Salesforce vs. ServiceNow: The Battle for ITSM and CRM Heats Up : Tom M
by: Tom M
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**Summary of Salesforce vs. ServiceNow Competition** Salesforce and ServiceNow are making significant moves into each other's territories, sparking a competitive clash. ServiceNow has recently entered the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) market, offering features like omnichannel support and case management. Simultaneously, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has announced their entry into IT Service Management (ITSM), a field where ServiceNow has long been dominant. Key details include: - ServiceNow is growing faster in the CRM market at 20% year-over-year compared to Salesforce's 8%. - ServiceNow's CEO Bill McDermott emphasized the company's capability to automate workflows across enterprises. - Salesforce aims to enhance its ITSM offerings utilizing its AI product, Agentforce, which could streamline IT services and improve customer experiences. - Challenges for Salesforce include competing against ServiceNow's established ITSM expertise and the need for in-depth IT knowledge. Despite ServiceNow's current dominance with over 50% market share in ITSM, the competition is intensifying. Both companies are exploring opportunities in AI-powered enterprise automation, potentially leading to a more integrated approach between IT services and customer relations. **Additional Context:** - The CRM market is expected to grow to $128.97 billion by 2028, while the ITSM market is projected to reach $15.6 billion by 2026. - Industry experts suggest that skills in both ITSM and CRM will be increasingly valuable. **Conclusion:** As both companies navigate this competitive landscape, the integration of IT and customer service capabilities may lead to innovative solutions benefiting businesses. **SEO Hashtags:** #Salesforce #ServiceNow #CRM #ITSM #AI #EnterpriseAutomation #CustomerService #BusinessGrowth #TechCompetition #WorkflowAutomation
A new development in the Salesforce vs. ServiceNow CRM race has come to light, with both players making their first big steps into each other’s primary markets.
Last month, we reported that ServiceNow had officially entered the CRM space, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently announced the company’s entry into IT Service Management (ITSM), a domain traditionally dominated by ServiceNow.
Competitor Space
It can be argued that Salesforce and ServiceNow have been quietly competing for some time now, but it wasn’t really until the announcement of ServiceNow’s extension into the CRM space that this contention held that much ground.
This move enabled ServiceNow to provide features like omnichannel support, self-service options, case management, conversational intelligence, and more – offering a comprehensive 360-degree customer view similar to Salesforce Service Cloud.
Of course, it’s still too early to really tell how powerful a contender ServiceNow will be in the CRM space, especially up against well-established solutions like Salesforce and Oracle. However, the CRM market is only so big, and ServiceNow is currently growing at a rate of 20% YoY compared to Salesforce’s rate of 8% – so it’s natural to assume the platform will be taking its chances.
This is something that ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott has already started talking about, stating in the company’s recent Q4 earnings call that ServiceNow and Microsoft were “expanding their alliance to accelerate disruption in the CRM category.”
“This is a good time to remind you that CRM and industry workflows is ServiceNow’s fastest-growing business,” he said. “There’s a reason for that: ServiceNow is uniquely positioned to take action and fully automate workflows across the enterprise. We sell, fulfill, and service on one platform, one architecture, and one data model.”
Entering the ITSM Space: Salesforce’s New Strategy
Now, Salesforce have potentially changed the course of this competitive landscape with their venture into the IT Service Management (ITSM) space. ITSM refers to the processes, frameworks, and tools organizations use to design, deliver, manage, and improve IT services. Essentially, it helps businesses ensure that their IT systems align with business objectives and run smoothly.
This pursuit could foster many opportunities for Salesforce, and one of the most notable for a company so invested in an AI product like Agentforce is an AI and automation advantage. For example, with a strong mix of Agentforce and Einstein AI, Salesforce can leverage AI-powered automation to streamline IT service requests and incident management – a significant step towards their work processes automation goals.
Another opportunity could be the expansion of their Customer 360 functionality, as integrated ITSM procedures could allow Salesforce to benefit from a 360-degree view of not only their customer interactions but their IT interactions too, enhancing customer and employee experiences.
What Are the Challenges?
However, like with any new venture of this scale, Salesforce is likely to come up against some consequential challenges.
For one, although this move is bold, it could be argued that Salesforce is just a little too late to the game. ServiceNow has been the dominant player in ITSM for years, and they have a deep integration with IT operations, making it difficult for Salesforce to break in.
Salesforce will likely need to think hard about their use cases and USPs when it comes to what they can offer their customers in this space.
Additionally, ITSM requires IT-specific expertise. Unlike CRM, TSM solutions need in-depth IT operations and security expertise, and this would be a new focus area for Salesforce where they don’t have an established reputation yet.
However, there is nothing to say that Salesforce won’t be able to find the resources to accomplish this successfully – it’s simply a matter of finding the right approach that offers customers something that ServiceNow doesn’t. They also have previous experience expanding into new spaces, having acquired MuleSoft and Marketing Cloud (Tableau) while also developing Data Cloud organically.
What Does This Mean for ServiceNow?
At present, ServiceNow does not have too much to worry about. The company currently dominates the ITSM space with an over 50% market share; they are both a well-respected player in this space. However, with a company as influential and all-encompassing as Salesforce, it’s likely that ServiceNow are going to be keeping an eye on what their competitor does next.
Their step into CRM already shows them branching into new, bigger territories, so a growth strategy is certainly already in place.
How Do the Stakes Look?
In this battle of the cloud solutions, it’s easy to see where the two platforms are stronger in terms of industry capabilities and existing reputations. However, who will come out on top?
Whoever it is, we should hope this convergence between ITSM and CRM continues to grow as a trend, as that will benefit a lot of businesses and customers alike. It leans on the rise of AI-powered enterprise automation, and can result in benefits such as the breakdown of silos between IT, customer service, and business operations.
Bilal Haider Rana, the Managing Director of Dach, reflects on this, saying that he believes hybrid expertise in ITSM and CRM is likely to soon be “in high demand.”
“It will not be easy to expand into each other’s territory,” he said. “I think, from a consulting point of view, those who have diversified skills cannot lose.”
Final Thoughts
ServiceNow is in the CRM space. Salesforce is entering the ITSM space. The CRM market is projected to reach $128.97B by 2028, and the ITSM market is projected to reach $15.6B by 2026 – the scope of potential is vast.
How each move fares for each company remains uncertain, but one thing is for sure: Salesforce has the customer data; ServiceNow has the IT workflows. Whoever can seamlessly connect both will gain an edge in this high-stakes enterprise AI market, and we will be sure to report on any advancements as and when they happen.
The post Salesforce vs. ServiceNow: The Battle for ITSM and CRM Heats Up appeared first on Salesforce Ben.
March 17, 2025 at 02:30PM
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