Group Company

ServiceNow releases free apps to help customers through COVID-19 crisis

By Andy Fury

ServiceNow has risen to the challenge that COVID-19 presents to businesses by releasing four community apps, which are available now and free to use through September 30, 2020.

The company has donated $100,000 to the International Medical Corps and the CDC Foundation to assist frontline medical workers in getting the support they need, but has also ensured that its customers can use the platform to help get through this global crisis.

“In this battle to flatten the COVID‑19 curve, none of us is as smart as all of us,” said Bill McDermott, president and CEO of ServiceNow. “These ServiceNow applications will enable emergency outreach, self‑reporting and exposure management, which are precisely what organizations need to do right now to help people get through this crisis.”

Washington State’s Department of Health, which is at the epicenter of the United States’ outbreak, had already created the Emergency Response Operations app on the Now Platform, to help with their efforts to fight the pandemic. And now, ServiceNow have worked with them to make it available to all government entities.

The app allows customers to digitize processes that will allow them to quickly resource Incident Management Team positions. Automating this process eradicates errors and allows workers to focus on other priorities, while also providing real-time visibility on resource allocations. It will hopefully enable the automation of other incident management functions such as planning, logistics and finance, too.

“Given the complexity and importance of community within this crisis, we believe it’s our duty to share our approach and the application we were able to quickly develop on the Now Platform,” said Jennifer McNamara, Chief Information Officer at Washington State Department of Health. “That’s why we have worked with ServiceNow to make our application freely available to other governmental entities.”

The other apps that are available for immediate use include:

Emergency Outreach. This workflow ensures you can reach out to employees to assess the current impact. You can communicate via email to provide any updates or measures needed for safety, as well as requesting a response so that individuals can update you with their whereabouts and current status. You can use it with the ServiceNow Now Mobile app to send push notifications via mobile to get a response, too.

Emergency Self Report. If an employee self-quarantines, this workflow will help them to notify their employer, as well as letting them know when they are expecting to return to work. It also assists the employer by providing workflow support.

Emergency Exposure Management. If an employer is notified of an individual being diagnosed with illness, this workflow will help a business identify other people who may have been exposed to that employee, based on their meetings history and job location.

The company has also launched a Now Community forum, allowing customers and partners to communicate with each other and share best practice throughout the crisis, as well as an Apps Suggestions portal where you can suggest other ideas for COVID-19 related apps and features.

As businesses are looking to leverage their technical solutions to get through the months ahead, having a solution that is offering almost 100% uptime for instances is a reassuring part of ServiceNow’s customer care plan at a critical time.

Need to increase your ServiceNow team now?

We have access to thousands of contract professionals who can be available to work remotely within hours.

Sign up for the latest ServiceNow insights

Receive regular ServiceNow insights and news direct to your inbox

We'd love to send you Nelson Frank’s ServiceNow insights and tips by email, phone or other electronic means.