Ondaro launches Lighthouse for ServiceNow AI Control Tower

Ondaro has launched Lighthouse, a free activation planning service for ServiceNow's AI Control Tower, aimed at organisations deciding how to begin using the platform's AI oversight tools.

The service centres on a 90-minute scoping session that produces a first-year activation plan for customers using AI Control Tower. The output includes priorities for which functions to switch on first, the rollout sequence, and a check on whether the underlying data, workflows and ownership structures are in place.

The launch comes as ServiceNow expands AI Control Tower across its AI Native software packages. New and migrating customers are being given broader AI Control Tower features at no extra cost for their first year, including governance for Microsoft Agent 365 and NVIDIA environments, as well as integrations with Veza and Armis.

That first-year access has created a narrow window for customers to decide how to use the tools. Ondaro is positioning Lighthouse as a way to help enterprises avoid spending that period working out basic sequencing and governance requirements.

The company is targeting regulated sectors including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and government, where AI governance and observability tend to carry heavier compliance demands. Organisations also approach AI Control Tower from different starting points, making a standard implementation path less useful.

Ondaro describes itself as a specialist ServiceNow partner. Lighthouse uses AI during the discovery and synthesis process, with a one-page plan promised within 24 hours of the session.

Industry concerns over AI project failure rates form part of the backdrop to the launch. Ondaro cited a Gartner projection that 40 per cent of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by 2027, with most failures linked to governance gaps rather than shortcomings in the underlying technology.

For enterprises already experimenting with AI, the issue is often less about access to tools and more about deciding where governance should start. AI Control Tower is designed to cover governance, observability, lifecycle management and value tracking, but the breadth of those functions can create uncertainty over rollout priorities.

Jeff Gregory, Chief Executive Officer of Ondaro, said clients often struggle with that early decision-making process.

"Most of our clients already have AI in motion across their organizations, but what they actually need to know is which AI Control Tower capabilities to turn on first, in what order, and what difference it will make for their business," said Jeff Gregory, Chief Executive Officer of Ondaro. "That uncertainty has been holding teams back. The free year of expanded capabilities only delivers value if customers can put it to use quickly. Lighthouse is designed to help them do exactly that and get the most out of their ServiceNow investment."

Different starting points

Ondaro argues that deployment priorities vary sharply between sectors and operating models. A company facing regulatory scrutiny may put governance controls first, while another building autonomous agents across several systems may focus on observability and lifecycle tracking.

Lighthouse is intended to turn those priorities into a practical first-year sequence rather than a broad assessment with no implementation order. That sequence is meant to help customers identify measurable value before their introductory access to expanded features ends.

ServiceNow's decision to include AI Control Tower more widely in its software portfolio also changes the nature of adoption. Instead of treating governance tools as optional additions, customers are being presented with a broader default set of AI management functions, increasing the importance of planning how and when to use them.

Ondaro's readiness review focuses on three areas that affect whether AI oversight tools can work properly: clean data, structured workflows and clear ownership models. Without those elements, governance and observability systems may have limited information to act on.

Gregory said a tailored approach is necessary because the platform serves a wide range of use cases.

"ServiceNow's AI Control Tower includes a broad set of governance, observability, lifecycle, and value-tracking capabilities, and different organizations need different starting points," Gregory said. "A bank facing a regulatory deadline does not approach the platform the same way a technology company building autonomous agents across multiple platforms does. Without a tailored plan, customers may struggle to put the free year to productive use, and that's why we're here to help."