Announced at the recent Microsoft Ignite conference, the integration of new ServiceNow workflows into Microsoft Teams has promised to bring improved self-service and faster case resolution.

Powered by ServiceNow’s Now Platform, the new capabilities also look to improve cross-company collaboration, and bring greater ability to complete tasks in Teams.

The capabilities announced at Microsoft Ignite, which are now available for select customers as part of the Beta program, include:

• Employee experiences in Microsoft Teams: Users can submit requests for tools and devices, receive updates on in-progress requests, take action on notifications, chat with virtual agents for automated assistance, and connect with live agents when virtual agents cannot assist, all within Teams.
• Agent capabilities in Microsoft Teams: Instead of needing to operate within ServiceNow IT Service Management, agents can use the Notify function to launch the Teams client, allowing for direct engagement with colleagues, faster updates for business stakeholders on major incidents, and direct chats with employees from an incident or request. When used with the new Teams Meeting Extensibility feature, ServiceNow workflows enable agents to be more productive by resolving major incidents directly from within a Microsoft Teams meeting.

How to empower a remote workforce in the long-term

In the coronavirus era, remote working has become the new normal. Here, six leaders reveal how to empower a remote workforce in the long-term. Read here

“Now more than ever, people need to stay connected and organised together from anywhere,” said Rajesh Jha, executive vice-president, experiences and devices at Microsoft. “ServiceNow is delivering end-to-end Teams experiences for the new normal.

“For example, meeting extensibility lets service agents more easily interact with the ServiceNow platform, collaborate in group chats, channels, and conferences, and respond to incidents.”

Chirantan Desai, chief product officer at ServiceNow, commented: “We’re helping customers solve for once-in-a-generation challenges as they capitalize on the promise of digital transformation.

“We are doubling down on Teams to find innovative ways for workflows to elevate engagement, culture, collaboration, and productivity – no matter where people are.”

As of the 29th April 2020, Microsoft Teams had 75 million daily active users, up 70% from just six weeks prior, and throughout April, Microsoft saw more than 200 million meeting participants in a single day, generating more than 4.1 billion meeting minutes.