Amit Zavery, president, ServiceNow (File photo)
Artificial intelligence is not eroding enterprise software revenue and provides a “big tailwind” for companies that transition early, said Amit Zavery, chief product and operating officer at ServiceNow.
Short-term market swings do not reflect what the future holds for enterprise software, he said at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi
The ServiceNow executive dismissed fears triggered by recent volatility in global software stocks.
“There’s always disruption and change… If you look at what happened between when it moved from client server to web, on-premise to cloud, now we’re talking about AI,” he said.
The platform-as-a-service company allows enterprises to automate enterprise workflows across IT, HR, customer service and other functions.
Customers will not rip-and-replace legacy software platforms overnight but look for best outcomes at the best price. ServiceNow’s own numbers reflect that AI had an expansionary impact on its topline. In FY25, its AI revenue crossed $600 million and is expected to exceed $1 billion this fiscal. The company is growing 20%-plus on a large base, among the fastest growth in enterprise software, he said.
According to Zavery, AI represents the next structural expansion of the industry rather than a contraction.
“There’s a lot of opportunity being created as well,” he said, pointing to emerging categories such as security for AI, automation, and agentic workflows. “It’s a big tailwind for a lot of companies.”
He said revenue growth will accrue to vendors that embed AI deeply into enterprise workflows rather than offering standalone features. While model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic may climb the AI value stack, Zavery said most remain building blocks rather than end-to-end platforms. ServiceNow has partnered with both companies to embed AI in its platforms.
“Customers don’t really care after some time whether it’s AI or not AI. They want outcomes,” he said. Vendors that deliver “the best outcome at the best price, which is flexible and long-term viable will win.”
AI must be layered into existing systems securely. That is why ServiceNow launched AI Control Tower, which is one of the fastest growing products, offering discovery, observability, cost management and governance across clients’ AI deployments.
Large language models represent only 5-10% of the technology of the stack. “The remaining 80%, 90% we are building around it… the scaffolding of insights, security, compliance, auditing, version management,” he said.
Without that structure, AI systems risk becoming probabilistic and unreliable, he said.
“No large language model can give you the same outcome the second time you ask it,” he said. For enterprises handling payroll, financial reporting or employee onboarding, non-deterministic outcomes are unacceptable.
India remains central to ServiceNow’s growth and engineering footprint with over 50% of the company’s product development happening in the country. The company is also aiming to train one million people in AI through ServiceNow University, as part of its global goal of three million.
Short-term market swings do not reflect what the future holds for enterprise software, he said at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi
The ServiceNow executive dismissed fears triggered by recent volatility in global software stocks.
“There’s always disruption and change… If you look at what happened between when it moved from client server to web, on-premise to cloud, now we’re talking about AI,” he said.
The platform-as-a-service company allows enterprises to automate enterprise workflows across IT, HR, customer service and other functions.
Customers will not rip-and-replace legacy software platforms overnight but look for best outcomes at the best price. ServiceNow’s own numbers reflect that AI had an expansionary impact on its topline. In FY25, its AI revenue crossed $600 million and is expected to exceed $1 billion this fiscal. The company is growing 20%-plus on a large base, among the fastest growth in enterprise software, he said.
According to Zavery, AI represents the next structural expansion of the industry rather than a contraction.
“There’s a lot of opportunity being created as well,” he said, pointing to emerging categories such as security for AI, automation, and agentic workflows. “It’s a big tailwind for a lot of companies.”
He said revenue growth will accrue to vendors that embed AI deeply into enterprise workflows rather than offering standalone features. While model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic may climb the AI value stack, Zavery said most remain building blocks rather than end-to-end platforms. ServiceNow has partnered with both companies to embed AI in its platforms.
“Customers don’t really care after some time whether it’s AI or not AI. They want outcomes,” he said. Vendors that deliver “the best outcome at the best price, which is flexible and long-term viable will win.”
AI must be layered into existing systems securely. That is why ServiceNow launched AI Control Tower, which is one of the fastest growing products, offering discovery, observability, cost management and governance across clients’ AI deployments.
Large language models represent only 5-10% of the technology of the stack. “The remaining 80%, 90% we are building around it… the scaffolding of insights, security, compliance, auditing, version management,” he said.
Without that structure, AI systems risk becoming probabilistic and unreliable, he said.
“No large language model can give you the same outcome the second time you ask it,” he said. For enterprises handling payroll, financial reporting or employee onboarding, non-deterministic outcomes are unacceptable.
India remains central to ServiceNow’s growth and engineering footprint with over 50% of the company’s product development happening in the country. The company is also aiming to train one million people in AI through ServiceNow University, as part of its global goal of three million.