ServiceNow's Strategic Pivot: India Emerges as a Core Innovation Hub

ServiceNow makes India its second-largest R&D base, with 50% of global development. President Amit Zavery addresses AI disruption concerns, positioning the platform for enterprise adoption.

At the recent India AI Impact Summit 2026, a key strategic direction for enterprise software giant ServiceNow was brought into sharp focus. The company's President and Chief Product Officer, Amit Zavery, emphasized a significant geographical shift in its research and development operations, with India now playing a central role.

India as the Second-Largest R&D Base

ServiceNow has established its largest footprint outside the United States in India, where it currently employs approximately 6,000 people. This workforce is concentrated in the country's premier technology hubs, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Over the last three years, the India Technology & Business Center has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent. Notably, nearly half of the company's global research and development activities are now conducted within the South Asian nation.

From these Indian centers, core development work is being driven across several critical areas. These include the company's artificial intelligence platform, security solutions, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and other emerging technologies.

Addressing Market Concerns Over AI's Disruption

During his summit appearance, Zavery also took the opportunity to counter skepticism prevalent among some investors. Concerns have been raised that large language models and generative AI could potentially disrupt established software business models. Zavery argued that markets frequently overreact to short-term signals, which often fail to capture long-term potential.

He framed artificial intelligence as a transformative shift on a scale comparable to the advent of the internet or cloud computing, acknowledging that such periods of change inevitably create winners and losers. For ServiceNow, differentiation lies in its fundamental identity: the company views itself as a platform provider rather than a traditional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendor.

Zavery pointed out that for enterprise adoption, large language models require critical layers of context, robust security, compliance protocols, and seamless workflow integration. He stated that ServiceNow's platform is designed to deliver these essential components in a unified manner.

With a market capitalization exceeding $111 billion, ServiceNow is betting that its deepened commitment to India will strengthen its competitive position in the increasingly AI-driven enterprise software market.