ServiceNow's Potential $1B Move: Securing the AI Workflow Economy

The Information broke the news that ServiceNow is in advanced talks to acquire the identity security startup Veza for over $1 billion signals a structural shift in how enterprises manage risk and digital transformation. This potential acquisition is not merely a security enhancement; it is a strategic investment to secure the transactional integrity of the entire Now Platform.

The Core Problem: Securing Non-Human Identities

The biggest challenge in the shift to AI-driven workflows is authorization. Every new AI agent, automation script, and service account represents a Non-Human Identity (NHI) that requires granular, auditable access permissions. Uncontrolled access by these identities is the largest operational risk of Generative AI.

Strategic Business Value: Authorization as the Foundation

A Veza acquisition would allow ServiceNow to own the answer to the core security question: “Who can and should take what action on what data?”

Workflow Resilience: 

Veza’s Authorization Graph provides end-to-end visibility into permissions across all enterprise systems (SaaS, cloud, custom apps). This directly integrates identity security into the core of ServiceNow’s IT, HR, and Customer workflows, making those automations inherently more resilient and trustworthy.

Proactive Risk Management:

 ServiceNow is strong in Security Operations (SecOps) and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). Veza’s technology shifts the platform left, enabling proactive authorization. It moves the focus from managing security incidents (after they happen) to managing security permissions at a granular level, ensuring continuous enforcement of the least privilege principle.

Audit and Compliance Certainty:

 The ability to instantly show and enforce permissions across hundreds of systems simplifies audit reporting and ensures continuous compliance—a critical capability for highly regulated enterprises.

Thought Leader Takeaway: 

The AI Governance Imperative

This potential move signifies a structural imperative in the enterprise technology market. The future of trusted workflow automation requires securing the machine-to-machine, or non-human, identities that power it. By integrating Veza’s specialized Access AI capabilities, ServiceNow positions itself to guarantee the security and compliance of its autonomous AI agents. The business value is in the shift from simply managing risk to building a securely governed platform capable of supporting the next wave of digital transformation.

The question for C-Level executives is simple: Is your organization building its AI strategy on a foundation of auditable, least-privilege authorization?