How a Global Technology Services Leader Optimized ServiceNow Platform Performance and Reduced Technical Debt

Learn how a global technology services provider partnered with Nihilent to assess and remediate a heavily customized ServiceNow instance, improve platform performance, and establish a proactive model for keeping technical debt under control.

Service

ServiceNow - Platform Health, Performance Optimization, and Technical Debt Remediation

Vertical

Software, IT Services, and Hi-Tech

Region

Global (Over 200 Countries and Regions)

Tech Stack

ServiceNow Platform (Multiple Modules), Bravium BPE and Health Scan, ServiceNow Store Utilities for Coding Standards and Quality

How a Global Technology Services Leader Optimized ServiceNow Platform Performance and Reduced Technical Debt

Client Overview

The client is a global technology services company that delivers end-to-end IT and communications solutions, including managed services, cloud, network, and cybersecurity offerings for enterprises worldwide. Its ServiceNow implementation supports a broad range of IT and business operations and has grown over more than a decade to include millions of records and numerous integrations with third-party systems.

As usage expanded, so did customizations and integrations, turning the platform into a mission-critical but increasingly complex environment. The client wanted to preserve the value of its ServiceNow investment while addressing performance degradation, reliability issues, and growing technical debt.

Business Challenges

Over time, the organization’s ServiceNow instance began to show clear signs of strain, limiting its ability to support fast, reliable service delivery.

Performance Degradation Over Time

Page and record load times increased significantly, eroding user experience and slowing both IT and business workflows.

Customization Bloat and Maintainability Risks

Thousands of customizations layered on top of out-of-the-box functionality introduced complexity and raised concerns about maintainability and supportability.

Accumulated Technical Debt

Contributions from multiple teams and vendors, often following inconsistent coding practices, resulted in technical issues that worsened performance and made troubleshooting harder.

Complex Integrations and Stability Issues

Extensive integrations with external systems introduced instability, with some integrations negatively impacting overall platform performance and reliability.

How Nihilent Addressed This

Nihilent partnered with the client to run a structured ServiceNow health scan and remediation initiative, combining platform expertise with the Bravium BPE product to identify, prioritize, and address performance and quality issues.

Comprehensive Platform Health Scan

Nihilent deployed the Bravium BPE solution to perform a deep assessment of the ServiceNow instance, scanning configuration, code, customizations, and integrations to identify performance bottlenecks and quality issues.

Remediation Planning and Targeted Fixes

Based on scan findings, Nihilent worked with the client to create a detailed remediation plan that outlined specific fixes, ownership, and timelines, ensuring that high-impact issues were addressed within an agreed time frame.

Actionable Recommendations for Long-Term Quality

Beyond one-time fixes, Nihilent provided actionable recommendations on coding standards, configuration patterns, and integration approaches to make the platform easier to maintain and extend.

Proactive Technical Debt Prevention

Using Bravium products from the ServiceNow Store, Nihilent helped the client implement guardrails that enforce coding standards and best practices for future customizations and integrations, reducing the risk of new technical debt.

Continuous Improvement Mindset

The engagement established a repeatable model for ongoing health scans, monitoring, and remediation, supporting continuous improvement in platform performance and reliability rather than one-off cleanups.

Key Results & Outcomes

Improved Platform Performance

Targeted remediation of bottlenecks led to faster page and record load times, directly improving user experience and productivity.

Enhanced System Maintainability

Streamlining and rationalizing customizations reduced complexity, making the ServiceNow instance easier to support and evolve.

Reduced Technical Debt and Upgrade Risk

Addressing accumulated technical debt simplified future upgrades and integrations and positioned the client to leverage new ServiceNow capabilities more confidently.

Greater Reliability and Stability

Optimization of integrations and configuration improved overall system stability and reduced the risk of performance-related incidents.

Stronger Alignment with Business Objectives

A proactive, quality-focused approach to platform management helped align IT operations more closely with business goals and digital transformation initiatives.

Key Takeaways

For large, long-standing ServiceNow implementation, performance and reliability issues are often symptoms of deeper customization, integration, and technical debt challenges rather than simple configuration gaps. By combining a structured health scan with targeted remediation, coding standards enforcement, and proactive technical debt prevention using Bravium products on the ServiceNow Store, Nihilent helped the client restore ServiceNow performance, strengthen maintainability, and establish a continuous improvement model that keeps the platform aligned with evolving business and IT needs.

“Health scan findings and corresponding remediation have been an enormous success! The overall solution improves quality and helps keep ServiceNow instances technical debt-free. Amazing work done – loving it! “

-Director, ServiceNow Product Owner

“The comprehensive health scan solution and its findings are significantly enhancing the quality of the NTT ServiceNow platform. This solution ensures that our ServiceNow instance remains technically debt-free and drives quality improvements. Kudos to the talented team for their excellent work – I’m truly impressed! “

-NTT – Vice President of Digital Experience

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