ServiceNow powers hybrid work with indoor mapping

ServiceNow has officially introduced indoor mapping to its Now Platform, some nine months after acquiring indoor mapping provider Mapwize.

Founded in 2003, ServiceNow is better known for its enterprise workflow automation platform, spanning IT services, employee onboarding, facilities management and more. French company Mapwize, meanwhile, helps companies digitize their existing floor plans, with the ability to import any format and design and manage their maps from a single interface. It can also be integrated with beacons and other wayfinding hardware technologies.

The fruits of ServiceNow’s integration efforts are now being realized, beginning inside its facilities management software.

With the inaugural offering, dubbed Workplace Indoor Mapping, customers will be able to navigate large buildings and campuses, while they will also be able to check the availability of desks, conference rooms and other public spaces.

To benefit from this new service, companies are also given access to a new Indoor Mapping Studio product, in which managers can create, edit and design floor plans and ensure that they’re always up-to-date. They can also include “landmarks” beyond the indoor space, to help people navigate to and between different facilities.

Hybrid movement

According to ServiceNow, its decision to invest in indoor mapping was driven in large part by the burgeoning hybrid-work movement, whereby employees might only go into the office one or two days a week. Indeed, this unfamiliarity with large campuses and ever-changing layouts will require tools to ensure not only that they don’t get lost, but that they always have a place to sit and work. This is particularly important for new-hires as part of their onboarding.

“With mapping capabilities built into the Now Platform, we have a unique opportunity to empower employees and drive productivity,” Mapwize cofounder and ServiceNow’s director of product management Mederic Morel said in a statement. “These solutions will help organizations stay nimble in the ever-changing hybrid work environment.”