ACC is using ServiceNow to standardise and automate processes across IT and the wider enterprise, improving visibility, staff experience and operational consistency.
The platform is supporting ACC to expand safely into data‑ and AI‑driven services, applying automation where it adds value while maintaining strong governance, risk and compliance controls.
Datacom operates as an extension of ACC’s internal team, providing deep ServiceNow platform expertise, scalable capability and guidance to help the organisation scale safely and realise ongoing value from the platform.
At the ServiceNow AI Summit in Auckland, moderator Scott Gillett led a panel session with Datacom and ACC exploring what it takes to modernise service delivery, scale beyond IT and apply AI responsibly across large organisations. He was joined on the panel by:
Melissa Campolongo, Director – Strategic Projects, Datacom
Kate Parr, NZ Practice Lead, Datacom
Aparajith Sundar, Product Owner – ServiceNow & Security, ACC
Melissa: For Datacom, the shift was about positioning ourselves – and our customers – for the future. We needed a platform that could support consistent, high-quality service delivery and allow us to embed automation, workflow and data into everything we do.
The move to ServiceNow has enabled:
It’s helped us build a platform that lets our customers immediately benefit from innovation in our managed services model.
Aparajith: Our legacy system limited our ability to adapt, evolve or to improve the user experience. ServiceNow provided a single, extensible platform that supports scale, automation and AI within a strong governance framework.
Our key drivers were:
Consistency: one way of working across the organisation
Visibility: clearer insight into workflows and performance
Future‑proofing: a platform that grows with us
We deliberately focused on long-term value, choosing a platform that could eventually serve the entire enterprise – not just IT.
Kate: Our team works as an extension of ACC’s internal platform team. We bring platform expertise, delivery capacity and leadership, while ACC maintains strong product and business ownership.
This partnership works because of:
Shared accountability
Regular roadmap and service leadership sessions
The ability to scale support up or down as needs change
Aparajith: The model gives us stability and scalability. Instead of relying on a few individuals, we access deep platform expertise across Datacom. It helps us progress faster and avoid single points of failure.
Aparajith: Once ITSM was stable, it became clear that many challenges – inconsistent processes, manual workflows, bottlenecks – existed across the wider business. ServiceNow offered a common way to design and automate those processes.
One of the key shifts was around the perception of what was possible around the business.
“ServiceNow is no longer just an IT tool – it’s a genuine business enablement platform.”
This opened the door for HR, finance and security to explore how the platform could support their workflows too.
Aparajith:
Simplifying and standardising processes
Using data and insights for better decision-making
Maintaining strong risk, compliance and governance – critical for a public sector organisation
For us, trust and control are just as important as speed.
Aparajith:
What we’d do again:
Put people at the centre
Embrace platform thinking instead of siloed product thinking
What we’d do differently:
Start change management even earlier
Invest more in user education
Reduce customisations to avoid technical debt
Melissa: Transformation is challenging, but the business benefits are significant. Over the past year we’ve built a modern platform, onboarded half our customers and laid the groundwork for better self-service, proactive support and future AI capabilities.
The biggest lesson?
Success requires iteration, experimentation and being willing to learn fast.
Kate: We’re learning together. AI is evolving quickly, but we approach it through a lens of trust, governance and tangible business outcomes.
We’re starting with high-value use cases – particularly in the Service Desk – using real data to identify where automation and AI can bring measurable impact.
Exceed customer and business expectations by incorporating automation and AI into your IT services. Datacom is a ServiceNow consulting and implementation partner, operating across the depth and breadth of the platform to help you achieve operational excellence, increase employee productivity and transform business-critical operations.
Think of ServiceNow as a single, extensible platform that connects every element of your IT network – scaling beyond IT to enable HR, finance, security and more.
