This article is based on a report originally published by Telangana Today in August 2019, featuring comments from Rao Surapaneni, VP of Engineering at ServiceNow.
ServiceNow’s Acquisition Strategy
ServiceNow, the US-based IT workflow and service management platform company, has pursued both organic growth and a systematic acquisition programme to scale its global operations. As of mid-2019, the company had completed 12 acquisitions over a six-year period, targeting technologies and engineering teams that could accelerate its Now Platform capabilities and improve customer experience.
Rao Surapaneni, VP of Engineering at ServiceNow, described the rationale at the time: “A lot of acquisitions till now had been focusing on technology where we acquired teams where re-platform and deliver products and solutions to customers for seamless experience. We focus on customer experience and services while identifying the acquisition candidates.”
Surapaneni also indicated that large acquisitions were not off the table and that the company was actively monitoring opportunities in India: “For us it’s ultimately technology and team that matters — if they can accelerate, they fit our bill.”
Recent Acquisitions and Their Purpose
Each acquisition targeted a specific gap in ServiceNow’s platform. Below is a summary of the four acquisitions closest to the time of reporting:
Appsee — May 13, 2019
Appsee, an Israel-based in-app mobile analytics platform, was acquired to strengthen ServiceNow’s mobile and web browser strategy. The acquisition added deep user-behaviour analytics capabilities, enabling ServiceNow to improve the user interface across its mobile applications.
FriendlyData — October 10, 2018
FriendlyData provided a natural-language query interface that allowed non-technical users to ask data questions in plain English and receive direct answers or data visualisations. This technology feeds into ServiceNow’s broader goal of making its platform accessible to business users without SQL or BI tool expertise.
Parlo — May 3, 2018
Parlo brought a natural language understanding (NLU) engine into ServiceNow’s portfolio. The technology was integrated into the Now Platform to make conversational interactions a first-class way to complete tasks, enhancing ServiceNow’s native AI features.
VendorHawk — April 25, 2018
VendorHawk focused on SaaS management — specifically tracking software subscriptions, optimising licence usage, and improving spend transparency. This capability fits directly into ServiceNow’s IT Asset Management (ITAM) workflows and supports digital transformation initiatives for enterprise customers.
Full Acquisition Timeline (2013–2019)
- Appsee (in-app mobile analytics platform and R&D team) — May 13, 2019
- FriendlyData (natural-language data querying) — October 10, 2018
- Parlo (natural language understanding engine) — May 3, 2018
- VendorHawk (SaaS spend and licence management) — April 25, 2018
- SkyGiraffe (mobile enterprise platform) — October 25, 2017
- Qlue (machine learning and analytics) — May 17, 2017
- DxContinuum (predictive analytics) — January 18, 2017
- BrightPoint Security (security operations and analytics) — June 1, 2016
- ITapp (IT service management) — April 5, 2016
- Intreis (HR service delivery) — February 24, 2015
- Neebula Systems (service watch and infrastructure monitoring) — July 9, 2014
- Mirror42 (KPI dashboards and reporting) — July 9, 2013
Platform Use Cases: Digital Solutions in Practice
Smart City Projects
ServiceNow had worked with organisations involved in Smart City initiatives in Europe and was, at the time of this report, extending that experience to customers in India. Surapaneni noted that at least one Indian customer had begun productising their Smart City initiatives on the ServiceNow platform.
Cybersecurity Automation
ServiceNow’s security operations portfolio automates incident response and vulnerability management workflows, reducing the manual overhead on security teams and making operations more manageable for COOs and CIOs. The BrightPoint Security acquisition (2016) was a key building block for these capabilities.
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
ServiceNow’s GRC product suite enables financial institutions to manage internal audit controls and meet regulatory standards. The company had recently launched a finance-focused application designed to automate financial operations tasks and improve efficiency — a product particularly relevant to the Indian financial services market.
E-Commerce and Startup Ecosystem
ServiceNow’s solutions also serve e-commerce operators, a fast-growing segment in India. The company’s app store provides a channel through which startups can build and distribute ServiceNow-integrated applications, extending the platform’s reach beyond large enterprises.
Global Operations and India Expansion
As of mid-2019, ServiceNow operated from 73 offices worldwide, employed approximately 10,000 people, and maintained 10 development centres globally. The company reported tripling its workforce over the preceding two years, with year-on-year revenue growth of around 35 percent.
The Asia-Pacific region — and India in particular — was cited as a priority growth market. Surapaneni specifically highlighted Hyderabad as a key engineering hub and indicated that ServiceNow planned to double its investment in India, with Japan also named as a strategic market in the region.
Key Takeaways for DevOps and IT Leaders
- AI and NLP are central to ServiceNow’s roadmap. Acquisitions of FriendlyData, Parlo, and DxContinuum reflect a sustained investment in making the Now Platform more intelligent and conversational.
- SaaS management is becoming a first-class concern. The VendorHawk acquisition signals that visibility into SaaS spend and licence sprawl is now a core part of ITAM, not just a nice-to-have.
- Mobile-first UX matters at the enterprise level. Appsee and SkyGiraffe both point to ServiceNow’s intent to deliver a native mobile experience, not just a responsive web UI.
- Security automation is a growth area. BrightPoint Security laid the groundwork for SecOps capabilities that are increasingly relevant as organisations consolidate security tooling onto fewer platforms.
- India is moving from delivery centre to strategic market. ServiceNow’s intent to invest further in Hyderabad and pursue Indian acquisitions reflects a broader shift in how global software vendors view the Indian enterprise market.