ServiceNow: Customers 'struggling to understand the value of ELAs', says Gartner

ServiceNow customers struggle with its pricing policy, feeling they are being nudged into higher price brackets and failing to benefit from supposed discount packages, according to Gartner. A vendor rating document from the omnipresent research giant said ServiceNow – a company promising user-friendly workflow software …

[Cederic]

IT support was never the plan

The underlying core product is a business workflow/process engine; early investors said 'that will be hard to sell, create an exemplar implementation of it' and that was the IT Service Management product that ServiceNow grew with.

So it's not a surprise that they're branching out into other business domains now, and it's also entirely understandable that their first market segment continues to be the primary revenue generator - it's where they're already established, and in many regards one of the market leaders.

It is however very valid to point out flaws in their licensing approach, although whether ServiceNow view them as flaws..

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: IT support was never the plan

Lazy old dog (see below)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: IT support was never the plan

ServiceNo[w] was never a good product in any case, regardless of business domain, market segment, or licensing.

[Pascal Monett]

"are designed to enable greater flexibility in terms"

Greater flexibility for who ?

[Ilsa Loving]

Call it what it is - Gouging

Despite all the flowery language to make it all sound sophisticated and complex, the entire article can be summed up in a single sentence: ServiceNow has locked-in their customer base, and now they've moved to the "gouging" phase of the relationship.

Apparently they took a look at what Oracle is doing, rubbed their hands together in glee and said "Ooooh we need some of that."

[Julian 8]

Re: Call it what it is - Gouging

Looking at SAP, is it any wonder Servicenow are going down the same path ?

[TeeCee]

So, to cut a long story short, even bloody Gartner reckon they're expensive.

[fidodogbreath]

Buy high get low

ServiceNow customers struggle with its pricing policy, feeling they are being nudged into higher price brackets and failing to benefit from supposed discount packages

So the new policy is working as designed.

[matjaggard]

I've never been in a position to care about price but

It would be nice if you could click on a button and get the result without having to go to lunch while you wait.

[Auntie Dix]

History Repeats: Too Many Eggs in One Village Basket

Makes it much harder to say no and walk. There are advantages to being hetero, but they seem to be forgotten when all-in-one pricing hype appears. The first taste is free...

Similar to the Micro$haft "ecosystem," which ruthlessly chokes customers once transported to "The Cloud." Think you are ever going to export successfully everything buried in your SharePoint nightmare? Dream on. Pay up, or we turn it off in thirty days.

You are The Prisoner, and you may NOT resign. That white thing chasing you is your new gouging ELA.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ummmm...

Lazy old dog needs to learn new tricks and can't be bothered to evolve.

Lazy old dog decides that it wants to identify as a cool new cat instead and decides to then charge new and existing customers into thinking they are said 'cool new cat'.

The customer likes the idea of a cool new cat but quickly realizes it stinks and barks a lot once bought.

The customer is stuck with lazy old dog again and vows to never repeat its mistake until they see the handsome hamster and its ability to come at a similar price point later realizing it's the same lazy old dog with bigger teeth. Sigh!

Repeat ad nauseam!!

Fin!