Show of hands from anybody who thinks “big data” when they hear the name ServiceNow? The information technology service management platform may not compete with Apache Software’s widely known big data platforms, but by crunching the data that matters to staff members, could it become the Facebook for the office?

ServiceNow Inc.’s historically so-so data game received a kick in the pants at ServiceNow Knowledge17 in Orlando, Florida, according to Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick) (pictured, left) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante) (pictured, right), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio. (* Disclosure below.)

ServiceNow’s new Intelligent Automation Engine applies Machine Learning in an unconventional way to get instant value for businesses, according to Vellante. “This company is not just starting from scratch and saying, ‘Hey, here’s some kind of machine learning tool — apply it,'” he said.

ServiceNow is building the ML capability into its platform to act immediately on a customer’s existing corpus of data. This corpus might include a large variety of incidents, categories, people, to name a few. The ServiceNow platform then tries to categorize them automatically.

“That’s not how most people are using machine learning today. What many people are talking about is a use case of real-time continuous applications and doing machine learning in real time to try to effect an outcome,” Vellante said.

ServiceNow, instead, is using post-process methodology on top of this corpus of data to add instant value. Rejiggering the algorithm as it consumes and learns from fresh data will take place in real time, Frick added.

Likes and shares in the enterprise

This honing in on intimate levels is largely how social apps like Facebook and Instagram win users, Frick said. ServiceNow, SalesForce customer relations management and Marketo marketing automation are all gunning to be the Facebook for the enterprise, he added.

“That’s where the competition is going to come, and there’s only going to be two or three primary applications in which you engage and get work done. And [ServiceNow is] making a hard play to say, ‘We are the application that we want basically in your face, that you’re using to get stuff done all day long,'” Frick concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of ServiceNow Knowledge17. (* Disclosure: ServiceNow Inc. sponsored this Knowledge17 segment on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE. Neither ServiceNow nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE