ServiceNow’s enterprise-wide cloud-based solutions enable organizations to automate repetitive tasks and gain complete visibility into their business operations. From ensuring effective IT service and operations management to transforming customer service and delivering exceptional employee experience, ServiceNow offers solutions that empower organizations to simplify processes across every department.
These ServiceNow solutions are offered to organizations through a subscription-based licensing model, with ServiceNow pricing influenced by factors such as license type, number of users, and selected products. Organizations typically enter into annual or multi-year agreements, with costs determined by their specific usage, entitlements, and contractual terms. The ServiceNow licensing model allows organizations to scale their software usage and optimize costs according to their needs and resources, promoting flexibility and cost-effectiveness along with a host of other advantages.
In this blog post, we will dive deeper into ServiceNow license optimization—covering the types of ServiceNow licensing and ServiceNow licensing costs— to help organizations get more clarity on ServiceNow pricing as a whole, including implementation and license management.
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Different Types of ServiceNow Licensing
Each ServiceNow application comes with its own types & number of licenses. ServiceNow offers these licenses under two different models: one is role-based user licensing, and the other is the unrestricted user licensing model.
Under the role-based licensing model, licenses are categorized based on the roles that users of the platform would play while using each application. Organizations must go with a suitable license type based on the ServiceNow user roles.
Here are a few common types of role-based ServiceNow licensing:
Requesters are those who raise incident tickets or service requests and access the knowledge base, among other requests through ServiceNow’s self-service portal. They can include employees, customers, or anyone who needs assistance from the IT team or service desk agents when they encounter technical issues or need support. Since the requester license type is free, it does not contribute to the overall ServiceNow licensing cost and is typically associated with applications such as ServiceNow ITSM and CSM (In CSM, requesters are called end-users).
Fulfiller
Fulfillers are those who resolve user requests, create records, modify records, and implement more such tasks on the ServiceNow platform. The fulfiller license provides users with complete admin access to the platform and its functionalities, making it one of the major ServiceNow licensing types in applications like ServiceNow ITSM and CSM. Service desk agents, the IT team, or other such support agents who would be actively working on tasks assigned to them on the ServiceNow platform should be provided with the fulfiller license.
Business Stakeholder
Business Stakeholders (also called Approvers in some cases) have more rights than the requesters but less than the fulfillers. In addition to raising requests for service issues, business stakeholders can approve or deny user requests and actions on the ServiceNow platform based on organizational policies and standards. Unlike the requester license, which is free, the business stakeholder license comes at a fee and is tied to almost all the ServiceNow applications, including ITSM.
Unrestricted User
ServiceNow also offers a simplified, non-role-based licensing model that classifies individuals as unrestricted users, allowing them to use the ServiceNow platform without any specific rules or limitations. The number of people who can use the platform without restrictions depends on the number of unrestricted user licenses that an organization purchases as part of its ServiceNow licensing. This license type applies to all ServiceNow applications.
Recommended Reading: ServiceNow License Optimization: Why is it important to maximize value?
Are you an existing ServiceNow user looking to expand with modules like ITOM, ITAM, or GRC?
Take the right approach through careful assessment of your licensing needs, platform compatibility, and the potential impact on ServiceNow licensing cost.
Purchasing the Right Mix and Number of ServiceNow Licenses
Selecting the right mix and quantity of ServiceNow licenses is crucial for organizations to effectively meet their specific operational needs. To do that, organizations must have a clear understanding of their requirements. Factors such as the number of service desk agents, the number of individuals who would approve or deny requests, and the level of platform usage by the users, among others, must be carefully assessed to determine the volume and type of ServiceNow licenses an organization would need to meet its specific operational needs effectively.
For example, if an organization wants to implement ServiceNow ITSM and has 100 service agents who would solve requesters’ queries and 30 professionals who would approve or deny the requests, it may have to purchase 100 ITSM fulfiller licenses and 30 ITSM business stakeholder licenses to meet its requirements.
ServiceNow licensing costs are determined by considering several factors such as the ServiceNow product/application suite and the packages (with different sets of functionalities), the types and number of licenses that an organization requires, and the industry and the geography it is associated with. Finding the precise combination of ServiceNow licenses that aligns seamlessly with the organization’s business requirements is the key to managing licensing expenses effectively. To obtain the exact ServiceNow license cost, connecting with a ServiceNow partner would be the right choice. Typically, ServiceNow license costs range from $70 to $100 per user for an application.
Having said that, it is essential to remember that the ServiceNow licensing cost is just one part of the broader ServiceNow pricing. Organizations must also account for expenses around ServiceNow consultation, implementation, customization, integration costs, support, and integration to determine the overall ServiceNow pricing. Read our blog post on ServiceNow Pricing to learn more about the costs involved in implementing ServiceNow including license costs.
Recommended Reading: What are the 3 Important Factors that Determine ServiceNow Pricing?
Looking to reduce your existing ServiceNow licensing costs by 30-40% and streamline license management?
The Way Forward
As much as buying the right number and types of licenses is essential to get maximum ROI, what is equally important is making sure the licenses are utilized effectively. By leveraging tools such as ServiceNow Performance Analytics, ServiceNow Subscription Management, and KANINI’s License Workbench, organizations can effectively manage user roles and optimize license usage. Read our blog post on ServiceNow license optimization to gain more insights into how to optimize ServiceNow license usage.
If you are looking for expert guidance on purchasing the right number and types of ServiceNow licenses and making the best use of them, KANINI can help. Leveraging our deep ServiceNow expertise and the right tools, we enable our clients across diverse industries to gain better clarity on overall ServiceNow pricing and make the right choices in their ServiceNow journeys. Contact us to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
In ServiceNow, a “role” defines the access a user has within the ServiceNow platform. The role decides the features and applications to which a user would have access.
When determining license types, businesses should consider factors such as the roles and responsibilities of users, the required access to ServiceNow features, and budgetary constraints.
Yes. Typically, ServiceNow allows flexibility in licensing as an organization’s needs may change over time. It is advisable to consult with a ServiceNow representative or partner like KANINI to understand the procedures and changes in costs or functionality associated with modifying license types.
ServiceNow partners can provide licensing flexibility that reduces the overall licensing costs for organizations. ServiceNow partners help organizations choose the right types and number of ServiceNow licenses, identify cost-saving opportunities, and tailor ServiceNow implementations according to the organization’s specific business needs.
Author
Ravi Rajamani
Ravi is the ServiceNow Practice Lead at KANINI. He brings close to 18 years of experience in the IT industry and has strong program & project management skills spanning ServiceNow, Resource Management, Solution Design, and Service Delivery. He has a proven track record of helping enterprise customers leverage ServiceNow platform efficiently.
