ServiceNow Bought a Scalpel, Not a Swiss Army Knife

General-purpose platforms versus vertical industry software are like Swiss Army knives versus scalpels. A Swiss Army knife has many functions—bottle opener, scissors, small saw, you name it—but if you actually need to perform surgery, no one dares to use it. ServiceNow's IT service management and HR automation are typical Swiss Army knives—horizontal coverage, doing everything, but they simply can't cut into areas like core banking systems that require deep industry knowledge, compliance DNA, and over a decade of customer trust. This time, spending $40 million to invest in India's BusinessNext, valued at $700 million, was buying a scalpel.