While much of Silicon Valley is racing to launch new AI agents, chatbots and generative AI services, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott believes that many technology companies are missing the real challenge for businesses: how to make AI work securely, governed and integrated into business-critical operations.
In an interview with Fast Company McDermott describes how today's AI market is largely driven by hype, while many organizations still lack control over data, identities, and automated workflows.
AI hype risks creating new security problems
According to McDermott Many AI initiatives today focus on quick demonstrations and standalone features rather than real business problems. Companies are lured by the promise of productivity and automation, but at the same time underestimate the complexity behind enterprise AI.
As AI agents gain access to internal systems, business data, and customer information, the demands on security, governance, and compliance increase dramatically. Without clear controls, organizations risk creating new security issues while making operations more difficult to manage.
McDermott believes that AI can no longer be considered a separate innovation project alongside business. Instead, AI must be integrated directly into companies' core processes and managed at the same level as other business-critical systems.
ServiceNow wants to become the control platform for agentic AI
ServiceNow is now positioning itself more and more clearly as a platform for controlled and integrated agentic AI in enterprise environments.
The company is investing heavily in combining automation, workflow technology and generative AI in a common platform where AI agents can work directly in mission-critical processes within IT, HR, cybersecurity and customer service.
The vision is not just about assisting users with answers or recommendations. The goal is to create autonomous AI-powered workflows that can identify problems, make decisions, and automate processes without manual intervention.
It is at this time that many companies are beginning to realize that AI requires much more than just language models and chatbots. To be used in larger organizations, AI must be able to be connected to internal systems, business rules, security models and real-time data.
Competition in enterprise AI intensifies
At the same time, the battle for the enterprise AI market has become increasingly fierce. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Google Cloud, Salesforce and SAP is now investing billions in autonomous AI platforms and agentic AI solutions for businesses.
The market is rapidly moving from simpler AI assistants to more advanced systems that can automate entire workflows and business processes.
At the same time, concerns about AI security, hallucinations, data leaks, and lack of transparency are growing. Many organizations are now trying to find a balance between innovation and control as AI begins to be implemented on a larger scale.
From experiments to mission-critical infrastructure
Over the past two years, many companies have tested generative AI through small pilot projects and internal experiments. Now, the market is starting to move towards production-ready implementations where AI becomes a central part of the business infrastructure.
For Nordic companies, this development means that issues around governance, data security and compliance are becoming increasingly important. AI is no longer just about innovation or efficiency, but also about risk management, regulatory requirements and long-term business strategy.
McDermott's message therefore reflects a larger shift within the entire enterprise AI market. The next phase is not about who builds the most advanced chatbot, but about which platforms can actually deliver secure, scalable, and mission-critical AI in real-world operations.
Source: Fast Company
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