April 09, 2020
Accessing ServiceNow Business Continuity Apps and CDW's Free Support Services
These emergency resources can help your organization stay safe and up-and-running.
From coordinating emergency responses to tracking exposures among coworkers, to instant mobile distribution of critical updates, these apps can make the difference between being prepared to mitigate the risks of unexpected events or being broadsided by them.
In a March 26 appearance on CNBC, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott described “business continuity” as essential during a crisis. As he put it, “we have to be an all-weather workforce to win.” These apps were developed for just such a purpose.
ServiceNow’s Business Continuity Apps
The development of these apps came about when Washington state quickly moved to set up an emergency response app on the ServiceNow platform to help officials coordinate activities among various agencies. That development was supplemented by three supporting apps that ServiceNow then created, making up the suite that consists of:
- Emergency Response Operations: For optimizing staff and resources to support emergency response for public agencies and other organizations
- Emergency Outreach: For distributing information and confirming employee safety and location through email or a mobile app
- Emergency Self Report: For enabling employees to report illnesses and readiness to return, as well as initiating workflows to help managers respond
- Emergency Exposure Management: For identifying and managing exposure risks when an employee is diagnosed with an illness
McDermott went on to draw a distinction between “physical” distancing and “social” distancing, pointing out that we can still stay socially connected while being physically apart. He suggests we should make that a top priority during a crisis, and that this is just as true, if not more, for both commercial and public sector organizations.
By utilizing apps like these and others that take advantage of the elasticity of the cloud, we can still accomplish a lot to keep our businesses and organizations not only safe and secure during a crisis but also thriving as we provide continuous service to customers and constituencies.
Accessing CDW’s Crisis Response Portal
In support of these efforts, CDW’s ServiceNow Solutions team recently announced two new services, also at no cost to customers. Both services are designed to help them take full advantage of ServiceNow’s crisis management applications.
First, the ServiceNow Solutions team will help install and provide initial enablement around each of the four crisis management apps.
Second, we have built a Crisis Response Portal in ServiceNow that ties them all together. This portal can be launched in as quickly as a one week, giving customers the ability to centralize and manage all critical communications using ServiceNow’s powerful Customer Service Management portal and incorporating the four crisis management apps as well. The portal, along with initial setup, is being made available at no cost to a limited number of customers on a first-come, first-served basis.
Watch this webinar to learn about CDW’s Crisis Response Portal: